Crosswind Project Management

Tonight I was in Arlington, Texas for the Annual Boy Scout Pancake Feed. My friend Bert Johnson (no blood relation) is one of the scout masters (I guess I am using the title correctly here?)
I guess I have attended this event for at least the last 15 years only missing one year to an unusual snow storm in early March here in North Texas.

 

It’s an amazing thing looking at the long term, operational view of things, from a project view. I say it this way in that I have seen a lot of these young boys, and girls (in the case of some sisters that help as well) grow up over the years, but typically in one year at a time increments.

 

It’s an amazing dynamic of teamwork. The community pulling together to support the boy scouts with their event. The dynamics of Bert’s father as a senior scout leader (portfolio manager) at the event, his two sons, and others as still senior leaders (program managers), and the influence they have with the young boy scouts (project managers) as they manage their own tables or areas of the food cooking and processing as they are satisfying their stakeholders needs.

 

I look forward to the field of project management continuing to evolve and get to the point where the mentoring and guidance gets established to help grow future leaders in the field of project management.

 

Just like the requirements in going from a cub scout, to weblos, to boy scout, people go from their technical fields to project and program managers in their technical fields. The work that a lot of the volunteers at the various PMI Chapters and SIGs worldwide do to help grow the profession of project management should be commended.

 

I recall in Houston giving a speech and being asked a number of questions at the end of the speech by this older gentleman. At the end as people were leaving, I asked him if I took care of his questions. He said yes, and that it was pretty decent, in that he didn’t have to roll up his pant legs once. I asked what he meant, he said I didn’t pile it on too deep.

 

I asked this man, Aren’t you PMP #1? His reply, “PMP#1, Member #3, Old Fart #8, something like that yeah, I guess”.

 

This man was at the dinner table when PMI was formed on the East Coast 40 years ago. I enjoyed speaking with him about the history that he has seen grow from the momentum of that dinner meeting four decades ago.

 

I am also reminded of a woman from our most recent PMP boot camp who has had a very good career path so far. She has worked at one place. They have put her through her bachelor degree and she is currently working on her MBA. She came to us to work toward her PMP. In our course exit interview she asked if we had a mentoring program. Truth of the matter, we don’t have a formal one, but I want to try to do anything I can to help our alumnist’s, so I explained to contact me as necessary and I would do anything I could to assist as opportunities came up.

 

As you are out managing your projects, programs and portfolio’s let’s remember what people like Bert Johnson does in Arlington, Texas, and Eric Jennett (PMP#1) have done over the years, and I try my best to do as I can, let’s remember to help grow and develop those around us. Hopefully someone did it to us years ago. Let’s pay it back, if they didn’t let’s pay it forward ( to use a phrase from that movie title).

 

Regards,
Tony

Three key words to how I roll….I think three key words to how a good long term mentality works as well.

 

Saturday we received in the mail from our Asia Pacific office a nice package. Among other things were four of our new products translated into Traditional Chinese and ten year yearbook of the PMI Taiwan chapter.

 

I always like seeing new products and services complete and available. Planning anything is nice, envisioning it is nice, but finishing something is like ice cream and pie after a good meal. Finishing something also says something about how you do things. Anyone can dream, anyone can talk, but making it a reality positions your organization to do even more in the future with the momentum you generate. It also helps with the culture of the organization and support of the leadership. If we think back to people like Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys Jimmy Johnson was at his best in December, January and February (Super Bowl). The NASCAR Jimmy Johnson has positioned himself so that as his season winds down he is in control of things, not waiting on things to happen with others to help him.
That said, Legacy is a very important thing to me. We can’t live in the past. You as a project manager can’t either. But, we can focus on the future and as we are doing things, be sensitive to how what we do impacts how we are remembered and thought of by others based on what we have done.

