Hi -

 

Today's newsletter contains the top 5 articles from my social media network of project managers, PMOs and software developers.  Before we jump into the articles, I wanted to update you on my recent trip to the PMI conference in Orlando, Florida. 

 

If you are a member of PMI, then you may have heard the PMI is transitioning all special interest groups (SIGS) to a new format - the PMI Communities of Practice.  I was recently nominated to join the steering committee for the HR Virtual Communities of Practice for the Project Management Institute.  It is an interesting opportunity as building a PM community of practice across all disciplines is of interest to me.

 

PMI has currently launched the following communities of practice:

 

If you are a current member of PMI, you can access the communities for free by simply logging on at:

The content for the CoPs are growing so be sure to contribute some content and collaborate with your fellow PMs.

 

If you've followed my blog for some time now, you know I'm a huge fan of mind mapping.  Mindjet has also launched their mind mapping application for iPhone.  How cool is that!  Mindjet has a ton of great software and now that it is available on the iPhone and it can be exported to your desktop version is exciting news for the project manager on the go.

 

Tactical Tuesday Must Read #2: Focus on 3 niches when working with small business

 

If you  a consultant, you'll enjoy this article on 3 key areas to focus on when consulting with small businesses.

TechRepublic always has good technical and management related articles.

 http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-manager/?p=2211
Another career development article about pushing your career in an uncharted territory.  If your job is currently tanking in the current economy, this article will give you some great advice on how to shift your thinking.

 

 

At the PMI conference, Dr. Bradt was the key note speaker on leadership.  Usually, I don't think too much of the keynote speakers because it is rare that they say something that I can go and apply.  I was proven wrong by Gary's 2 speeches (one on Wednesday and one on Saturday).  He told several inspiring stories that apply to your own life and how you approach adversity and opportunity.

 

The key takeaway that I found in his speech focused on defining your own values and managing your career by those values.  I know it sounds easy to say but when you list the top pieces of advice you'd tell your son, you suddenly realize your core values.  I found his work to be really inspiring and practical.  His book is definitely worth a look.

I thought you'd appreciate another recipe from the Prime Cuts blog.  I've been looking for a good marinara sauce and I think I found it!

 

Our Tactical Tutorials are doing great!

Just a special note of thanks to all my clients who've purchased the latest Tactical Tutorial on how to analyze and report project status with Microsoft project.  I'm starting a new engagement this week and the Metrics in Minutes schedule analyzer will definitely be put to work.

• MS Project Tutorial #1: How to Effectively Build a Project Schedule with Microsoft Project
• MS Project Tutorial #3: How to Effectively Analyze and Report Project Status with Microsoft Project