Thursday, June 26, 2008

Dance Your Way to Project Management Success


RUMBA- The Fail Proof Project Management Dance


To interact with another is a complicated endeavour; project management is likened to dancing; it is a complicated, yet unified balance which requires total focus and complete awareness. RUMBA is a key component in the success of managing an efficient project.


REASONABLE- Interaction and direction within a project team should be Reasonable at all times; communicating reasonable goals aide in the balance between progress and success of the project with the importance of personnel management. Creating reasonable goals or ideas, staff will “buy in” and personalize the task at hand.


UNDERSTANDABLE- By verbalising tasks, goals and directions in an understandable way, you will ensure that your staff and Project Team are on the same page. Many times, it will take a variety of meetings or communicative methods to unify; by providing the communication in an Understandable and clear way, success is right around the corner!


MEASURABLE- When the goal is too large or the message is too broad, teams can become disillusioned and will often give up, making it a complicated challenge for the best Project Managers. By offering ideas and messages that are measurable and realistic, the team will be able to understand how and when they will reach the goal. Once the Goal is attained and measured, there will be a sense of accomplishment and pride through the group. By creating MEASURABLE goals for your group, they will feel inspired and will continue to work towards the next measurable task.


BELIEVABLE- Believe in your project! Set the stage and demonstrate your belief in what the end result is and what the success of the project will mean. If the role, goal or direction is not a subject that is believable, what would be the point of trying to accomplish it? The best Project Managers instil a belief and expectation that this goal and project can be and will be successful. When you create belief for the project and vision, connection grows; when teams have a connection to the project, they will want to see it succeed.


ACHIEVABLE- Project Managers often lay out the plan for the whole project at the kick off meetings, yet they often leave out the crucial aspect of explaining specific and achievable milestones. How can a team buy into a goal that has a scope that is too broad? Why would they want to? A goal that is achievable is definable, measurable and offers incentive; an achievable goal should offer personal connection to stimulate the personal achievement. In order to create achievable goals, Project Managers should communicate specific milestones and offer assistance for the achievement of the small milestones and large, completed project.


RUMBA is a dance that Project Managers will need to be experts at in order to create a team that works towards the project goal as efficiently and systematically as the Project Manger does, although in this dance, someone’s got to lead! To Learn More about RUMBA and how to enhance your Project Management skills, Advance Corporate Training offers many advanced courses in the Project Management field. Contact us at our office at 604.521.5473 for more information on how you can fine tune YOUR Project Management Skills!

Monday, June 23, 2008

How Advance Corporate Training incorporates brain-based learning

Advance Corporate Training Ltd. (ACT) is a brain-based learning specialist - our logo represents the six key secrets to ensuring learning takes hold in the learner and can transfer back to the workplace. Here are the six secrets and why engaging each one of them encourages higher learning levels.

Personal Relevance
(Association Cortex)
When we associate learning with what we already know, we are more open to a new idea. Info that supports our existing knowledge is better retained and transferred on-the-job.

Kinesthetic Learning
(Motor Cortex)
When we are engaged physically while learning, our brain operates more efficiently and we are better able to apply learned skills consistently.

Emotion & Engagement
(Somatosensory Cortex)
Emotion is often missing in many adult learning environments. When we emotionally connect to the material we learn more and deeper. ACT designs all its courses to engage this cortex.

Auditory Learning
(Auditory Cortex)
When we listen and speak we deepen our understanding. This cortex needs time to engage, so the start of all conversations should be “losable” data.

Visual Learning
(Visual Cortex)
We all need to have visual stimulation to be energized by learning. If we visualize our changed performance, we are more able to achieve it.

Broca's Area
Our ability to communicate clearly and to understand complex concepts is controlled here. Without learning that engages this area of the brain, we know but we don't understand and can't share our knowledge. True learning occurs after we achieve understanding, and performance change can not occur without understanding. This area was identified in 1861 by Pierre Paul Broca to be the “seat of articulation”.

Quick lesson on leadership

Here is a great "quick read" on leadership...