 

I don’t think I have ever seen a better documentation of legacy than what PMI Taiwan did with its last ten years. They had content in Chinese and English. They had events from anything that had been published in PMI magazines and photos. They had documentation about their speakers over the years, special events, etc.. It also had reference to their work with the IPMF, PMI Hong Kong, PMI Malaysia, etc. It was the sort of solid view of their history that one couldn’t help but be proud. I will admit, I was very excited and humbled to see the pictures of me in there from my work with the IPMF and chapter as well as the Crosswind logo in some of the picture backgrounds. I remember a few years ago, one of the PMI Chapters we work with in the US had a representative in Taiwan doing work with his job (not the chapter), and someone from his employer in Taiwan showed him the book she was using for her PMP Exam. He sent me a picture of the two of them and our book.  This just emphasizes how small of a world we live in. As project managers I cannot emphasize how important it is to remember the small world view. You never know how someone you have interacted with in the past can impact your future.

 

On Sunday we took a member of the Crosswind family to Crosswind (er, Cowboys) Stadium for the Chargers game. This team member is moving out of the area to start a new church and get married. He is one of my anchors that has been with us almost a decade. He earned the beyond excellence award back in 2005 with the release of our PMBOK Guide Third Edition product line. He is going to be missed, but his legacy will live on with us and he has influenced our product development team significantly. The day I passed the PgMP exam we went to the Packers and Cowboys game in 2007. The funny part was we didn’t even realize it until we were at a tailgate party and some new people started asking us our names. He said Brett and I said Tony. They said come on, really….we looked at each other and laughed. He was wearing a Brett Farve jersey and I had on a Tony Romo jersery.

 

I wanted to do something very special for Brett, as he isn’t really leaving, he just won’t be showing up as often. If that doesn’t make sense, please just trust me, it’s a Crosswind thing. Given he already had the Beyond Excellence, I didn’t know what else to do. I officially decided to raise the bar even higher. Companies like Apple, and PMI have what they call “Fellows”, for example, Eric Jennett is PMP #1 and a founder of PMI. He is a PMI fellow.  Well, we had a special diamond award created and went back to the original logo Crosswind was founded with on it, and we presented Brett with the Crosswind Fellow award.

 

It was an emotional meeting I will admit, not just for me or him, but I think we were the most visibly impacted. As he was presented the award and thanked on behalf of all of our students, partners, PMI Chapters we work with, and people that have been, are, and will be part of our team he was saying that he only did what he knew how to do, and the only way to do it. Giving the impression that he didn’t think what he did wasn’t that out of the norm.

 

I can’t remember a time I couldn’t get in touch with him day or night if needed. I also remember for almost a decade he was always there, and when it came time to transition the daily responsibilities to others so he can focus on strategic things with us while he is starting his new church. That’s how I was raised to do things as well, so it’s not out of the norm for me either. I heard the great NFL super bowl winning coach Jimmy Johnson say on Sunday “the harder you work, the luckier you get”. I recall the glory years as I call them in Cowboys history when Jimmy was coach. The way he ran things was the norm for how I try to run things and Brett ran his things. It’s not out of the norm, it’s simply how we know to do things. I hope when the dust settles on my legacy and the Crosswind legacy, we are viewed like Brett and Jimmy Johnson…always there with the needed results…..

 

Now you as a project or program manager…..Certifications such as the PMP, PgMP or CBAP are nice, but what will your legacy be? How hard are you prepared to work to be “lucky?”

 

In closing I want to mention something that I just cannot comprehend…..After leaving the Stadium Sunday we were waiting to get out of the parking lot and I heard Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips on the radio say “You haven’t lost until you have given up”. I would agree this works for 5 year old football. I have a three year old and a five year old, and I am learning how to gradually expose them to things. Although my 5 year old can state all 9 knowledge areas of the PMBOK Guide from memory (yes, I am a proud father). But the Dallas Cowboys trying to get Superbowl #6…..You haven’t lost until you have given up. That in the business world would be like every sales person who has not gotten the job done, not being removed (fired) because they were still trying, even though they couldn’t close deals to keep the company going…..Think about it, how many people do you know that have done sales that were removed for not making numbers (right or wrong). I don’t mean this as a slam on sales people, but it’s an easy example, as they create revenue which drives companies.

 

Accountability is a key phrase I think more people need to understand and buy into. I think sometime in January the Cowboys coach will likely be held accountable for his results. How much better would this world be if we were all held accountable for what we do. I recall as we were growing from a few of us doing everything to more of us doing everything with more clearly defined roles. I asked one of my staff years ago, what are you responsible for? He said “orders at Crosswind PM”. I said “What is your email address?” He said Orders@crosswindpm.com….  My response was “I am good, do you have any questions.

