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Foundational Skills
October 11, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Management Best Practices
Foundational Skills
By Barry Otterholt
Though each project requires some unique skills, most projects share the need for a common set of foundational skills.
- Leadership - You need to visualize the end goal in a way that attracts good people who join in the desire for your vision and want to contribute.
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Interpersonal - Though you’re not in a popularity contest, people will do more for you if they like and respect you than if they don’t.
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Communication - The goal is alignment which can only come with understanding. You must opt for the most effective communications methods, which are not always the easiest or most efficient.
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Situational Assessment - You need to grasp the context and significance of a situation and trigger any of a variety of corrective actions that might be needed.
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Problem solving - You must deal with the root cause of a problem, not just the symptom.
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Quantitative methods - Manage by the numbers, not by anecdotal evidence. Require proof that the project is on schedule, on budget, and of needed quality.
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Sampling - You need a “trust but verify” philosophy, which means you have to sample performance so you can give direction where performance is less than expected. Sampling means measuring units over time. It also means sampling quality as the project emerges.
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A bias for prevention - Time spent on success is more inspiring and cost-efficient than time spent on problems. Implement practices that prevent problems.
If you master these skills, other important skills will necessarily follow.
Barry Otterholt, CMC, PMP
Barry Otterholt has been a project management specialist and coach for the past 30 years. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Project Management Professional (PMP). He works with both public and private sector companies in the USA, Europe and Scandinavia. Mr. Otterholt was a Director with Microsoft, a senior consultant with Deloitte Consulting, and a COO with a nationwide consumer electronics enterprise. In 1988 he founded Public Knowledge, LLC to provide independent management and operational support to the public sector. More recently, he founded Stouffer & Company, LLC to provide as-needed project management services to fill an obvious skills gap in both private and public sectors.
Mr. Otterholt is an adjunct professor teaching project management at Northwest University. His essays on project management have been published in PMI newsletters. His runs a blog, Project Management Essays, where he muses about various project management topics.
Mr. Otterholt is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) and the Project Management Institute (PMI). He has a BA in Accounting and Computer Science and an MBA in Business Administration. He lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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