Welcome to the asapm August, 2011 Newsletter!

This opt-in Newsletter is from asapm, the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are IPMA-USA, the USA member association of the International Project Management Association. Enjoy!

In This Issue
1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: President's Message, by Stacy Goff
2. See Speaker List, Topics for Sept. 8 IPMA Focus Event, In Ann Arbor, MI
3. asapm Aiming Higher With Projects Director Certification
4. asapm Requests Your Virtual Teams Survey Participation
5. Attend the 2nd Annual German American eMobility Forum
6. Authority Earned, Not Given, by Dan Vickers and Curt Finch
7. Selling Project Management, by Peter Taylor
8. IPMA News: ICB4 Project, 2nd Quarter Newsletter, WC Update
9. IPMA World Congress Update: Brisbane October 8-12
10. See One Change Agent's Relief From Market Trauma and Economic Risk

1. Project Managers Are Change Agents: President's Blog, by Stacy Goff
Our Change Agents blog embraces the change that the practice of Project Management brings to the USA, and to Society. We post below a teaser from this month's blog posting; click the bold linked heading to see the posting.

Stakeholders Benefit From a PM's Perspective
Our recent series of IPMA (International Project Management Association) meetings and events in Asia was rich with the opportunity to meet great people, dialogue about the benefits of our chosen practice or profession, and with innumerable sudden insights. Not to mention a wealth of topics for this often-longer-and-deeper-than-normal blog. In this case, the setting was an early Sunday morning flight over the Himalaya mountains of Nepal. Sponsored by PMAN, Project Management Association of Nepal (thank you again!), it was a beautiful morning, and on takeoff, we saw the city of Kathmandu waking up. Soaring to mountain heights, and rising above the clouds, we were able to track each of the peaks jutting above the clouds. Showing the benefit of a plan, we each had a map of the mountains we would see in our journey from North to South.

The Stakeholder View: The first mountain we saw barely peeked through the clouds. The next several were progressively higher. From our window seat in the small plane, those on the left side of the plane had a decent view out of the tiny windows. Those on the right had a more obscured view. We all had other obstacles, such as the wing of the plane blocking a portion of the view. Similarly, in many projects, our key Stakeholders don't always have the same clear view of the project as does the team. The Stakeholders are often part-time participants. They don't have time to read all the documents, and may miss important meetings, "because of pressing priorities." They do not have the clear project vision they deserve ... More

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2. See Speaker List, Topics for Sept. 8 IPMA Focus Event, In Ann Arbor, MI
September 8, 2011 will be the first IPMA event offered in the USA. The agenda, topics and speakers, venue information, and registration are now available on the asapm website (Sorry, the session is completed, and it was fantastic!) Note that members of asapm or other IPMA associations get a $100 discount on the $495 fee!

Another New Sponsor: Event Organizer Dr. Thomas Baumann has added more sponsors to this event. The German American Chamber of Commerce (GACCoM) is participating in this event. GACCoM members also receive the discounted member rate. Also see the notice below in topic #4 for GACCoM's 2nd Annual German American eMobility Forum.

IPMA Focus Theme and Purpose: To discuss PM 2025—Trends and Expectations--For the Automobile Industry. This is an opportunity to engage in the subject with your peer industry experts. Speakers will discuss results from current PM research presented (from US and International organizations, enterprises and universities) by those who are heavily involved in Project Management in the automobile industry, and who have clear expectations from PM in 2025.

Background: IPMA – The International Project Management Association, has initiated a series of "Festivals of Knowledge" to discuss tomorrow's role of PM in industries around the world, and to come up with actionable results – gleaned from experts in their fields. 2011 events are in China (Xi'an, June) USA (Ann Arbor, MI, September 8) Australia, in conjunction with the IPMA World Congress (Brisbane, October) and Denmark (November). These are the 2011 anchor points for this IPMA series of events.

