Day #42: Processes flow in PM

This week's video is not as funny as the procrastination monkey - you enjoyed it, didn't you? - but more academic instead. Side note: if you don't know what the procrastination monkey is, go check the post from last Friday. Everything else can wait!

Today's video shows the elaboration of the PMBOK processes flow, so it is very helpful to understand how that works. Besides, we can jump to the process group we are interested in: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring/controlling and closing. Besides, there are links to Ricardo Vargas website - he is the Youtuber - where we can download the processes flow in different languages and in the simplified or complex version. Very useful!

Day #40: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

As you already know, there is no better way to start the weekend than watching a fun video. This is one of my favourite TED Talks ever. I just love it! And I think it can be applied to everyone, not only project managers. 

By the way, we are starting the countdown towards the end of the course (and the blog!). Next Thursday will be the last day... so no more Friday videos. That is another reason to double enjoy Tim Urban's procrastination monkey!

Day #35: The surprising ingredient that makes businesses work better

Today it's Friday, so there is time for a new video. Motivational, inspiring... or at least not too bad, I hope. 

The speaker, Marco Alverà, is a businessman and self-considered fairness crusader. He is also CEO of Snam, Europe's largest natural gas utility. His TED Talk is about unfairness, and how it does not only affect our personal lives, but also our business or our work. If there is a fairness culture along the culture, we will get happier employees and better results.

Happy weekend!

Day #30: As work gets more complex, 6 rules to simplify

I really like to start the weekend with inspirational videos, or short talks that make me think. Today, it is a TED Talk called As work gets more complex, 6 rules to simplify. I really like the starting point: we may feel disengaged at work because businesses are more dizzy and complex... and traditional management is obsolete. 

The speaker is Yves Morieux, a senior partner at BCG who calls his approach "smart simplicity" and encourages employees to cooperate to solve long-term problems. 

Happy weekend!

Day #27: What the Heck is Project Portfolio Management?

The title may sound a bit harsh, but sometimes that is the feeling we have when going through the bibliography. So today's post is a webinar which explains what Project Portfolio Management is. The author is Jamal Moustafaev, president and founder of Thinktank Consulting and a well-known speaker and author of several books about PM. 

The webinar may be a bit long compared to other videos that I have been sharing, but that is because it is full of content. I particularly like the amount of examples he shows from around the world. I think they really help to gain a better understanding. 

First ten minutes of the webinar

As a bonus, I really recommend the website where this webinar is available. I found the video on Youtube, where the first ten minutes of the talk can be seen. But the website is called The Great IT Professional, and it is full of interesting and useful webinars. Some of them are more technical whereas others are more about leadership. In any case, they are worth checking!

Day #23: Interview with a Portfolio Manager

Sometimes it is very interesting to hear real professionals talking about their jobs. In this case, Matt Blume, a portfolio manager working in the industry is interviewed by Curated Careers. It is short but very enlightening!

Day #20: Top 10 Terms Project Managers Use

Looking for something interesting to post on Monday, I kept watching some videos from the same channel, Project Management Videos. Since today is Friday, let's finish the week with another short video that I really enjoyed. Although it is not 100% related to Portfolio Management, there is still another week to talk specifically about that...

So the name of the video couldn't be more appealing: Top 10 Terms Project Managers Use. And, in my opinion, the best part of these videos is that they are all based on the PMI and their body of knowledge. So official!

Have a nice weekend! :)

Day #16: Portfolio vs Project Management

The topic for this week is slightly different from BRM: we enter into the world of Portfolio Management. As it may sound a bit obscure, I guess it is important to clarify the differences with Project Management from the beginning. Of course, we could always relate to the suggested literature from the PMI, but sometimes it's easier if someone explains it for us. That's why today I'm bringing a video, from projectmanagement.com to learn the basics about Portfolio Management in 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Day #15: Why the secret of success is setting the right goals

We have talked a lot about the difference between deliverable products and benefits, outputs and outcomes. There is a difference between those, yet the common feeling is that we, as a company, team, or person, want to succeed. 

This TED Talk named Why the secret to success is setting the right goals is about how to succeed by choosing right objectives. John Doerr, an Americna investor and venture capitalist, presents a goal-setting system named OKRs which he has been developing and working with since the 80s. OKRs stands for Objective and Key Results, i.e. what we want to be accomplished and how we are going to do it. 

He uses Bono, Google and young entrepreneurs as an example of how objectives should be significant, action-oriented, and inspiring; and what can be achieved when we stick to them. It is an invitation for all of us to set goals not only in our professional lives, but also in the personal sphere. 

Day #6: The business benefits of doing good

I have run into this Ted Talk, given by Wendy Woods, a social impact strategist, Senior Partner of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The title is very enlightening: The business benefits of doing good.

In the talk, Wendy explains how the idea of Total Societal Impact (TSI) has gone way beyond the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The idea is that business work, done with innovation, can actually create core business benefits for companies and solve meaningful problems in the world today. As a result, TSI must be combined with TSR (Total Shareholder Returns) as important drivers of corporate strategy and decision-making. 

Then, she shows some data and gives some examples about how the value and margins of companies which actively care about TSI increase, like banks, pharmaceutical or coffee suppliers. 

I think it is a very interesting topic, since it gives a new dimension to the idea of benefits. One could think that doing good is not the most profitable activity, but this TED Talk shows the opposite. Besides, Wendy is right when suggesting that NGOs and charities are not enough to solve the most crucial problems in the world. Companies and investors are needed, and if their presence creates tangible economic benefits, then we will be sure that they won't leave. 

Wendy Woods at the TED Talk. Image from ted.com