Instructor Interviews

George Sifri, PMP

George Sifri worked for ten years in designing, and implementing information technology systems for Consolidated Contractors International, a worldwide corporate conglomerate. George supervised the software engineering projects for the company, a global leader in the planning and execution of heavy civil, mechanical, and electrical construction projects, such as bridges, roads, industrial plants, utilities, and other large-scale, commercial infrastructures.

Established in 1950 and headquartered in Athens, Greece, Consolidated Contractors International employs more than 35,000 people. George developed and administered technical training courses for the company’s software engineers, and devised the software engineering procedures within the company.

A talented instructor, George delivers project management courses on five continents for some of the largest corporations in the world.

Q. When you are teaching project management, what are the principles you hope your students will take away from the course?

Project management has been described as “The Accidental Profession” for a long time. Most of our students acquire project management knowledge in a hit-or-miss fashion and not through a systematic, structured methodology. What we try to teach at ESI are “Best Practices” that have been accumulated through out the years and proven to be successful. In addition, the instructor will add his/her own experiences. Furthermore, we try to keep our participants alert to the current research and trends in project management. All of these are delivered in a structured methodology, which allows them to immediately put this information in practice. If we want to capture these messages in three sentences:

“A project is a problem scheduled for solving”

“If you do not plan your project, you plan to fail”

“Project management is planning your work effectively and working your plan efficiently”

What are some of the common project management mistakes you see?

Most of the pitfalls of project managers can be attributed to a failure in planning. Following is a partial list of common mistakes:

• The project is short in duration we do not have time to plan
• There is no time for planning but there is time for fixing it later
• We will document the work later
• Let us stop planning and start doing some real work
• I do not have time for risk management
• I will deal with the threat when it occurs.
• I can always accelerate my schedule by working overtime
• Normal working time is 12 hours per day
• Quality is expensive
• I do not have time to implement a change management procedure
• It is a simple project very similar to a previous one; no need for planning
• Let us first build the product and we will check the requirements later
• For the project to be approved, you have to come up with this price

Q. What are the concepts of project management that seem more difficult for managers to adhere to?

One of the most difficult concepts to adhere to by managers is the fact that we need to invest time in order to save time. Companies are trying to be more flexible, efficient, and competitive. These objectives cannot be achieved if companies do not reuse their acquired knowledge. Thus, we need to have the processes and the infrastructure for capturing this knowledge and continuously updating it. This necessitates considerable investments in people, processes, and technologies. The challenge is whether they want to make this investment or not?

Q. What are some of the major trends in project management?

I believe that currently one of the major trends is virtual project management; managing projects with distributed team members and utilising the World Wide Web as a central repository for project information. In order to enhance its competitive position and to increase profitability, an organisation must be more effective in managing project details, controlling costs, allocating resources and adhering to an optimised schedule.

On the other hand, business processes are, increasingly, becoming virtual processes, staffed on the fly by transient teams and distributed across the globe. In order to satisfy these conflicting requirements, management needs a structured, integrated and fully scalable solution for coordinating people, teams, resources and projects that are distributed throughout the enterprise.

The ability to “work side-by-side worldwide” is impossible to achieve without shared storage and concurrency control. The proliferations of new communication technologies, such as the World Wide Web, are creating unique opportunities for corporations to develop new coordination and communication strategies. These strategies focus on managing projects across time and space. The Web provides a reliable, inexpensive and instantaneous, 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, worldwide access to a centralised repository of project management information.

Q. Students in your classes say they enjoy your presentation of the material. What is your approach to teaching?

First, to be successful in this profession you have to be “in love” with it. You have to feel that you are enjoying every single bit of it. You have to feel that you miss it. You have to treat it the same way you treat your most beloved person. You have to invest in it time, money, and effort. The more you invest, the more are the rewards. The instant that you feel bored you should stop teaching.

Second, the most important asset that you have is your knowledge and experience. Students do not come to class for you to recite the information contained in the binders, they want your experience in the field. If you cannot relate your experience to the course or you are not willing to share it, then instructing is not your ideal profession.

Third, keep in mind that the cumulative project management experience of the students in any class is most probably more than yours, so open your eyes and ears and learn from your students. Frequently, I have got solutions for some of the consulting work that I was working on from my students. I still remember the recommendation made by one of my students in India that I have implemented and it worked beautifully.

Fourth, every session is unique. It is a project. It has to be initiated, planned, executed, controlled, and closed out. Take every session very seriously although it may be this is your 30th time delivering this course. Keep energising your students especially early in the morning and directly after lunch. Finally, the more they are engaged in focused discussions, the more they enjoy the class. It is your job to get and keep them involved!

