Photo by Flickr User Bob Duran, Licensed under CC BY 2.0

You have found a great new project manager who fits perfectly in your company? Congratulations! But this is not the end of the journey. After the hiring process you should make an effort to get the onboarding process going as soon as possible to make the initiation of your new project manager into your firm as smooth as possible. 

Project management is becoming increasingly important in the business world. You will hardly find an industry that does not rely on the skills of project managers to deliver projects successfully. Which is why it’s paramount to remember the basic rules of project management. Here are the 10 commandments of project management to live by. 

The classic (and often dreaded) question after graduating college: “What are you going to do now?” While some will continue with a post-graduate degree, others will be entering the work force. If you are you considering becoming a project manager, then this blog post will help you assess whether you have what it takes to be one.

Photo by Pixabay User geralt

In part 1 we have given you 5 questions that help you identify whether you need a project manager or not. If you have decided that you want to hire one, the challenge now is to actually find a good project manager. 

Startups and small businesses often think that they do not have enough people or customers to need a project manager. That might be true for smaller or more insignificant projects, but the moment a business has to deal with a critical or bigger project, it needs to consider hiring a project manager.

Photo by Flickr User seler+seler (edited), Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Summer time, free time. No to-do lists, no meetings, no emails. While you might be ecstatic at first that you don’t have to do anything, this excitement can quickly wear off and it can seem as if time passes by as slowly as a snail. If such a feeling also creeps up in your daily work life, it gets problematic. 

Photo by Pixabay Users elrodion & Tumisu (edited)

“Thank you”, these two short words can have a powerful impact – if done right. Appreciation can often take a back seat in the ever so hectic day-to-day project life, even though it’s so important in the workplace. Employees who feel valued and appreciated are more motivated and more productive. Here are some tips on how to communicate appreciation more effectively. 

Photo by Pixabay User PublicDomainPictures

Vacation season is finally here! Some have already planned their vacations months in advance, while others might be more the last-minute type. We have some tips on how to plan your vacation like a project manager – more effectively and (almost) stress-free. 

Photo by Flickr User Andy Castro, Licensed under CC BY 2.0

Disneyland is celebrating its 60^th birthday this year and the celebrations are already under way. With over 16 million visitors from all over the world per year, it continues to be a huge success. But how did Disneyland become the most magical place on Earth and what can project managers learn from it? The answer is: ‘Imagineering’ (a portmanteaux of the words ‘imagination’ and ‘engineering’).

Our blog entry on the Systems Approach has shown that even though we’re taught to think lineally, our thoughts can jump from one idea to another and our mind is constantly making associations from one word to another. This is why we need concepts and tools that help us bring order into the chaos of our minds. One of these tools are mind maps.