Lonnie Pacelli's Blog, page 48

Free 10/16-17: Six-Word Lessons to Look Your Best

Free 10/16-17: Six-Word Lessons to Look Your Best

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Absolute Versus Relative Importance

#wsite-video-container-823014474910538190{ background: url(//www.weebly.com/uploads/b/19360013-584... } #video-iframe-823014474910538190{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... } #wsite-video-container-823014474910538190, #video-iframe-823014474910538190{ background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and ( min-resolution: 2dppx) { #video-iframe-823014474910538190{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; background-size: 70px 70px; } } Make sure you understand the difference between absolute and relative importance when explaining why a big idea will or won't be pursued.

Free 10/9-10: Six-Word Lessons for Autism Friendly Workplaces

Free 10/9-10: Six-Word Lessons for Autism Friendly Workplaces

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Free 10/2-3: Winning the Battle and the War

Free 10/2-3: Winning the Battle and the War

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Free 9/25-26: Hayley's Journal-A Mom & Son's Autism Journey

Free 9/25-26: Hayley's Journal-A Mom & Son's Autism Journey

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Status Report Template Download

status_report_template.docxRecently I was asked a question about what constitutes a good status report. I've successfully used this basic format for over 20 years on a wide range of projects. If you'd like the word document download here.

A Laundry List of To-Dos when Starting a Small Business

Recently I met up with an old friend who is contemplating starting up a small business. We had a great discussion and I didn't want to lose the notes, so I thought I would share them with my readers.  This discussion is divided into four sections:  business structure, physical/virtual storefront, social media channels, and getting the word out. I undoubtedly missed some items; will update as I see holes.
Business StructureIdentify an attorney, tax accountant, and insurance broker - you'll definitely need all three to some degree.Decide on whether your business will be an LLC, Subchapter S, or sole proprietorship.Set up your company with the state.You can name your company with a nondescript name, i.e. mine is "Consetta Group" and then add trade names which are more descriptive of your company.  My trade names include projectmanagementadvisor.com, Pacelli Publishing, and Growingupautistic.com.Set up your federal tax ID and any required state/city tax IDs.  Be diligent about doing this; you don't want to get in trouble with the government :-).
To set up a bank account, you'll need a federal tax ID. You'll want to definitely set up a business checking account.  You don't specifically need a business credit card, you can use a personal credit card and just designate it for business use.Set up Quick Books, Quicken Home and Business or other record keeping software.  Keep good records and update information on a timely basis.  Don't wait until end of year to post transactions.Physical/Virtual StorefrontSet up a website.  I use Weebly.com and have done so successfully for a number of years.Set up a Paypal business account, including doing shipping from Paypal (which I highly recommend).If you intend to sell products, set up Paypal Here which allows you to take credit card payments through your android or iphone.  You can also use Square to do; I use Paypal Here.Get business cards; I use vistaprint.com. You can also put a JPEG of your business card on your phone and have people take a picture of your phone or you can text them a copy of the jpeg. I have both hardcopy and jpeg business cards.
Get a good kitchen scale if you plan on shipping product so you don't overpay for shipping.Social media channelsDecide on the social media channels most relevant to you.  Click on hyperlink to see mine:Facebook company page
TwitterLinkedIn personal and company pages
Pinterest
Vimeo
YouTube
Instagram
Watermark any intellectual property that someone can lift from your site (i.e. pictures you take) and use for their own purposes
Setup Youtube trailers.  I'm a huge fan of these.  See my trailers that I set up using only PowerPoint saving them as .MP4 files
Getting the word outBlog regularly and distribute to your social media channels.  I use Hootsuite to syndicate content.  Have interesting things to say and let people see you as a person, not a distant entity.
Be mindful of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so your content can be found and prioritized on search enginesLive where your target customers live.  As example, if you are a project management expert, set up an account on projectmanagement.com and be active in discussions. As mentioned above, these are pretty raw notes but hopefully notes that can be helpful.  I hope there is a nugget or two which you find beneficial.
Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
See his books on Amazon.

Free 9/18-19: Why Don't They Respect Me?

Free 9/18-19: Why Don't They Respect Me?

