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Managing Projects With A Short Attention Span
Project Management

Managing Projects With A Short Attention Span: 6 Must-Do Habits

Is your attention span similar to flipping through TV stations? Are thoughts racing, fast and ever-flowing? If so, you may have what some call a ‘short attention span’ – that is, your attention is constantly drawn to every thought or distraction and remains on any one subject for a short amount of time. This article is not written in judgement – I have this issue myself! Guess what? Over the years, I really haven’t changed either. While meditation, concentration and a healthy lifestyle do help with focus and mental performance, much of who we are and how are brain works is given to us at birth. Just as a sailboat is designed to use the wind to its’ advantage, regardless of the direction it’s blowing, we can adapt to our short attention span and in some cases, use our short attention spans to our advantage! This article is all about managing projects with a short attention span, and some techniques and habits we can use to overcome it.

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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
What Is The Waterfall Model Used For In Project Management
Project Management

What Is The Waterfall Model Used For In Project Management?

Projects come in all shapes and sizes. Some projects are broad, vague and developed over time as changes and improvements are implemented. On these more complex projects, using a management method with flexibility and room for changes is of utmost importance. Other projects require a more straightforward, linear approach – complete step 1 as required, then move onto step 2 when step 1 is fully satisfied. Repeat until the project is finished. The former method is known as the Agile project management process, which we’ve recently written about. The latter approach is what we’re focusing on in this article, which is known as the Waterfall method. So what is the waterfall model used for in project management? Let’s explore!

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Pat Finnegan September 25, 2019
Overwhelmed By Big Projects? Try These 6 Essential Techniques!
Project Management

Overwhelmed By Big Projects? 6 Approaches With Metaphors & Examples

When we first take on a project, it feels like we’re given a huge block of stone – from which, we’re expected to sculpt a finely-detailed statue. Even worse, we must sculpt it within a certain amount of time, with set resources. Where do we start? What do we do first? At the very beginning, a new project can feel quite overwhelmed. It’s even easier to feel overwhelmed by big projects. There are just so many steps, phases and tasks to get right. Just as a 1,000 mile journey begins with a single step, or how the pyramids are built with one block of stone at a time, projects can be broken down into easy, bite-sized steps – all it takes is a change in our approach and strategy! In this article, we’ll discuss six approaches to large projects, along with metaphors and examples.

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Pat Finnegan September 23, 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
Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management
Project Management

Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Project Management?

Everybody knows about IQ – the “Intelligence Quotient” – which measures our problem-solving capabilities, reasoning and overall cognitive intelligence. But in recent years, there’s been a buzz around ‘EQ’, or Emotional Quotient, which measures our overall Emotional Intelligence. More specifically, our emotional intelligence represents our abilities to control and convey our emotions, as well as to empathize with other people, nurture our relationships and make conscientious judgements. While emotional intelligence seems at home in a therapy or counseling session, it’s just as important as IQ in business, too. So why is emotional intelligence important in project management? Let’s look into it.

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Pat Finnegan September 4, 2019
What Is The Agile Project Management Process?
Project Management

What Is The Agile Project Management Process? 4 Simple Techniques

We all desire to work more efficiently, improve our results and stop wasting so much time. Unfortunately, many traditional ways of doing business are becoming outdated. Working in an office eight hours a day, five days per week was once the gold standard. Now, flexible work hours and working remotely are commonplace. Conference calls have replaced meetings – heck, even conference calls are now outdated thanks to Skype and video conferencing! We all know what it feels like to space out during mind-numbing, useless meetings. The world of business is evolving quickly, and the Project Management profession is no exception. You may hear certain buzzwords echo around the industry. In this article, we’ll discuss one of the top recent trending words in project management: Agile. What is the Agile project management process exactly? Let’s find out.

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Pat Finnegan August 19, 2019

About This Topic

Management is a learned discipline. Read about all sorts of management techniques that you can use on your projects and in your team.

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