 

Take a good project manager.  If you understand on the PMP exam from PMI’s view, you don’t just say here is a problem, instead you go to management with a problem and potential solutions, that is a view on accountability. You (the PM) are being held accountable to deliver the project product, service, or results.  Excuses are simply things you cut through on the way to the finish line.  I read a story by Richie Sambora (Guitarist for Bon Jovi). He was talking about the late, great, innovator Les Paul. Apparently Bon Jovi was recording their New Jersey album and Sambora was having some creative block on the guitar. Les Paul showed up with a custom Les Paul Gibson guitar that he had strung up himself for the Bon Jovi guitarist. Les Paul told him something to the effect of “here is the sword now go cut through that s**t.  The album was then finished and a lifetime friendship formed.  I also recall seeing a Troy Aikman interview from years ago. He said when you are the first player than in the draft, and you are a quarterback, you are brought in to win Superbowls. There is no other reason. He understands accountability, and three superbowl rings, a ring of honor induction and a first ballot hall of fame induction. 

 

I remember someone years ago telling me the best compliment someone could pay them was having them be a project manager for them. This was because it meant that you were essentially being trusted with running part of that person’s company (the project). In 2007 we had an operations person with 20+ years experience that didn’t buy into the responsibility of us implementing our ISO system. His excuses were he couldn’t do accounting if he did ISO, he couldn’t do ISO if he took care of customers, and he couldn’t take care of customers if he did accounting. Intelligence showed those were simply that, excuses. That and some other things led to him being held accountable in a way that caused him to have to update his resume.  The ISO piece of his job was given to a staff member that has been like a Troy Aikman to Crosswind. He understands accountability and delivers, as he did with the ISO system (while only being 20 years old at the time).  Unfortunately accountability is a really simply concept, but I think you either have it or you don’t. I can’t say I have figured out how to help those understand it, who are past a certain age.  I think the world belongs to those that do get it because those that don’t will be too busy making up excuses for whatever gets in their way.

 

So in closing….
Remember what you do can impact you in the future, so be careful and not short sided (in a short phrase, DO THE RIGHT THING)

 

Be productive, it makes it easier for you to stay around and not get caught up in things that aren’t productive…..

 

Remember we all will be held accountable at some point for our actions as a project manager, program manager, etc. (Promotion, reference, new contract, removal, etc.)

 

 

2009 marks a record year in our company with over 50 new products developed. It’s been a very busy year and I hope the new year provides new opportunities for Crosswind and you as we all work to grow the fields of project management, program management and business analysis.

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!
Tony & Crosswind

About 10 days ago we made it back to Texas from PMI Congress North America 2009. For those of you not familiar with it, it’s basically the Superbowl of our industry for training companies and product providers. It’s the biggest group of project managers converged in one place each year.

I recall 5 years ago when we started attending PMI Congres letting the world see our goods and services. Toronto, Seattle, Atlanta, Denver and Orlando have held it the last five years. Next year it’s in DC and the year after that it comes home to us in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Getting ready for the event is always stressful to me as there are so many details that can slip and cause a negative experience. Also comes the concern of competitiveness. This year was very cool. It was at the Gaylord. That meant it was an all inclusive place. We stayed in our rooms at the location as well as the trade show itself was there as well. Thus, no driving back and forth.

When we arrived the first thing I noticed was the alligators or crocs (I Don’t recall which they were). They weren’t longer than 3 feet (1 meter), but seeing them lounging on the rocks, etc. was pretty cool.

We also went to a place that had a lego store. Those of you that know how I create products, you understand then that this was a key piece of the trip. We picked up a few I didn’t have and took some pictures of a lot of assembled models. A number of them were rather large with over 500,000 pieces.

We setup Saturday afternoon so we could see the football games on Sunday after the REP breakfast with the CEO of PMI. Setting up was a joy this year compared to years past. I think a lot of that had to do with our team and the fact that we arrived earlier than normal on Saturday so we had setup time that day.