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Jane Parslow, PMP

Jane Parslow, an instructor with ESI International, started working in the training, IT, and project management fields in 1982. Since then she has been involved in numerous industries including oil and petrochemicals, construction, engineering, IT, defence and aerospace, research and development, government, pharmaceuticals, banking, and retail.

She worked for Metier Management Systems (now Artemis) for four years, where she trained end users in the use of project management software and managed the production of training courses and documentation for the entire product range. In 1987, Jane joined Computer Science Corporation and managed aspects of various projects for clients in central and local government, including the Inland Revenue (computerisation of PAYE) and the Patent Office (automated application processing).

Jane has been a project management consultant since 1990. She has facilitated training sessions in project management and planning techniques, risk management, managing the project team, communications, and organisational issues. Jane also provides consulting services in the application of specific techniques within organisations, validating project initiation, developing project management processes, implementing project management software, and establishing project standards. She also provides training in several project management software applications.

Q. What's your approach to teaching in the classroom?

I try to emphasise that people’s learning only starts in the classroom. It’s there that we can introduce the tools and techniques, and provide an opportunity to try out new concepts. However, it’s when the project manager returns to work, and has to apply those techniques to their own projects, that the true learning takes place. I encourage students to think about how the theory will work in practice in their own organisations, and to discuss that with their fellow students. Not only will individual project managers find it easier to introduce the new techniques, but their projects will also see the benefits far more quickly.

Q. What project management principles do you stress in the class?

I believe project management is not much more than structured common sense. It’s just that during times of great activity and change most of us lose the structure (and sometimes the common sense!). I emphasise that the more structure a PM can introduce early in the project, the more of a support he or she will have when times get tougher. The tools we provide act as the ‘scaffolding’ for the project and give us something to fall back on

The essential principle is that ‘a stitch in time saves nine’; the earlier we can establish some guidelines and think through what might happen later, the easier it is to get buy in from everyone involved.

Q. What comments do you hear most from students?

I think the most common question is “when will our senior management be taking this course?” It is sometimes quite a challenge for an individual project manager to introduce new ideas when they don’t have the support of their bosses or project sponsors. I always try to get people to prioritise the changes they want to make, and to try introducing just one or two new ideas at a time. Once you can demonstrate clear benefits of using a new technique it becomes easier to introduce others.

Another comment I hear a lot is “I didn’t realise that such a simple technique could be so useful”. I love to see the light bulb switching on above someone’s head as they realise that their job could be made much easier, and that it actually takes less time and effort to do it better.

Q. What are the concepts of project management that seem more difficult for managers to adhere to?

It is sometimes hard to move away from the “let’s just do it” attitude. Project Managers need time to stop occasionally and think things through. They need to look at the big picture rather than get tied up in the detail. It is difficult to do that when everyone is pushing you to “just deliver”. Personal time management is an important aspect of the PM’s life and can be forgotten.

Of course, it is easier to get things done (and to get the time to manage effectively) if the PM can involve the team more. When it’s proving difficult to get project management concepts accepted by the organisation, the project manager can end up doing it all themselves, and it’s important to realise that the load can be shared.

Q. What are some of the major trends in project management?

In the twenty years that I’ve been involved in project management, the most noticeable trend is the huge growth in the number of projects being carried out. As we all know, the amount of change now is significantly greater than ever before and, as every change needs a project to carry it out, we are all getting involved in projects in some shape or form.

If an organisation has more projects to manage, and more money being spent on projects, they need to manage them more cleverly than previously. So there has also been an increase in the use of structured project management techniques, and a growing recognition that we all need to be better at planning and controlling all aspects of a project.

Q. What is the value of earning a Master's Certificate in today's job market?

Employers are recognising that ‘Project Manager’ is more than a job title; it is a combination of experience and application of practical techniques that makes a successful project manager. The Master’s Certificate recognises a student’s ability – not just in academic knowledge of techniques, but also in applying them to a range of situations. It sets a standard, and helps to distinguish the true project manager from the task manager.

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Mike Lavery

Mike Lavery, an instructor with ESI International, is a management consultant with more than 25 years experience in developing the leadership skills of cross-functional and multicultural business units in Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. He specialises in the development of project teams from their formation, teaching managers and team members the communication skills needed for each phase of their project and helping them to achieve enhanced business opportunities.

