Welcome to the asapm April 2008 email Newsletter!

This is an Opt-in Newsletter from asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We produce it in the even-numbered months: February, April, June, and so on. Subscribe/unsubscribe information is at the end of this Newsletter. This Newsletter is in html, with links to the asapm website. Enjoy!

In This Issue
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1. PrezSez: Business Development: The Expanding Role of the Project Manager
2. asapm Elections Coming Soon: Join a Project Team! Run For Office!
3. Ed Fern Writes: Opportunities In A Problem
4. asapm Seeking USA Ambassador for 2009 IPMA World Congress
5. Conferences, an IACCM Trip Report, and asapm to Present at May APMP
6. Rome Congress Update; Plan Now to Attend! Rome, November 9-11, 2008
7. IPMA Initiates New Logos, and a Branding Campaign!
8. Survey on Humor in PM; New Members-Only Area

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1. PrezSez: Business Development, The Expanding Role of the Project Manager
The USA National Competence Baseline (NCB) lists 49 elements (Editor’s note: there will be 50 when we add Business Development as an element later this year) of competence that are suggested areas of competence that a project manager should possess to fully meet the qualifications for managing a large, complex project. A person managing smaller and less complex projects would perhaps need less competence in some of the areas, but more detailed depth in some of the technical competences. Organizations may selectively use the competence elements to tailor and develop the required qualifications of their project managers.

This is from the introduction to asapm President Lew Ireland's latest PrezSez. To see Lew's article, click here.

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2. asapm Elections Coming Soon: Join a Project Team! Run For Office!
The asapm Board positions up for election in June 2008 are Secretary-Treasurer, Director of Marketing, and Director of Member Services. In 2007, Richard Toledo was elected Vice President, and Larry Kueppers was elected Director of Standards. Speaking of which, Larry has just returned from an ISO Standards meeting in Washington DC. We should hear from Larry in our next newsletter, and even before that, his report should be posted on our website.

The best way for members to serve on the asapm Board is to first serve on one of the Project Teams (our term for committees) in the area of your interest. We invite asapm Members to join one of the Project Teams, and then to run for any of the two or three open positions each year! To run for office this year, contact asapm President Lew Ireland.

The Project Teams we are currently seeking volunteers for include a Universal PM Methodology, an update and extension to Duncan's OCiPM (Organization Competence in Project Management), an organizational PM assessment and improvement initiative, a USA Young Crew initiative, expansion of our PMCoP program, four different Marketing Project Teams for a variety of target audiences, and an update of the asapm Marketing materials. Click here to find out more about these asapm volunteer opportunities.

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3. Ed Fern Writes: Opportunities In A Problem
Things are not always what they seem.  What may appear to be a lose-lose situation may turn out to be a winning experience. 

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4. asapm Seeking USA Ambassador for 2009 IPMA World Congress
The IPMA International World Congress development group, led by Vice-President Henrik Jönsson, has developed a new program for promoting the IPMA World Congresses. Marketing for the 23rd IPMA World Congress, to be held in Finland 15-17 June 2009, will be supplemented by World Congress Ambassadors from each participating nation. This just-formalized concept supports the legacy of the IPMA World Congress as the leading global get-together of Project Managers who Demonstrate the Competence Difference.

On May 17, 2008, asapm will nominate an IPMA 2009 World Congress Ambassador to provide Congress marketing support for the USA. This Ambassador will receive commissions (an estimated 24%) for booking Exhibitors and Sponsors from the USA. Those who are interested in proposing themselves or their companies as Ambassadors should provide, by Friday, May 16, your response, that includes a commitment to the following; where needed, you should also provide evidence that you have satisfied these minimum criteria.

1. Be an asapm member (either you, or at least one person from your company).
2. Identify an action plan for your USA promotion of the 2009 IPMA World Congress in Finland.
3. Provide evidence of similar event promotion, with a description of how you measured your success.
4. Commit to attend the first Ambassador Meeting, 7-8 June in Helsinki, Finland (local expenses paid).
5. Commit to attend the next three meetings, Copenhagen September 28 and Rome November 8 (your expense).
6. Commit to participate in the 23rd IPMA World Congress in Finland 15-17 June 2009 (your expense).
7. This IPMA Ambassador Program guarantees a portion of the commission revenue for the Member Association. asapm suggests a split of asapm 20%, Ambassador 80%. Please agree to that distribution, or recommend a different one.

