Two Secrets to Become an Einstein Einstein famously said, “I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Like some of his scientific theories, he may have been right. Specifically, Einstein had more astrocytes, a type of brain cell that contributes to intelligence. The good news is that we can build more astrocytes in our own brains. According to Neuroscientist Dr. Marian Diamond, five factors are crucial for healthy astrocytes: a good diet, exercise, love,
How to Avoid Bad Meetings Most of us are meeting to death! Not only are there too many meetings, but also the quality of the meetings have much to be desired. A good meeting is a rare meeting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can improve the productiveness and effectiveness of your meetings making them a valuable use of time with five simple yet proven steps: 1) Have an agenda. It never
Need More Time? Take a Break! Everyone is looking for the magic pill for getting more time, and although once a year we “fall back” and gain an hour, we lose it again in the spring. The reality is that we all get 24 hours in a day. It’s how we use this time that makes us feel like it’s well-spent, or that it’s just not enough. There are countless time management ideas in
Stop Stressing: Two Tips Recent reports show that stress is higher than ever although we have more access to technology, which should be saving us time and making life easier, right? I hear some of you saying, “Wrong.” Technology seems to have put us in “always-on, always-available” mode. In our effort to always be “up,” we have less downtime. However, how much of this attitude and subsequent behavior are self-inflicted versus imposed? Some people
How to Engage Stakeholders Is your project doooommmmed (scary movie voice) to fail because you forgot a key stakeholder? Last month’s newsletter featured a simple tool coined by the Center for Requirements Excellence (CRE) called a KRAC Analysis. We discussed how to use this tool with stakeholders. Now, let’s define “stakeholders.” Most people think of stakeholders as anyone who is affected by the project or who has an interest. And that’s correct but there’s more.
Use KRAC to identify needs We’ve all seen it before – the “deer in the headlights” look when we ask, “What are your requirements?” The problem isn’t them but us. We aren’t asking the right question. Most of the time, stakeholders don’t know what they need, although they are great at telling us the solution. People pride themselves on solving problems and identifying solutions. Many times, they put the solution before the requirements (needs). Not
By focusing on optimization are you actually “Avoiding the real work”? Is your lack of productivity tied to a lack of organization? Or is it really just “insufficient motivation” due to tasks that are misaligned to your goals, or even “insufficient pressure”, because of deadlines that are too flexible? To learn more, check out this article on productivity.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK(R) Guide 5th Edition PMP Exam Prep, Eighth Edition – Updated: Rita’s Course in a Book for Passing the PMP Exam Eighth Edition The PMP Exam: Quick Reference Guide, Fifth Edition (Test Prep series) Pamphlet – September 15, 2013 CAPM Exam Prep, 3rd Edition Paperback – September 6, 2013
Find out more in this article from PMI’s 2015 Pulse of the Profession: Focus on the Fundamentals.
CIO.com published this article about how “Project Management Training Improves Success Rates”. What initiatives have you implemented to improve your project success?