Before becoming an independent consultant in 1994, he held a key position at 3M Corporation, where he was responsible for the training and development of project team members in research and development, manufacturing, sales, marketing, and finance. He was also responsible for designing and delivering international senior management development programmes aimed at influencing business growth through humanistic leadership.

Mike was educated in the UK and holds a higher national diploma in business studies from Cornwall College and a post-graduate teaching certificate. He also holds a diploma in training and development and is a corporate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK. Mike is also a graduate of the Institute of Counselling in Scotland and holds fellowships from two management institutes. In 1997, he was awarded the title of Master Trainer by the Master Trainer Institute in France.

Q. What are some of the most frequently asked questions you hear in Project Leadership classrooms. And how do you typically answer them?

• What’s the point in doing FIRO B? (An instrument to measure wanted and displayed inclusion, control and affection).What’s it got to do with projects!?
  
  It has a lot to do with LEADING people through projects. It helps you to understand yourself better and to understand the priorities, sensitivities and motivations of other – which may differ from your own. It’s about respecting differences.

• All this coaching and supporting is OK but I don’t have time for it. What can I do? There are only 24 hours in a day!
  
  Seriously review your time management. If you are not available for coaching and supporting people then you are not doing your job properly. Make time for these activities.
  
  The more time you spend on coaching and supporting, the sooner your people will be able to work without supervision and you will have provided them with real responsibility and ownership. In the long term you will save an enormous amount of time by encouraging independence. Over-coaching and over-caring can result in the opposite - dependence – which we don’t want. It will rob you of even more of your valuable time. Try to get the balance right. Revisit your priorities as a project leader.

• All this leadership, management and communications stuff is just common sense. Do we really need to be taught it?
  
  True, most of it is plain common sense. We make a lot of decisions which are based on intuition rather than facts or analysis. Call it common sense if you like, that’s OK. What we want to provide you with are some models to help you when common sense needs a little help or working on intuition is not good enough. For example in dealing with conflicts concerning people, we offer five possible courses of action to help resolve the situation. Before jumping in to spontaneously resolve a conflict, take a deep breath and within a second or two you could have chosen the most appropriate way of handling a critical conflict with possible long-term negative consequences. If you only use one way of resolving conflicts then you might even be seen as being inflexible. Even ineffective. Try some of the concepts out in practice. They are useful – and a great aid to common sense.

Q. When teaching project leadership, management, and communications what is the main principle which you hope people will take away?

The main principle which I hope people take away is that they lead people in a humanistic, fair and professional manner.

Although the topic of project leadership is a "soft" skill I feel that it is one of the core factors in the success of any venture. Old fashioned table-banging, ranting and raging dictatorial behaviour might work in the short term but on projects which need to capture and embrace the skills, commitment and passion of its team members it is out of place in today’s quick reacting, customer focused business environment.

We have come a long way since Machiavelli suggested that it is better to be feared than respected. We have learned from Darwin that there is a pecking order. The Alpha Chicken is the first to get to the food and is healthy, brightly plumed and always up front. The Beta Chicken is in pretty good shape as well. But...look at the poor Omega chicken, last in the pecking order. Demotivated and hungry with a touch of a chicken inferiority complex.

Situational Leadership, which we use on our course, is a globally accepted model which illustrates that the leader’s behaviour should be flexible enough to recognise how to act in a given situation and above all bear in mind where project team members are in their project related development. With the opportunity to experience changing leadership, or "leadershift" in projects we should not be perceived as the mighty Alpha Chicken, nor should we allow any team member to feel like the seriously disadvantages Omega Chicken – the last to be informed, the last to be recognised.

The greatest challenge in trying to teach the principles of humanistic management is that people are wary of anything which invites them, gently nudges them or is seen to force them to change their behaviour. We adults all have our unique characters and personalities which have taken a lifetime to develop and have firmly anchored themselves in our hearts and minds. Along comes an ESI instructor and suggests that in managing projects it is necessary to adjust ones behaviour to help team members though every stage of the project bearing in mind who they are and what they know.

Furthermore, this ESI instructor tells them that there are very useful rules in helping people through change. For example, just telling people that they are to be strategically relocated or that their resources have been heavily axed, going away having a cup of tea and assuming that your news has been accepted and willingly acted upon, is living in a PM’s cuckoo land. What I really want people to take away, reflect upon and put into practice is the ability to modify their behaviour in order to help lead people successfully through projects.

I want them to inspire, motivate and be honest with their people. I want them to provide their team with a clear vision of what the project wants to achieve and get real commitment from every contributor. These all sound very noble, maybe intangible, goals. However, if the basic principles of leadership are not respected and practised then we will be poor project managers.