Our booth packaging was totally new and I hadn’t actually seen it setup, or even opened up. I put a great deal of trust in our packaging artist and her results were world class.

Sunday night when it opened, we were slammed. Monday throughout the day we were slammed. Tuesday, you get the picture. We scanned everyone that came by our booth for anything and the scanner vendor said we had 2.5 times the amount of any other company at the show. He asked if we were scanning people as they entered the room itself. I guess our marketing plan worked as intended or better.
I still appreciate it after these years about people coming up to our booth and thanking us for helping them, asking about our new products, as the older versions worked well for them, or people that simply heard about us from someone else. Trust is a great deal with one’s ability to work. I appreciate the trust individuals and training companies put in our products and our company. A lot of other companies just don’t get it. It’s not money first, it’s people first. I recall one person from a PMI Chapter pointing to another vendors direction and saying hardly anyone pays attention to them any more, you guys have it, you know how to take care of people. Another stopped by and said, all they are is about money, you guys care about your people (students, training companies, etc.) and profit follows.

Rule 1 has always been “take care of people” at Crosswind. Every so often we make a bad hire, and realize they interview really well, but don’t really get our culture. I was so proud of our entire staff in Texas, and those of us that went to Orlando. It’s would have been the best PMI Congress in our history without all of them.

One item that surprised me as extremely popular was the Traditional Chinese version of our books and placemats for the fourth edition PMBOK Guide. Even though the majority of the audience didn’t know the language I think it was the only Chinese products in the show and people loved looking through them.

It reinforces a view I took a number of years ago. What works well globally, generally works at our home in Dallas. BUT, what works in Dallas, doesn’t necessarily work globally. I think this generally ties into portfolio management governance to ensure that we are doing the RIGHT WORK, not doing the WORK RIGHT.

That said, when we speak about portfolio management, remember to try to put yourself in the organizations shoes as it relates to portfolio management and you likely will have a better understanding of the things that those above you focus on.

Sunday marks Atlanta vs. Dallas at Crosswind (er Cowboys) Stadium. I hope Tony Romo Project Manager executes well as the Project Manager and delivers the benefit of another win. The thing that worries me is the Cowboys in KC acted like they won the superbowl  when they beat KC. Attitude as project manager goes a long way. Like Emmitt Smith said once when asked why he doesn’t spike the ball etc., replied by saying he was told by his father (or coach, I don’t recall which) to ask like you have been there before. While I loved that win with the success story of Miles Austin and his catches and yards, it’s good to act like you have done it before (as a team) in an emotional game (project).

In closing, please see our website for the leading software maniacs courses we will have coming up throughout Texas next month. We will also have some of our new CBAP and PgMP products shipping in the near future as well.

As you go about doing your projects, don’t focus on the negative side of things. You were brought in to work through those. If it’s easy anyone could do it. Focus on the team working as a unit and delivering value and benefit to the customer/company.

Regards,

Tony

Welcome all to the kickoff of the new Crosswind PM blog. I am Tony Johnson, MBA, PMP, PgMP, the CEO and Founder of Crosswind PM Inc.

I am going to see how the flow of the blog tool works here, to focus on adding value to your time in reading it, as well as perhaps causing you to expose you to something that might be new to you.

This past weekend was a weekend of firsts to a great degree. All related to project management.

On Friday night, I actually left the office early and headed to Thackerville, Oklahoma to see Journey (the rock band). This was the second concert I have seen at the Winstar Casino, and the second time I have seen Journey with Arnel Pinella (the new singer). While not “firsts”, still very new. I have read interviews about how Journey found him and what they went through to make it happen. A series of projects, or a large program I would say.

Think of it this way. Journey terminates their lead singer (Jeff Scott Soto) within a day or so of “Don’t stop beleving” appearing in the Soprano’s finale. A huge milestone for any band, then removing your singer. WOW! For quite a while they were without a lead singer. I think it was at least 4 months.