As you can see, your window of opportunity is tight. If you are interested, you must deliver your response to us at the link below by end of day Friday, May 16. For more details about this program, see this link. If you have questions, you may contact Stacy Goff at +1.719.488.3850 or email us at: World Congress Ambassador. You may also send your response to our surface address: asapm • 6547 N Academy #404 • Col Spgs, CO 80918 USA. Based on the strengths of your proposal, the asapm Board will make our selection of the USA World Congress Ambassador on May 17. If you are selected, portions of the asapm website and other resources will be made available to you.

The USA is one of the strongest markets in the World for Project Managers; this opportunity could be huge for you!

5. Conferences, an IACCM Trip Report, and asapm Present at May APMP

Attend the Continuous Process Improvement Symposium, May 13, 14, 15, 2008
The Continuous Process Improvement Symposium will be held on the campus of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.  The focus of the Symposium will again be the Integration of TOC, Lean and Six Sigma with this year’s theme “Securing the Future of Your Organization”.

Now in its second year and expanded to a full 3-Day event, the CPI Symposium attracts experts and interested participants from around the country.  Some of the world’s leading gurus will be on-hand, to present and lead discussions on the latest organizational improvement approaches.  Once again, the annual Fox Awards will also be presented. Military and group discounts are available. Link: www.cpi-symposiums.com.

IACCM Conference Trip Report, by Stacy Goff
We have been recently introduced to IACCM, the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management in two ways: First, IPMA signed a Strategic Agreement with IACCM last month. Secondly, Business Development Institute International, with whom we signed a Strategic Agreement in February, is also working with IACCM. These folks get around!

Thus we found ourselves staffing a booth, representing asapm and IPMA at the IACCM Americas Conference in Scottsdale AZ in early April. This well-managed conference featured great speakers, excellent offline networking and many questions from attendees, such as "How are IPMA and asapm different than that other organization?" and "What are the differences between the IPMA Certifications and those other ones?".

With a membership that includes Contract Managers, Lawyers, Procurement Officers, Sales Contracts/Negotiators, and Project Managers, IACCM brings together the forgotten heroes of many project engagements. They help their members achieve greater Strategic Visibility, communicate across their own Enterprise-internal stovepipes, and fire them up to go back and help their Enterprises thrive. If your role in your Enterprise fits any of the target audience of IACCM, we heartily recommend that you investigate their website for membership, educational opportunities and Conferences!

asapm and BD Institute to Present at May APMP
On the road again... Leveraging our Strategic Alliance with Business Development Institute International, asapm's Stacy Goff will participate in a Panel at the 19th Annual APMP International Conference in late May. The venue is Rancho Mirage, the date is May 27-30. The Panel topic is Collaboration and Competences in Business Development.

In addition to Goff, the panel will feature Howard Nutt, Executive Director of Business Development International, Tim Cummins, Chief Executive Officer of IACCM, and Neal Couture,Executive DirectorNational Contract Management Association. In an interesting irony, the panel members have been demonstrating Collaboration and Competences in Business Development in preparing for the panel. To find out more about this Conference, click here. The APMP Conference we attended several years ago was stellar, and we expect this one to be even better!

For those who are not familiar with APMP, Association of Proposal Management Professionals, here is information about them from their website:

About APMP
Our mission is to advance the arts, sciences, and technology of new business acquisition and to promote the professionalism of those engaged in those pursuits.

Through association and education, we provide our members access to tools, methods, processes, innovations, talent and specialized expertise that can directly improve the ability to acquire new business and to sustain growth and competitiveness in a dynamic and demanding marketplace.

Our membership is growing rapidly into an internationally recognized association with membership and corporate sponsors from a diverse range of disciplines and industries. Our members are committed to the pursuit of proposal excellence. Our journey has been one of promoting the professionalism of our members and shaping the future of the proposal profession in the United States and throughout the world.

