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How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively
Construction Process

How Do You Manage Multiple Projects Effectively? Our Top 10 Techniques

In a perfect world, a Project Manager would be given exactly one project at a time. We could put all of our attention and energy into getting the project completely finished before we even think about the next one. As you and I both already know, though, this world is far from perfect. People leave or get fired. New project opportunities pop up out of nowhere. Projects get delayed well beyond their original timeframe. Companies stretch resources. Busy times call for juggling. Some projects are just too small to require a full-time P.M. If you work in project management long

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Pat Finnegan October 15, 2019
How To Estimate Construction Costs - A Step-By-Step Guide
Construction Management

How To Estimate Construction Costs: Our Comprehensive Guide

When discussing a construction project, one of the first things everyone wonders is how much money the project will ultimately cost. Whether it be a residential home project, a large office building or a bridge, the dollar-value of a project is important for obvious reasons. When we hear about an office building costing $50,000,000 to construct, it’s easy to be in awe of that much money. Not all of this is profit of course. In fact, the total profit kept by the companies involved may be as little as 10-15% of that, and that’s if all goes well! So how do contacting companies calculate the cost of the project? In this article, we’ll be discussing how to estimate construction costs – step by step.

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Pat Finnegan October 9, 2019
How Do You Read Blueprints? Here's A Step By Step Guide
Construction Documents & Templates

How To Read Blueprints: Follow This Complete Step-By-Step Guide

They say a picture’s worth 1,000 words. If that’s true, then blueprints are worth volumes. On a construction site, in a manufacturing plant or any number of jobs that require blueprints, drawings are the vision of the project on paper, combined with as much detail as possible. To understand how the project must come together, both on a large- and small-scale, reading the drawings and plans is a must. While the process of reading and understanding blueprints is pretty simple, a lot of people struggle with reading blueprints in the beginning. Not to fear, though, because it just takes a little practice and guidance to understand them. So how do you read blueprints? Follow this step-by-step guide!

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Pat Finnegan October 1, 2019
How Do You Run An Effective Status Meeting?
Project Management

How Do You Run An Effective Status Meeting? 10 Best Practices

In offices around the world, people yawn, gaze at the clock and day-dream during meetings. Meetings are seen as boring time-wasters that keep us from doing our actual jobs. Most people would jump for joy if meetings were wiped from the schedule altogether. There’s only one issue – meetings ARE important, at least when they’re run effectively. Meetings are the only time when the team gets together. When run efficiently, these meetings give everyone the opportunity to brainstorm, ask questions, address issues and improve the business. Rather than scrapping meetings altogether, the best option is to maximize the outcome. “How do you run an effective status meeting?”. In this article, we’ll discuss 10 practices to maximize your office meetings!

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Pat Finnegan September 30, 2019
How Do You Manage Subcontractors
Construction Management

How Do You Manage Subcontractors? 7 Essential Tips

Projects come in all shapes and sizes, as do contractors. For a contractor to take on a project, they must essentially be willing and able to bring a client’s idea into reality. Sometimes, a contractor possesses all of the knowledge, skill and supplies necessary to complete an entire project on their own. In many other cases, though, the outcome a client is looking for has many parts to it. While a contractor might be willing and able to perform a large portion of the work, the client may be asking for things the contractor just can’t do. The contractor doesn’t walk away at this stage – they hire another contractor to do the work they’re not able to do themselves. This additional contractor is now a subcontractor on the project. Before hiring a subcontractor in a real-world scenario for the first time, we must know the ins and outs of working with a subcontractor. In this article, we’ll be answering the question of: How do you manage subcontractors?