They announce they have hired Arnel Pinella as lead singer. He is from the Phillipines, and they found him on youtube.com. Neal Schon, a Journey founder was watching youtube.com for 2-3 days and looking for a singer. He was tired of finding people who had polished themselves up with protools, but couldn’t deliver in reality. Thus, he went with the raw of youtube.com. If you search for his name, or “The zoo” you will see some really bad video of his old band in the Phillipines and the quality of the voice is just wow! Some say I know it when I see it. They knew it when they heard it.

They contact him overseas. He thinks someone is playing a joke on him when someone tells him Neal Schon called for him. He learns it’s real. Goes to the embassy to apply for a visa to come to the US for the interview and audition. At the interview, the embassy staff are questioning him, and he starts singing wheel in the sky. They stamp his visa. The rest is history. I will say this. The Platinum CD, Revelation is one of the best values I have seen in any music package in 20 years. One full CD of new material, one full CD of material re-recorded with the new singer, and a concert DVD that is about an hour long. All for about $13.00 at Wal-mart.

When we think about value in project management it can be defined and measured a number of ways, but in the music sense, this is a great project concept. So far Wal-mart has secured deals with the Eagles, Journey, AC/DC and Foreigner that I am aware of, and I can’t say I pay that much attention to what Wal-Mart does with music contracts. It goes back to value though, plain and simply. We need to remember what value we are adding when we join a project or program, and what value the project or program is adding to the organization and key stakeholders. This should help create a recipe for success.

On Saturday I took my family to Crosswind (er Cowboys) Stadium. It was a season ticket holder open house.

It was a very special day in a lot of ways. I have kept track of the progress over the years. My daughter (4 years old) knows it as Tony Romo’s house. I hope it is where we win at least 5 more Superbowls in my lifetime.

Last year the final home game against the Ravens was a very dissiapointing game loosing with two long touchdown runs at the end. Then the players had to walk up the tunnel with Cowboys legends such as Roger Staubach, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in the tunnel, before the retired players were introduced in a ceremony that lowered the 5 Superbowl banners, etc. That was a very emotional event having only missed 2 home games in 20 years (and only 1 of the 2 mattered). Five Superbowls won, three of which since I have lived in Texas and been a season ticket holder. The Queen song “we are the champions” has special memories associated with each Superbowl. I think I was one of the last 100 in the stadium before it was done.

Anyway, for the final weekend of open house at the old Stadium, I took my family out there. We did the tour, ended up on the field, etc. A really cool family time. I ended up with a number of cool pictures. Two that were really cool were Nicole, Jake and myself on the star at the 50. Two generations of Crosswind, priceless. I also ended up with one of Jake and myself walking out of the section we were in. The picture was taken from behind as we were leaving. It was father and three year old son, hand in hand. It reminds me of a neighbor at the stadium. Shawn’s grandpa started bringing him to the stadium about the time I started attending and I watched him grow up to the point his grandpa passed away, then his mom brought him, then he drove his mom, now he brings his friends. It’s like at Christmas when my son got his first Roger Staubach #12 jersey. All red blooded American boys should have one of those sooner than later.

I think you see, the time at the stadium is more than simply football games.

The new stadium has been a really interesting transition and it’s not over yet. I will likely post about it more before the season is done, and hopefully ends in Superbowl #6 for the Cowboys. The Stadium itself is simply spectacular. If you haven’t been there, and have an opportunity to take a tour of it, you will be very impressed, I would speculate. Four layers of seats, public party areas, luxury lounges, opening roof, an HD screen that goes from the 20 to the 20 yard line and “smaller” screens on the short ends of the field. We were sitting in my seat area with Cowboys highlights going on the screen. My daughter Nicole (4 years old) says “look daddy, Marion Barber (she knows he is #24). Then she asks where Tony Romo is at? Priceless moments. On the other side of the screen they were playing playstation football. That’s right picture John Madden on a 60 yard wide HD TV screen.

The stadium is really a great example to me of program management. It would be hard to simply call it a project as there is just so much work to do. It was still going on while we were there, and likely will be up until the home opener.

Anyway, I am going to close for now. Remember as you do your projects and programs, don’t forget to try to be aware of all that are impacted and try to at least put yourself in their shoes. If they are key stakeholders, this should help you get a better feel for what your stakeholders need and expect from you.

Regards,

Tony