In this competitive business world we all want to be above average in order to survive and maintain our sanity and bank accounts. Successful project leadership, management and communication is not simply "being nice" to people in order to get them to perform. It is not about being soft as opposed to hard. It is definitely not about manipulating people to do what you want them to do. It is about having the sensitivity to lead humans through a structure known as a project, with efficiency, dignity and if it can be managed, passion.

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Pete Dunton, PMP

Pete Dunton, an instructor with ESI International, is a project management consultant in the UK, with more than 30 years experience in the IT industry and 15 years experience in project management.

Pete specialises in project management methodology, techniques, and practices, with a particular emphasis on education, training, and running facilitated workshops to promote project management skills and ultimately project success. He is an advocate of the facilitated workshop in the identification and definition of projects to ensure they begin on the right basis.

Pete has worked with clients in IT application and infrastructure implementation projects across a wide range of industries. Recently, he has concentrated on business projects in which he has advised clients and trained their staff. He lectures both nationally and internationally on the aspects of managing business-related projects and in 1996 won the APM's prestigious Sir Monte Finniston Award for contribution to the art and science of project management.

Before joining the project management professional community at IBM, Pete worked as a technical specialist within education and marketing services.

Q. What's your approach to teaching in the classroom?

I like to illustrate all the important points being made by pictures on the flip chart, using the 4 colour pens to differentiate and augment the points being made. These are referenced time and time again as the discussion flows and questions are asked during the course. Most importantly, project management can only be taught, in my view, on a project lifecycle basis, to tell the story of the project from start to finish. This lends itself to a series of developing pictures throughout the course. There is no mystique to project management and we use it in our everyday lives. In some respects a lot of project management is common sense. What I strive to do, in and out of the classroom, is make it become common practice. Most of my examples of how project management works are taken from everyday life, often in the family environment, of which we all have had experience and these often provide a more memorable lesson, so the concept sticks in the mind.

Q. What project management principles do you stress in the class?

My main principle is linking the project lifecycle to business processes that are always governing the phases of the project. All projects need to be justified and the funding of the project from the business must always be considered during the execution of the project. Project management is a skill that requires learning from theory, but experienced through practice, so using any relevant lesson learned during the class should be used constructively. Examples of some of these are:

• Thinking that the project plan is just the output from the project planning tool. The use of a project planning tool without adequate training in basic project management planning techniques often produces a wish list of tasks that have to be completed at set dates without any thought to reality. In these cases the project manager spends most time trying to make reality fit the plan, rather than the other way round
• Making small projects too complex, because of stringent methodologies suited to larger projects. The basic framework for project management should be completely scaleable. The auditors of project management often miss this when checking for quality and project health.
• Not recognising the 'day job' and time required doing the business work as well as the project work. No amount of planning, time-sheeting and cost management of the project work will ensure project success if the operational aspects of the project teams' work is not similarly monitored and managed accurately.

Q. What comments do you hear most from students?

The most common comment is “I like your style of teaching, the use of everyday examples to explain a project management concept, so there is no mystic about it ”. However the most common question is “When are we going to finish?” Seriously, learning project management, a dry and theoretical subject at times, is difficult and students get very tired over anything over 2 days.

Also, there is often the pressure of their day job which does not go away whilst they are on course. So there is a need to vary the style of teaching to keep the interest, to allow sufficient breaks to attend to other things and be ever empathetic to the students' needs, which across a single class can vary quite considerably.

Q. What are the concepts of project management that seems more difficult for managers to adhere to?

Taking time out to plan the project adequately before starting work. There is always a lot of pressure to get started from business managers to the project team, but it is often very wasteful to embark on a project without defining the project and linking the triple constraints of time, cost and scope/quality for the deliverables back to the business.

Q. What are some of the major trends in project management?

One important trend, that is emerging slowly, is recognising the need for management of the business benefits that drive the need for the solution being produced or delivered by the project. Too often in the past the project was justified against a business case, delivered successfully according to the solution passing acceptance and usability tests, but then no measurement being made of the realisation of the benefits by the business. Emerging project methodologies, and the concept of programme management techniques, are now including benefits realisation linking the project to the business.

Q. What is the value of earning a Master's Certificate in today's job market?

It is a mark of the completion of basic project management training to a set standard, i.e. that of PMI. The fact that the attainment is linked to completion of a comprehensive programme, together with the passing of exams along the way, helps to keep the standard and employers should value those who have it.

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