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‘Vijay Day’ Offers Keys to Power

How do you manage 300 software developers without meeting them face-to-face? Kiran Thakkar and Ranjani Mahadevan from J & B Software, who work with global teams in electronic payment processing projects, brought that question to Penn State Great Valley on April 3rd. 

Kiran’s question was the subject of a one day seminar presented by PMI Delaware Valley Chapter in partnership with Penn State – Great Valley, PA, as part of  a continuing educational program designed to bring current and critical issues to PMI members and non-members alike. The program draws on the talent and experiences of nationally known experts in project management and address subjects of current interest to chapter members and the university community in attractive and convenient venues such as the Great Valley facilities.

In a daylong entertaining presentation to  a large number of  attendees, internationally known speaker Vijay Verma spelled out the answer to Kiran’s question in five letters – ‘WIIFM’ - ‘What’s in it for me?’ Mr. Verma, a group leader at a Canadian national research libratory with over 25 years of project management experience gave an excellent presentation. He holds the 1999 PMI David Cleland Project Management Literature award and the 1999 Distinguished Contribution award. In addition, Mr. Verma has written the three-volume series, “Human Aspects of Project Management,” published by PMI.

“You have power over other people”, he said, “when you have something they want, or access to something they want – or they perceive that you do”.

So how do you learn what other people want? First off, he said: you listen to them, then understand their point of view. “Power comes from putting yourself in the other person’s shoes”.

Once you know what they want, how do you go about getting it?  Perhaps through formal power – flowing largely from your place in the org chart – but more likely for project managers, through informal power, flowing from your personal relationships with others. “You don’t have to wait for someone to give you informal power”, he pointed out – “you can work to get it on your own” – by networking, gaining and sharing knowledge, doing and receiving favors.

Don Santiago from Motorola was pleased to discover a new power source under his own control. He plans to use the tools provided in mentoring his team – and working with upper management – in a matrix environment where project managers don’t have direct authority over their teams and informal power could make a key difference.

In a lengthy breakout session, participants spelled out their best ideas for increasing eight different sources of power – then passed these ideas on to everyone in attendance as immediate ‘news you can use’.

For Ranjani, that meant a wealth of information on how to reward staff and how to negotiate with them, whether face-to-face or virtually by teleconference.  “Now I see better how to negotiate when I have something someone else needs”, she said.

“I was very happy with the details provided”, said attendee Lori Ruben at the end of the day. “I learned a lot more about how to use power in the work that I do”.

View photos of this event (click here)

Regional Challenges Aired at Chapter Meeting

You have 353 stakeholders, and depending on what you are doing, one of them alone could stop you in your tracks. You are making plans for millions of people, but you have no power to make them come true.

Welcome to the challenges of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – dealing with issues we face every day, thanks to how our region has grown  – as explained in entertaining detail by Richard Bickel Jr. at the PMI-DVC monthly meeting, held March 20th at Penn State Great Valley in Chester County.

Bickel, who directs the Planning Division at the DVRPC, walked the audience through the extensive changes that have shaped the region, and its 353 ‘stakeholder’ townships, boros and cities  – and shared insights on how an organization with little formal authority can rely on strategies big and small to succeed.

A series of slides showed how the region morphed over the past 70 years, from a spiny octopus of population centers along major rail lines to a solid green carpet today of development – and dependence on cars, with the average vehicle on the highway containing 1.14 individuals.  “At the rate we’re going”, said Bickel, repeating a joke of former SEPTA Director Louis Gambaccini – “ we might end up under 1.0!”

Or maybe not.  The DVRPC is attempting to steer us toward “ a more sustainable region and communities”.  At the local level, that means tying investments in transportation to policies that encourage more compact urban centers, where people can get around by transit as well as by car.  It also means helping out developments in line with these policies by subsidizing studies required of the developers.

And then there’s the tailwind from larger forces – like the skyrocketing price of gas. “If you see $5 gas, you’ll see a real drop off in driving”, says Bickel.  We’re not there yet, but even so, Regional Rail has seen its ridership go up over 40% between the late ‘90s and today.  Sooner or later, we may all be ‘railroaded’ into a way of life less dependent on cars.

In his closing remarks, chapter President Michael Brennan praised Bickel and the DVRPC, saying ‘ We’re all better off as a group from the work you do”.

PMI-DVC Board of Directors Election Results

We are pleased to announce the results of the PMI-DVC Board of Directors election:  

Relected:   Richard Knaster, Fred Hammond  

Newly Elected:   Ruth Anne Guerrero  

We thank all the candidates for their participation.

PMI-DVC Accepts Proclamation from State of Delaware

Ruth Ann Minner, Governor of Delaware proclaimed

October 28 – November 3, 2007 Project Management Week in Delaware and presented the PMI-Delaware Valley Chapter with a formal proclamation. 

This proclamation recognizes the many contributions project managers have made to government, business & community service. 

PMI-DVC was commended for our partnership in Delaware’s initiative to promote project management.

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