Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

For several classes I've taken and organizations I've worked with, I had the opportunity to take the Strengths Deployment Inventory. This is a tool to help you understand your strengths and those of your peers. It's based on decades of research into what makes people successful at work. So let's examine what it takes to identify strengths and how they can positively impact project teams.

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In the year 2022, data sits at the heart of every successful business and many important projects. Learning how to analyze datasets can empower your business to improve marketing, streamline operations, mitigate risks and transform your business model. If you are a new project manager wondering how data can help you, here’s what you need to know.

What Is Data Analytics?

Data analytics...

We've all broken someone's trust at some point in our personal or professional lives. I was recently asked if broken trust can be repaired. The short answer is yes. However, it is going to take a lot of work.

Maybe you were in the wrong, and perhaps they were, but that doesn't change how damaging these situations can be for relationships. Fortunately, there are ways to repair the relationship...

People are more likely to succeed when they work on a common goal. Working with others allows you to use your skills and knowledge in ways that help you achieve the best results. Remember, you will want those around you to recognize what you want and help you reach it, so treat them the same way. Focus on what needs to be done. Use these tips to learn how best to work with others.

Helping...

If you're a project manager, creating a good work environment is key to inspiring your team to do their best work. But what exactly does "a good work environment" mean? Here are four things that make for a motivating workplace.

The most critical ingredient in creating a motivating work environment is good people. They're the ones who can help you move your company forward and achieve goals, so...

With outstanding leadership comes great responsibility. For example, suppose you are a project leader, whether a project manager or team lead. It's up to you to communicate clearly with your team and manage their expectations. Luckily, there are some things that you can do as a leader to make this process easier.

Your ability to lead is a skill that you can improve with practice and patience....

There's nothing more daunting than a long list of urgent tasks.  When everything is urgent, it's hard to know where to start.  So here are four tips for taming your to-do list when everything is or at least seems to be urgent.

Eliminate or postpone those you can.  It's easy to feel overwhelmed by competing demands.  This is especially true if you are in a role where you have...

Despite many internet articles to the contrary, PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) and FPA (Function Point Analysis) estimates can be valuable for many projects outside of software-related industries and not just for scheduling.

PERT estimates are a part of a more extensive system and was designed to focus on schedules.  Its benefit is that it mathematically provides everything an...

[Project managers take note!  Starting a business from scratch and without capital is something you may do if you want to start a private practice.  Plus starting a project from scratch without capital is very similar.]

When you have little to no startup capital, founding a business can feel like climbing a mountain. Fortunately, the digital revolution has made starting up easier and...

This week, I was asked by someone to define leadership.  In addition, they asked if leadership was something that could be taught.  So let's look at each of these questions, one at a time.

There are three essential elements to leadership:

1. A leader is someone who guides, influences, and manages people by influence, not authority or power.  Therefore, leadership has nothing to do...