Bill Raymond at ProjectNation.net has created a wonderful 20-minute video on the History of Project Management. His site has several other videos on Microsoft Project and SharePoint. Enjoy and learn 
It’s an exciting time to be building a startup.
An interesting commentary on all the hats a startup founder needs to have…15 to be exact 
…the Silicon Valley Insider describes how to combine and reduce them: 15 Roles Every Startup Needs Filled
Plenty of other laid-off workers across the country, burned out by a merciless job market, are building business plans instead of sending out résumés. For these people, recession has become the mother of invention.
NY Times article: Weary of Looking for Work, Some Create Their Own
There is only one reason to start a business. ONE.
I came across this blog entry by Andy Swan. So true, so true. Short, but insightful….read it
A very interesting YouTube video on work, population, and technology. Very interesting
Small companies work to prevent layoffs at MSN Money.
When there are only a few dozen employees — or fewer — layoffs can hit harder. So small businesses are using various methods and incentives to try to avoid them.
As the economy retraces, funding for many of those “standard” projects for consultants evaporate. Sales abilities are tantamount for all consulting team members.
Many consulting firms operate on the premise that if an employee can sell one thing, he can sell anything. For example, if he has been successful selling a product, then he will be successful selling consulting services. But research and experience have shown this is not usually the case.
Read this excellent article in the Charlotte Business Journal: Economy exposes consultants’ weakness in sales.
News headlines are bleak, especially for banks….and that creates a ripple effect for small business.
A crisis in the U.S. bank sector has hit small businesses hard, drying up credit and throwing many long-standing banking relationships into doubt.
Read this interesting article from Reuters: Banking crisis threatens small businesses
A great site for finding all kinds of tips and tricks you can use with MindManager: The best help and assistance with Mindjet MindManager
An organization, be it a business, a school, a government agency, is a collection of processes. These processes are the natural activities you perform that produce value, serve customers and generate income. Managing these processes is the key to the success of your organization.
Unfortunately, most organizations are not set up to manage processes. Instead they manage tasks. Think about it. Isn’t your company organized around functions. . .the accounting department, the engineering department, the sales department, the customer service department?
As a result, people tend to focus on “local” concerns instead of the “global” needs of process customers. Sub-processes evolve within departments without consideration of other functional areas. Layers of communication and management are created to ensure desired outcomes, thereby adding to costs and lengthening cycle and customer response times.
Inefficiency and waste become part of the system. They rob your organization of profits, productivity and its competitive advantage. But, there is a way out.
Process mapping is a simple yet powerful method of looking beyond functional activities and rediscovering your core processes. Process maps enable you to peel away the complexity of your organizational structure (and internal politics) and focus on the processes that are truly the heart of your business. Armed with a thorough understanding of the inputs, outputs and interrelationships of each process, you and your organization can:
- Understand how processes interact in a system
- Locate process flaws that are creating systemic problems
- Evaluate which activities add value for the customer
- Mobilize teams to streamline and improve processes
- Identify processes that need to be reengineered
Properly used, process maps can change your entire approach to process improvement and business management. . .and greatly reduce the cost of your operations by eliminating as much as 50% of the steps in most processes as well as the root causes of systemic quality problems.
