Welcome to Mary Rownd! Mary’s story is the latest in our series “How Did I Get Here?” Mary has a background in Marketing and enjoys working in the Digital Project Management space. Here’s her story. When did you first decide to become a project manager? Starting out, I was a Marketer and used my PM skills to manage million dollar marketing campaigns, manage cooperatives and […]
I spent years as a corporate project manager, managing all types of projects from software documentation and training development to data warehouse infrastructure construction and server tech refresh. Lately, as a freelance writer, I find that the principles of project management are still relevant. All writing projects require some degree of task management. Let’s talk about the most popular content development projects: whitepapers, case studies, […]
Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. ~ Peter Drucker The contents of a project plan document is not a mystery to a project manager. In the past, I’ve focused on the problem statement, scope statement, and deliverables related to projects. You can find that article here. Here, I’m going to answer the question – what else do I put […]
So, you’ve got content and you’ve got vision – but you’re not seeing results. What to do? Over the past year, I’ve been helping a few small businesses with their content needs as a content project manager. My background is project management, training, technical writing and communication for much larger companies. Even though these companies are small, they have some of the same problems I’ve […]
Another phone call. Another change on your thorniest project. You roll your eyes, thinking, “How did I get stuck with this mess?” The never-ending project. The never-ending project sneaks up on you. Over time, you’ve made so many changes that it seems normal that in your team meeting, you’re changing direction yet again. The sponsor is excited to get their new vision created. You’re just […]
Now that winter is nearly over, folks are starting to think about those home improvement projects that they want to do over the summer. So, while staring at the blizzard outside, here’s a quick primer on using project management techniques for your home projects. Know your outcome Before you get started, know what you want to accomplish. If it’s painting the house, imagine what the […]
If you’re a project manager for a small company, you have a unique set of job-related issues. You’re probably the only person managing projects and may have responsibilities for several different types of projects – marketing, internal processes, or customer product development. Here are a few tips to make your job a bit easier. Get systems in place One of the biggest challenges small companies […]
Team execution is vital Whether you’re a small business with a small group of employees, or a manager in a large organization there are always a few initiatives that need a team to complete. How do you help the team be successful? Here are a few tips to improve team execution. Define the deliverable For many teams, the main barrier to execution is the lack […]
Small businesses are often in a quandary. They’ve got lots of things to do, but often few resources. How to determine when it’s best to formally plan a project or just do it without a plan? For many small companies, much of this is determined by the owner or the manager. What is important to accomplish? Projects are developed because the deliverable is important to the […]
With all the marketing hype and material out there, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest software tools. Many of these tools can make a big difference in your business, streamlining processes and maybe even bringing in more revenue. How does a busy business owner know whether or not a tool will help, or just drain the life out of your limited human […]
