Many PMs get their start by one day finding themselves “thrown into” managing projects. A new buzzword for this is “Accidental PM.” Are you one? You’re NOT alone!
In my case, I was a technical trainer, who started falling into supporting the I.T. products I was training on. Then one morning I got a big surprise when I was asked me to take on the IT department’s change management system, which management was having a hard time getting its developers to use.
Despite strong early resistance, the system worked out to be very widely-utilized. It helped our company by reducing the number of defects, improving traceability to enhancements and bug-fixes, standardizing software versions, and making it much faster and easier to back-out changes when necessary.
LINK to Podcast: In my interview with Cornelius Fichtner, Episode #209: “The Accidental Project Manager” (or “How To Save A Failed Project As Your First Assignment”) I share tips and lessons learned.
LINK to Info about my book: “The Project Management Answer Book” (Management Concepts, 2011)
NOTE – 5 more podcasts I have done with Cornelius Fichtner for The PM-Podcast and The PDU Podcast:
- Episode #168 “The Project Management Answer Book” (interview about my book)
- Episode #169 “Ethics In Project Management” (how to deal with ethical issues PMs all face)
- Episode #176 “One More Question” (interviews with several PMs, including myself, Elizabeth Harrin, Peter Taylor, Steve Kaye, Pam Stanton, Frank Saladis, and Mark Phillips)
- Episode #208 “Are You A PM? Write!” (about how writing and getting published can raise your profile and help your career)
- Month 24 “Why Ethics Are Important For PM Success” (2.25 PDUs)
Note – The above podcasts are all eligible for PDUs.
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