Laura Barnard, PMP, CAL, Prosci, IES

Have you ever heard a stakeholder on your project say, “I’m completing the template you guys asked me to complete?” Or maybe you’ve heard, “I’m completing the steps in your process.”

Do you know what’s wrong with both of those sentences? They didn’t say “our”, they said “your.”

Have you struggled with getting your PMO setup or with getting PM practices in place in your organization?

On January 16, 2017, Martin Luther King Day, a national day of service, over 250 project management volunteers came together to help launch over 50 critical nonprofit initiatives spanning three major metropolitan areas—Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Norfolk, VA—for the 3rd annual Project Management Day of Service (PMDoS®).

Have you ever been told that you need to be more strategic? Did you think to yourself, “Geez, I thought I was being strategic!”

Whether you are trying to make the case for the PMO for the first time or giving an update on the progress of the PMO, it’s extremely important that you tell a compelling story of both pain and progress. The story needs to take your audience on the journey from where they are today to a brighter future, addressing the challenges they have in getting projects completed under the current environment.

Do you feel like you can’t ever catch up? Do you feel like you have countless meetings on your calendar and that leaving on time is an oh so distant memory? Maybe it’s because you are doing instead of leading.

You know that feeling when you have made a difference in someone’s life? Do you know that high of having an impact through your service to others?

We think and talk about spring cleaning and new year’s resolutions, but what do we do later in the year to get ourselves reset and refocused on what matters?

I did an interview for some friends with the Association for Project Management in the UK. I wanted to share this interview with you all!

There are many questions you need to ask when you start a PMO. We immediately want to go to defining the services, building templates, taking on an army of PMs, and starting projects. Before we come in like gangbusters, take a few moments to ask some very fundamental questions that you may want to answer before you start defining the services and the rest of the stuff we think of when starting a PMO.

I was a keynote speaker at one of the University of Maryland Project Management symposiums, and spoke about my proven process for creating high-impact PMOs. I took a moment to get to know the audience at the beginning and asked them about what they believed the purpose was for the PMO.

While some people may not have heard the term “boil the ocean,” most have heard of the KISS principle, most notably coined by the U.S. Navy in 1960 as “keep it simple, stupid.” The idea was don’t over-complicate things unnecessarily. Keep your approach and your methods simple. Makes sense to me, I’m all about simple is better!

OK, I know this is going to create a stir in the social atmosphere and that gives me a bit of a smirk on my face. Why? Because it’s time for project managers and PMO leaders to wake up and pay attention to what the business has to say.

What is EVM?

Have you ever gotten frustrated because your sponsor didn’t do what you were expecting them to do? I have. I used to get really frustrated that they seemed to not care as much about their own project as I did. It was super annoying.

What’s in a name?

When it comes to PMOs, a lot! Have you been paying attention to the PMO space recently? I have. More and more organizations are moving away from the title PMO for the organization that facilitates the planning and execution of business strategy. I’ve seen Business Transformation Office, Strategic Planning Office, Strategy Execution Office, Enterprise Strategy Execution team, and on and on…anything but PMO, please!

If I read one more PMO article or book that tells me to focus my energy on process first if I want my PMO to be successful, I’m going to be sick. Process is NOT the answer (well, at least it’s not the first answer)!

What does it mean when you call someone a difficult stakeholder? No, back up. What does it mean to be a stakeholder and how do you engage them effectively?

I was listening to two of my friends on a podcast and there were so many stories and lessons in there that I just had to share with you.

Resumes, I’ve seen a few…

Over the last many years, I would often stand on stage at speaking engagements in the D.C. area and say, “If you’ve been in the job market in the last 15 years, I’ve seen your resume!”

There are several building blocks necessary for a PMO to be successful. To keep things simple for this post, let’s focus on the general categories people, processes and tools.

What does it mean to be a project sponsor? What is expected of me? Why can’t they just do the project without getting me involved?

Being successful can be absolutely wonderful. It can be an incredible and life-fulfilling experience. Sometimes, however, it can get really lonely. Why is that?

I was making breakfast this morning and put a bowl in the sink and noticed a handful of other dirty dishes in the sink. I dislike dirty dishes in the sink, but I dislike doing dishes more. I considered doing them, but then thought about all of the other things I needed to do today and felt a sense of relief knowing that the dishes would be done by tonight.

What? Some projects don’t go well? No way!! OK, so clearly they do. Not ours, of course, but other people’s projects sometimes don’t work out as intended. I know it’s natural human behavior to not want to be at fault or have a project not doing so well, but sometimes, despite our best efforts, we have projects that aren’t on track. What do we do to get them back on track and prevent this from happening in the future?

Business leaders: Have you ever wondered the real value of the Project

Management profession?

Project managers: Are you a project manager who knows darn well your value and wishes others would see just how valuable you are?

Are you sick of having your entire career called the accidental profession?

Everyone: Do you wish there was a more meaningful way for you to give back to your community?

Well, have I got a story for you!

No, seriously, they aren’t. Don’t believe me? Know anyone that has gotten married, had kids, changed jobs, tried a new hairstyle, remodeled their kitchen, bought new clothes, read a new book, taken a class, rearranged their furniture in their house, or any of millions of other large or small changes? How many of those have you willingly chosen to do, yourself?

Does it seem like the “business side” of your company speaks a different language? Are you the business side and sick of not being heard, or feeling misunderstood?

There are a lot of buzz words and phrases out there in the PMO space, but what does it mean to really be a business driven PMO?

The number one factor in determining success or failure of your change initiative is…sponsor engagement. Thought it was communication, didn’t you?

What’s the biggest determining factor in success or failure of a project or any change you are trying to create? Communication, right? It’s all about communication. Even though it’s the most important factor, many of us are struggling to get our message across to our executives because of how we are communicating.

We do a lot. We are ALL doing a lot. I am willing to bet that every single one of you that reads this article does A LOT! How can I be so sure?

All too often, I see organizations try to create a PMO or change organization because someone got “something shiny syndrome” and then it fizzles before the organization has really been given the chance to take off in a meaningful way. All of that time, money, and effort spent and now we are letting that work go to waste because the next something shiny came along.

Driving Real Change across an Enterprise

Creating Change Advocacy in Your Organization

Why Getting the Right Talent Matters

Do Some Tools Have a Proven Success Over Others?

Implementation Methodology vs. Project Management / What’s New in Portfolio Level Methodology?

This article will look at a few of the most common mistakes PMO leaders make when setting up or evolving a PMO.

Great! So, you have been charged with building and running a PMO for your organization. You’ve got the tools, you know about the best practices, and you have templates coming out of your ears. Now what? What are the things that you must do to help your PMO grow into a change management powerhouse for your company?

Found this oldie but goodie from my early transformation work!

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