The Host and Venue: This event will be especially convenient to the automobile industry, because of its venue: It is hosted by the Stephen M. Ross School of Business; 701 Tappan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, +1.734.763.5796. The University of Michigan has always been regarded as the world’s finest public research university. Their ability as scholars to come together across disciplines to solve problems and further the understanding of complex issues has established Michigan as a global force in developing and disseminating new knowledge.

Co-Organizers and Sponsors: This event is organized by Dr. Thomas Baumann, a long-time automobile industry expert and member of the board of Trustees for the German Project Management Society (IPMA-Germany). The event is sponsored by IPMA's Research Management Board, and supported by asapm, IPMA-USA. Our very special sponsors include Inova Institute; ELLN: Open Living Labs; KOSTAL of North America, and Engineering Society of Detroit.

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3. asapm Aiming Higher With Projects Director Certification
asapm's Certification Chair William Duncan reports that the next Advanced, role-based PM Certification in our certification suite is a second offering within IPMA Level A®, Certified Projects Director. This certification is appropriate for a Site Manager in a Project Oriented Enterprise, or for Executives with supervisory responsibilities for a significant number of projects. This certification reflects the importance of moving PM Performance Competence beyond the immediate project team, to include performance criteria for Senior Managers and Executives. Contact Duncan at the asapm Certification Board for answers to your questions, or watch our website for the availability announcement. Note that the speedy release of this certification is due to cooperation of member nations in the IPMA Family. On a separate note, watch for Duncan's latest blog posting, which was not yet available at press time.

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4. asapm Requests Your Virtual Teams Survey Participation
We receive many requests for surveys, and carefully screen them for relevance to the advancement of our practice. We have been talking for months with William Quisenberry about his Doctoral study on Self Managed Virtual Teams, and we took the survey ourselves to verify its usefulness. We had a few comments about the Informed Consent form, the processing of the open-ended questions, and William explained them to our satisfaction. Please click this link to learn more about the survey, and to take part: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/dispersedteams. Thank you!

Once you click on the link, you will immediately see the informed consent page, so you can clearly understand the study and your rights as participants. Then, you can continue to the next page, where the actual survey is located. Given that many of our projects involve multi-cultural, international teams, we found the choice of questions (in open-ended response format) to be interesting, and are very interested in publishing the results--with our members' and friends' participation and responses, of course.

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5. Attend the 2nd Annual German American eMobility Forum
Taking Charge - Opportunities in the Transatlantic Market for Electric Vehicles  
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Southfield, MI 
Be a part of the electric vehicle supply chain conversation! Join top US and German OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to discuss opportunities in the emerging supply chain for electric vehicles. Topics include market developments & regulations, key technologies, commercial-vehicle applications, and sourcing strategies. Register now at www.gaccom.org/emobilityforum.

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6. Authority Earned, Not Given, by Dan Vickers and Curt Finch
For project managers, the support of their team is critical for completing projects successfully. Yet, a team’s respect cannot simply be assigned like a task. Acquiring and executing project authority with the support of a full project team demands careful and skilled execution.

Project leadership requires a humble yet assertive persona, capable of taking charge when needed and delegating authority wherever possible. A project manager must develop their own skills and lead with principles. Doing so will certainly encourage team loyalty. If a project manager simply presumes authority, they will never earn the backing of their team ... More

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7. Selling Project Management, by Peter Taylor
'Our customers really love us, so they don't care if their projects are late and don't work.' Is this what you think? Is this what your project 'customers' are really saying? How about this? 'We figure it's more profitable to have 50% overruns than to spend 15% on project management to prevent them.' Do you ever get to hear that one?

Now I am not sure what sort of project world that you exist in but in my world, the commercial software world, there is often a challenge in getting customers of our products to accept the need to invest in project management from us as the product and services supplier. Here are some ideas on how to address some of the common 'pushbacks' that you might receive in this situation: 'I'm just buying the software and support from you; I don't have a project …' More

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8. IPMA News: ICB4 Project, 2nd Quarter Newsletter, WC Update
In keeping with our Two Memberships in One benefits, where asapm members are also members of the IPMA Family, here is the most recent IPMA news.