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Pat Finnegan September 17, 2019
What Are The Basics Of Project Scheduling
Construction Management

Basics Of Project Scheduling: Master These 9 Essential CPM Steps

As the old saying goes, a successful project comes down to getting three things right: cost, quality and time. Do that and you’re golden! Obviously, getting there is a little tougher than that. According to Mavenlink, 70% of projects fail. Part is this failure are projects that don’t finish on time. With this is mind, developing a realistic and logistically-sound schedule for any project is essential. If you’re taking on a new project or will be soon, you might be wondering “what are the basics of project scheduling?” to avoid delays. In this article, we’ll walk through the essential steps needed to draft a project schedule. Let’s dive in.

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Pat Finnegan September 16, 2019
It's a jungle out there. A concrete jungle, that is. While humans have evolved way past all other animals in a cognitive sense, we still need to navigate many of the situations that animals encounter in the wild. While many animals are categorized as predators or prey, people can also act in a predatory fashion and see other people as their 'prey'. Except in the human world, the predatory person doesn't eat their prey - they try to manipulate or take advantage of them instead. Predatory people don't see EVERYONE as prey though - they instinctively pick people they think they can exploit for their own gain. Overly nice people are one of the main groups people try and exploit, for reasons we'll discuss. Nice people aren't off the hook, though. Many times, they're not taken advantage of by just predators, but by everyone - and they ask for it! The workplace is one of the main places nice people get taken advantage of, and it affects workload, promotions, salary, reputation and more. In this article, we will discuss how to stop being too nice at work using twelve simple techniques.
Project Manager Soft Skills

How To Stop Being Too Nice At Work: 12 Simple, Quick Techniques

It’s a jungle out there. A concrete jungle, that is. While humans have evolved way past all other animals in a cognitive sense, we still need to navigate many of the situations that animals encounter in the wild. While many animals are categorized as predators or prey, people can also act in a predatory fashion and see other people as their ‘prey’. Except in the human world, the predatory person doesn’t eat their prey – they try to manipulate or take advantage of them instead. Predatory people don’t see EVERYONE as prey though – they instinctively pick people they think they can exploit for their own gain. Overly nice people are one of the main groups people try and exploit, for reasons we’ll discuss. Nice people aren’t off the hook, though. Many times, they’re not taken advantage of by just predators, but by everyone – and they ask for it! The workplace is one of the main places nice people get taken advantage of, and it affects workload, promotions, salary, reputation and more. In this article, we will discuss how to stop being too nice at work using twelve simple techniques.

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Pat Finnegan August 29, 2019
How Do You Transition A Project To A New Project Manager
Project Management

How Do You Transition A Project To A New Project Manager?

It happens all too often. Projects get reassigned. A project manager decides to leave the company. A P.M. on another project is leaving, so you get pulled off your project to go manage theirs. Does this sound familiar? While common in the industry, the project “hand off” is one of the most significant and impactful events on the project’s outcome, and a bad handoff can take a big bite out of the results. At this stage, there’s a logical question to ask: How do you transition a project to a new project manager? Like most things, a good project hand-off

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Pat Finnegan August 21, 2019
common issues project managers face
Project Management

10 Common Issues Project Managers Face & How To Solve Them

Project managers work in many different fields. Many industries require project managers to oversee their work. This includes I.T., construction, business processes/operations and even entertainment. One thing remains constant – project managers will need to deal with some no-so-enjoyable situations. Luckily, we have each other! In this article, we examine 10 common issues project managers face, and ways we can solve them. Let’s dive in.

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Pat Finnegan July 25, 2019
DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES: 5 TYPES AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM
Project Management

Different Personalities: Work With These Five Types

We’ve all heard the saying, and we all cringe every time we do. Who even came up with these expressions? Regardless of how corny the expression is, it’s true. In project management, you’ll need to work with many different personalities: people you may not see eye-to-eye with, people you don’t care for, and even people you can’t stand! I’ve been there many times, and it gets easier. By easier, I mean your focus will remain centered around the overall results, and less on the individual actions happening around you. You can have all the skills in the world, but knowing how to approach and work with different personalities will make managing a project team a much easier process.

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Pat Finnegan June 5, 2019

About This Topic

Learn more about project management and construction management through these how-to articles.

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