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Is your project sponsor doing the job? 15 questions to ask to find out

Excerpted from Six-Word Lessons to Avoid Project Disaster

As a young hot-shot information technology (IT) project manager I was convinced that I had it all together. I was bound and determined to show all those more senior to me how to deliver successful projects. It wasn’t until I messed up not one, not two, but three projects simultaneously that I grew up and recognized I wasn’t all that I thought I was. While that period in my professional career was particularly painful, it was also some of the best learnings I could have gone through. Since then I’ve had successes and failures, but the failures became less frequent because I learned to get comfortable with others providing a critical eye on my work and helping with the necessary precision questioning to keep me out of hot water. This is the genesis behind Six-Word Lessons to Avoid Project Disaster .Following are 15 lessons focused on the project sponsor and the questions to ask to ensure active, focused, and engaged project sponsorship.Lesson 1 - There was no project sponsor assigned - A non-existent sponsor translates to poor support from a business organization, particularly when higher-priority work emerges. Question to ask: Does the project have an engaged and committed sponsor who feels the pain of the as-is situation?
Lesson 2 - Sponsor didn't advocate with his organization - A poorly advocated project translates to inconsistent business organization support and confusion as to what the sponsor expects. Question to ask: Has the sponsor effectively communicated the project scope and goals to his/her organization?Lesson 3 - Sponsor lost interest in the project - A sponsor losing interest is usually an indicator of business priorities changing or the sponsor's management having weak interest. Question to ask: Does the sponsor remain committed to the project and his he/she continuing to support the PM and the team?Lesson 4 - Sponsor changed; new one didn’t care - Sponsor change mid-flight can also be accompanied by different priorities or marching orders. Question to ask: Does the new project sponsor care about the project?Lesson 5 - Sponsor wouldn't meet with the PM - Sponsors who don’t make themselves available to a PM typically mean the project is either not important to the sponsor or the sponsor has bigger fish to fry. Question to ask: Is the sponsor cancelling meetings or not making him/herself available to the PM when the PM needs him/her?Lesson 6 - The sponsor kept changing project scope - Unanticipated scope changes from the sponsor typically mean scope is not physically written down and agreed upon or “selective memory” on part of sponsor or PM.  Question to ask: Is the scope statement clearly documented and regularly reviewed with the sponsor and PM?Lesson 7 - Sponsor wanted elegance versus "good enough."- Over-polishing the apple on features can contribute to cost and schedule overruns. Question to ask: Are the features meeting the need without additional bells and whistles that are beyond “good enough”?Lesson 8 - The wrong users were on project - Putting the wrong users on a project can create gaps in capabilities that get discovered after solutions late in the development life cycle. Question to ask: Are people accountable for in-scope capabilities represented on the project?Lesson 9 - The sponsor wouldn’t make difficult decisions - Sponsors unwilling to make difficult decisions contribute to solutions that won’t align to to-be business needs. Question to ask: Are there outstanding issues assigned to the sponsor that are going unresolved?Lesson 10 - Sponsor wouldn’t kill project not needed - Priorities change. A project once deemed important may not be important due to shifting priorities or environmental changes. Question to ask: Does the project still address a problem the sponsor and his/her management sees as important?Lesson 11 - Major policy changes needed weren’t understood - Sponsors who don’t understand and act on mandatory major policy changes can create business failures once the solution is implemented. Question to ask: Are policy changes clearly documented and is the sponsor being held accountable for driving the policy change?Lesson 12 - Sponsor got too overconfident with scope - Some sponsors can get overconfident if the project appears successful by squeezing in additional scope items, causing potential issues with delivery if things go wrong at the end. Question to ask: Is the sponsor asking for additional work to be done late in the project which could jeopardize schedule?Lesson 13 - The sponsor didn’t secure the funding - Sometimes funding takes a back seat to getting something done on time. If the funding isn’t secured by the sponsor, the team risks an overrun or unplanned staffing reduction midflight. Question to ask: Has the sponsor secured the funding to get the project done?Lesson 14 - Sponsor wasn’t clear on the problem - Not articulating a clear problem to be solved can lead to increased scope due to chasing “shiny object” problems. Question to ask: Is there a clear, quantifiable problem statement that clearly defines what project success looks like?Lesson 15 - The benefits didn’t justify the cost - The sponsor needs to ensure that the expected benefits support the cost of getting the project done. Ideally a financial analyst develops and certifies the cost/benefit analysis. Question to ask: Is there a clear cost/benefit analysis that is updated at key project milestones to ensure project makes financial sense to do?
Want to know the ten most important attributes of a best-in-class project sponsor? Check out Be a Killer Sponsor .
Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran 
See his books on Amazon.

Free 9/11-12: Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic (Spanish Translation)

Free 9/11-12: Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic (Spanish Translation)

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