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6. Roma Congress Update; Plan Now to Attend! Rome, Italy: November 9-11,2008
The IPMA Roma World Congress, scheduled for November 9-11, is already breaking records! Twice as many paper proposals have been submitted as were planned for. Some Tracks or Streams have 7 times their capacity. At the same time, stellar keynoters have committed, including one of our favorites, Lynn Crawford, who has done more for PM Competence than any 10 other people!

Steller PM practitioners from the USA have more submitted papers than any other country aside from Italy, the host country. This event promises to trump even the magnificent events of the last four years (Poland, China, India and Hungary). Why do you care? Because this is (typically) your planning window, where you decide where you will go, and how you will decide to do so, to use your vacation time and funds. Some people question the Rome venue in November. The good news: hotels should be cheaper off-peak. And several of us are planning a trip to the totally undiscovered and warmer South of Italy (although we can never get enough of the North!).

So, mark the dates of November 9-11. Some of the events begin before that date, including a full program of Young Crew activities. See the latest on Streams, Keynotes, Registration and accommodations at the Roma 2008 IPMA World Congress website. Paper presenters will hear their status on May 15th; the last date for discounted Early Bird Registration is May 31. and the final paper due date is July 31. See you there!

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7. IPMA Initiates New Logos, and a Branding Campaign!
As part of his Charter for his VP of IPMA Marketing role, Henrik Jonsson (Sweden) last month rolled out a new IPMA logo and branding program, with usage guidelines, and sample graphics. Over the next year, all IPMA collateral materials, including the stellar IPMA magazines, will use the logo and printing guidelines. The logo already appears on the asapm website, at the bottom-right of each page. The branding includes tailored slogans, such as Moving People Forward, Moving Certification Forward, Moving Winners Forward, and so on. Click here to see the updated IPMA website, with the cool color-changing banner.

Certification, with The Platinum Standard tag line, will be one of the first areas to benefit from the new IPMA branding, with the colors black and platinum dedicated exclusively to Certification materials. When the materials are ready, asapm will send Certificants artwork for these bold new designs, to place on your business cards.

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8. Survey on Humor in PM; New Members-Only Area

Participate in a Survey: Humor in Project Management
We are asking asapm members and friends to participate in an interesting research project; the results will be published by asapm and shared with you.

Professor Marco Sampietro would like to hear from Project Managers (of all areas) that work or have worked with people from different cultures. The questionnaire is anonymous, and no personal information is requested. A copy of the results will be sent after the conclusion of the project, and we hope it help to improve the results of project managers and their teams.

The Abstract with the scope of the research and the questionnaire in MS Word format is available at: Humor in Project Management. Thank you for your collaboration and time.

  Marco Sampietro
  SDA Professor,  SDA Bocconi School of Management
  Via Bocconi 8
  20136 Milan-Italy
  Office: +390258366322
  Mobile: +393332174799

asapm Members Only Area Updated
asapm Members have access to an additional website area, that contains even more information than we make available to the general public. Housed in a wiki for the last year and a half, we have just moved it to a Social Network, and this new version is intended to provide more ways for members and project teams to collaborate. We selected Ning, for a number of reasons (such as we already get too much stuff that we ignore from the popular ones, such as FaceB**k or MySp*ce).

Among its strengths: Any member can start a Forum or a Blog. And, no more fretting over lost passwords. Once you log in (using your asapm-registered email address), you can set your password to anything you wish. Then when you forget what password you used, the site will automatically help you reset it. That alone will save us a dozen hours a week!

If you have already logged in to the Members Only site and set your password, you can revisit any time: click here. Enjoy!

Ed Fern Starts PM Trainers Group
Ed Fern has set up a Group for PM Trainers in the asapm Members Only area. Here's what he says; or even better, join the group and read his comments.
As PM trainers, we influence not only our students but also the people who participate in our students' projects. Our responsibility is awesome. I, for one, am eager for help from other trainers to improve the odds that I'll be learning what I should be learning, teaching what I should be teaching, and using the most effective and efficient methods for doing it. I hope many trainers will join this group and share what they have learned. I will also urge you to visit my own profile where you can find a photo of a motor yacht you might find useful in your own teaching.

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asapm: American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are a non-profit organization, staffed with volunteers who are dedicated to improving the practice of Project Management. asapm is a registered trademark, and PMCert is a service mark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management.

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Stacy Goff, PMP
asapm Member Services