Have you been following our Project Management Basics series? In our Quick Start-Guide to Methodologies, we cover various project management approaches. We've also distilled the essentials and created an infographic that's easy to reference and share with colleagues. Without further ado, here's the infographic to help you run your team and improve your project management experience: Embed
You read all the literature on micromanagement. You avoid forcing your ideas on your colleagues and friends whenever possible. But you still worry about whether or not you are coming across in a helpful, positive light. ...Or maybe this quiz suddenly appeared in your inbox from an anonymous sender? According to a survey from the book My
With every new project comes the risk of a new project crisis (or two or three). As a project manager, you can't be scared to start just because you're worried about what might go wrong. Instead, it's better to fully prepare yourself for any possibility, and then calmly deal with whatever comes your way. In every
Good product development is crucial to your company's success, whether it's a small business startup or a huge corporation. Product delays or failures can mean falling behind competitors, or (worst case scenario) a failed launch. When developing your next product, look to the Wright brothers for Lean project management lessons to help your project soar. Want
With the start of fall and a new football season, we can't help but notice the similarities between kicking off football and kicking off new projects. The contracts have been signed, hands shaken, and you’re now officially hired to lead a new project. Get ready to roll up your sleeves — now the real work
As a career manager or even a first-time manager, the chance of encountering difficult employees is, unfortunately, very high. You need to prepare yourself in advance to handle the situation without causing additional problems. Even if you're one of the lucky managers who doesn't have a chronically cranky member on the team, there will always
Launching a crowdfunding campaign may be exciting, but it's also exhausting. Use this checklist to get you through the hectic months ahead. It's broken up into pre-launch, launch, and post-campaign sections to help you stay organized (and sane) at each stage. Good luck! (See also our Definitive Guide to Crowdfunding Sites Infographic.) Want to share this infographic
Let's be honest: meetings su-- ahem, aren't fun. We've all been there: trapped around a conference table, air conditioning set to "arctic blast," listening to a manager's endless monologue about customer acquisition strategies or abstract quarterly goals. At best, you might get a free pastry. At worst, it's an utter waste of your time. Here's the good news:
Are your projects thriving? Or are they suffering from swelling budgets, sluggish progress, and strained deadlines? If your hard work is constantly in danger of flatlining, know this: you’re certainly not alone. There’s an epidemic of failed projects afflicting businesses of all sizes, with organizations hemorrhaging hundreds of millions of dollars in lost funds. In the
In the last few years, the crowdfunding scene has exploded. Now there are hundreds of platforms to choose from, with more popping up every day. But which crowdfunding site is best for your small business? Or charitable cause? We covered 26 Top Crowdfunding Sites by Niche, and now we've created an infographic with all the
According to Information Week, 87% of high-performing companies use a project management tool to complete daily work and and meet their business goals. But why? What are the benefits? What kinds of teams need project management software? And how do they go about choosing the right tool? Learn all the “how”s and “why”s in this infographic: Share
Startup success isn't just about the perfect product. Now the emphasis is on speed: faster ideation, faster iterations, faster time to market. Startups are even told to "fail fast." But where do successful startups invest their precious time? And what are the costliest time management mistakes? Here are the top 5 time wasters to avoid. Failed
Let's play a game. Would you rather: A) Sit through an hour-long status meeting in a frigid conference room with no windows B) Pull out your own tooth with a rusty pair of pliers How many of you had to consider your actual preference for a moment? Ok, all joking aside, meetings may not be quite that bad.
Navigating the highly competitive job market can be brutal. In a recent Jobvite survey, nearly three in four respondents said they believe finding a job has become much harder following the pandemic. It’s clearer now more than ever how important it is for your resume to stand out. In fact, nearly 24% of hiring managers spend
Summer no longer carries the same meaning once you pass childhood. Before, summer meant school's out, movie dates, picnics, and warm nights. Now, summer only means that it's going to be hotter in the office. It's not easy to stay productive when the sun is tempting you to skip work and go outside — but it
Startup businesses need adequate funding to support operations. But there are a lot of myths around financing for startups that make the process more complex and prolonged than it needs to be. For example, while most entrepreneurs assume venture capital will be their primary source of funding, only 6% of all startups actually receive anything from
In order to be successful marketing your business in social media, you need to invest time and resources, and understand what is targeting in marketing. This decision tree helps you see if you're ready to launch a full-scale social media effort that will lead to more attention and business leads. Will your company's social media efforts
Studies report that happy workers are 31% more productive, with up to 37% higher sales and three times the creativity as the rest of your workforce (Harvard Business Review). Isn't that enough incentive to keep your people happy as they spend upwards of eight hours a day contributing to your bottom line? The infographic below shows
Some days are just harder than others. It's the end of a week, or the day after a holiday, or there was yet another office birthday. (Cake-coma, anyone?) When your team is having a hard time focusing on their work, don't just sigh and hope things will change soon. You can actively help them jump back
Conflict is a reality of the working world. You deal with different people every day, people with varying perspectives, opinions, and convictions. When contrasting opinions and dynamic personalities collide, expect conflict and disagreements. As with anything in a professional setting, a little politeness goes a long way to help diffuse the situation.
Vacations, weddings, long weekends camping.... with so many wonderful distractions, the last thing you want is to be stuck under your office's fluorescent lights instead of gorgeous oceanside sunlight. Unfortunately, unless your managers are just as distracted as you are, you still need to get stuff done between June and August. So if you find yourself