The Smartest Guy in the Room Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. A book called “The Smartest Guys in the Room” chronicled the Enron crisis and how it crashed a substantial portion of the American economy. The story is about people who […]

Posted by Bill Carney Over the course of his 35+ year career in project planning, project scheduling, and project controls, Bill has worked with many industries and types of projects. To be a successful Project Manager, one must have the right skills. Below are top skills of a Project Manager who can make things happen. […]

The Oracle State of Mind Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. These times are a changing… so adapt and party on. The year 1989 seems like a forever ago. In May, I got engaged. In August, I went to my first Primavera […]

The PowerPoint Pothole: Another obstacle to project management Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. A cousin to the magic spreadsheet is the PowerPoint pothole—a place to bury mission-critical information. And often, people think PowerPoint is the ultimate tool for project management. The NASA space […]

Projects: Mowing the lawn vs. cutting the grass My younger brother John used to mow our neighbor, Theo Ferg’s, lawn. One week, John had a football camp to go to so I volunteered to substitute for John. Heck, I needed the money, and he wasn’t home, so I figured we might as well keep it […]

Sexy Project Management Reporting Project Management Reporting (PMR) will never teeter on the brink of being X-rated, but it shouldn’t be painfully boring, either. One thing is for certain, though: The planning, timelines and other pertinent information in a project management report, which are critical to the project, need to be effectively communicated to appropriate […]

The importance of the right game plan One of the keys to a successful project is that the entire project team works from the same playbook. Too often, project managers assume that everyone associated with the project understands exactly what is going on, but this is a dangerous assumption. Although everyone on the project team […]

Project Rule 73: Recognize the security of atrophy Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. Job security and impact on salary are the most important parts to understanding change management. Virtually all employee motivation is derived from these two basic components. Other motivators […]

Project Scheduling: Theory Matters Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. Having a solid grasp on theory is a crucial prerequisite to building successful project schedules. A real-world example Alexis, my wife, is an awesome musician. She has won several music competitions, is […]

On a trip to Paris, I headed away from, instead of toward, the Seine River and wound up elsewhere. A little freaked, my wife panicked and started to worry about our safety. My reply was simple, “Be lost with confidence and no one will bug us.” Working on a project without a baseline is like […]

P3 Tips, with Bill Posted by Bill Carney Over the course of his 35+ year career in project planning, project scheduling, and project controls, Bill has worked with many industries and types of projects. Do you know what DATA DATE is? The P3 DATA DATE is the first available day to begin or continue work […]

Popular Question 52: Is there an advantage to a cost-loaded project schedule? Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. One of the questions I get asked a lot is: What is the advantage to a cost-loaded schedule for my project? In particular, if […]

Can you sidestep potholes in your project management process? The Magic Spreadsheet: An obstacle to project management Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. During my time on the road in project management consultation, one of the most fascinating things I see is […]

The Oracle State of Mind Posted by Jim Bratsakis Jim Bratsakis relishes sharing knowledge and ideas that result in productivity gains for individuals and corporations. These times are a changing… so adapt and party on. The year 1989 seems like a forever ago. In May, I got engaged. In August, I went to my first Primavera […]