ICB4 Project Launches
The IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB®) is the foundation for the World's first advanced PM Certifications. ICB Release 3, completed in 2006, was a major improvement from the previous release, and even though IPMA baselines have a longer useful lifespan than other foundations, it is time to begin an update. The leadership team for the ICB4 project includes members from Australia, Netherlands, Russia, USA and the UK. The two leadership team members from the USA are Tim Jaques and William Duncan, asapm Certification Chair. Tim led the aPRO project, to produce the now-operational asapm Performance Rated Organization standard. aPRO helps an organization self-assess or, through a Recognized Assessor, to certify as a Performance Rated Organization.

Long-time practitioners will recognize Duncan as the primary author of the original verision of PMBOK® Guide, and architect of the process groups. Duncan is also a key contributor to the GAPPS (Global Alliance for Project Performance Standard) standards. The ICB4 project will engage project and program practitioners and experts from all over the world, using a combination of consensus meetings and virtual reviews of progress. As others attempt to add IPMA's long-standing focus on competence, behavioral skills and role-specific emphasis to their own certifications, IPMA will use the ICB4 project to continue to Move PM Competence Forward.

2nd Quarter IPMA Newsletter
The 2nd Quarter IPMA Newsletter is now available. Articles include news from Croatia, Austria, Hungary, India and Canada. Disclosure: We are paying very close attention to the successful events in Croatia, because it is the venue for the 2013 IPMA World Congress. The 2012 IPMA World Congress will be in Greece.

IPMA World Congress Update
As mentioned below, the 2011 IPMA World Congress kicks off in Brisbane, Australia, October 8-12. The Global Young Crew Workshop, for young project managers, is the featured event for October 8-9; the Congress itself begins on the 10th, and runs through the 12th. Looking at the speakers, we have a great turnout from the USA, and from asapm members. We have, once again, a keynote speaker from the USA. Hopefully, everyone has made their air and hotel reservations; rooms are filling fast! For more information, visit the 2011 IPMA World Congress Website. Immediately following the Congress is a GAPPS working event; with Performance-Competence standards in place for Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, Program Manager and Senior Program Manager, the next role for the standards set is Project Sponsor. See the invitation at the GAPPS website.

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9. IPMA World Congress Update: Brisbane October 8-12

25th IPMA WORLD CONGRESS PROGRAM IS NOW AVAILABLE  

We are pleased to announce that the Congress Program is available for review. We have an amazing lineup of authors and topics from around the world and you are encouraged to attend this event. 
To view the program, visit the website or download it directly.

YOUNG CREW WORKSHOP SCHEDULE AVAILABLE
The schedule for the Global Young Crew Workshop is also now available. This event precedes the World Congress, and is targeted at young project managers, up to and including age 35. It is always a great event, and this looks to be the greatest!

REGISTRATION IS GREAT VALUE
The 2011 IPMA World Congress, in Brisbane, Australia, is great value for money! Included in the3 full registration fee is 3 days of outstanding presentations, nine keynote speakers, choice of five tours plus three inclusive social functions. Registration fee for IPMA members is $1350 (AUD). Click here to register!

Visa Required: Most of us will need a Visa for Australia. The website www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAAus4En.html eases the process. With an administrative fee of $20AUD per person, and electronic application, it is easy and fast. Don't forget this important step in your travel planning!

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10. See One Change Agent's Relief From Market Trauma and Economic Risk
Especially today, with the markets down Worldwide, mass joblessness and threat of new recession., we need a bit of a lift. And here is a great example of the benefits of Change Agents. It shows how one person can make a difference. We watched it multiple times to catch all the nuances, and we hope it brightens your day. Thanks to the Jive Aces, and Youtube, for this pick-me-upper!

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asapm, IPMA-USA, is the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. We are a not-for-profit organization, staffed with volunteers who are dedicated to improving Performance Competence in Project and Program Management. asapm is a registered trademark of the American Society for the Advancement of Project Management. See our past newsletters at our website.

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