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Applying Personal Leadership While in Transition, by Jackie Lesser.

Posted on by Brian Mecca

Saturday September 13, 2014 at 8:00am

The Presentation: “Applying Personal Leadership While in Transition”

  • Can give you a road map for getting where you want to go.
  • Can transform the way you experience everything.
  • Can change the way you handle your career transition
  • Can fundamentally improve your whole life

What you’ll get from this presentation:

  • You’ll learn the top 3 principles for Personal Leadership
  • You’ll get the tools and tips on how to incorporate these in to your everyday life
  • You’ll have new ways of thinking, being and doing which can change how you steer the course of your transition.

About the speaker: Since 2004, Jackie Lesser has been passionately immersed in the role of Chief Potential Officer at Creating Impact, an executive and leadership coaching company.  She is known for providing her clients with a GPS for successfully navigating the ever- changing leadership terrain of the 21st century. Prior to founding Creating Impact, Jackie spent 18 years as a leader with the Judge Group, a nationally recognized I.T staffing and consulting firm. She earned her MBA from Drexel University with a concentration in Human Resources Management, received her coach certification from the Coaches Training Institute and her professional certified coach (PCC) credential from the International Coach Federation. Meeting Information:

Posted in Monthly Meeting

Applying Personal Leadership While in Transition

Posted on by Bob Hacker

Saturday September 13, 2014 at 8:00am ET

· Can give you a road map for getting where you want to go.
· Can transform the way you experience everything.
· Can change the way you handle your career transition
· Can fundamentally improve your whole life

What you’ll get from this presentation:

· You’ll learn the top 3 principles for Personal Leadership
· You’ll get the tools and tips on how to incorporate these in to your everyday life
· You’ll have new ways of thinking, being and doing which can change how you steer the course of your transition.

BIO

Since 2004, Jackie Lesser has been passionately immersed in the role of Chief Potential Officer at Creating Impact, an executive and leadership coaching company. She is known for providing her clients with a GPS for successfully navigating the ever- changing leadership terrain of the 21st century. Prior to founding Creating Impact, Jackie spent 18 years as a leader with the Judge Group, a nationally recognized I.T staffing and consulting firm. She earned her MBA from Drexel University with a concentration in Human Resources Management, received her coach certification from the Coaches Training Institute and her professional certified coach (PCC) credential from the International Coach Federation.

Posted in Monthly Meeting

Good Interview Practices: The Hiring Manager’s Perspective

Posted on by Adam Kovitz
As a hiring manager, you sometimes underestimate the value of a well-planned interview and interview process. It makes good sense to go the extra mile to ensure that the process is thorough so that the final result is rewarding for you and the organization. Not taking this process seriously can mean a poor employee selection, which will also cause your management to look poorly upon you and your decision.

Do Your Homework

If the position is a new one, make sure that all stakeholders agree as to how the position will fit within the company’s priorities. Revisit the job description and review how each credential, skill or personal quality fits into your company’s operating priorities.
If the position fills a vacancy, you need to consider why the prior employee left the position. Did the prior employee have difficulty with the role, team or organization? If so, identify and take corrective measures before you select candidates to interview.
When you are sure about what you want, you are more likely to identify professionals who fit the bill.
Evaluate All Candidates Based On Similar Criteria
Before starting your interview process, determine which skills and priorities are most important for success. Next, create a list of assessment benchmarks for each. Then, evaluate all candidates based on your check-list. When all candidates are asked to meet similar criteria, you can trust your result when one emerges as the candidate of choice.
This approach is helpful when you are reviewing two equally qualified candidates. You can use your checklist and the priorities you have set to objectively determine which candidate is the better fit for the role you want to fill.
You will also find the written checklist helpful when you discuss and defend your final candidate selection to your department/organization’s management. When having that discussion with your management, refer to the checklist document.
Ask Direct and Relevant Questions
Your job is to get to know each candidate as well as you can. Chances are the candidates will prepare well. They will have searched the web, read your literature and have a working familiarity with your operations. Use your questions to figure out which candidates are responding with stock answers and which are thinking critically about the challenges you face.
Successful candidates will reveal themselves because of their command of the issues, their constructive suggestions, their humor, and the ease with which they communicate. You will discern a level of honesty, clarity and hopefulness in their responses. You will want to ask more, talk more and engage them more fully in the process.
Less qualified candidates will avoid difficult questions, may refrain from frequent eye contact, and communicate their uneasiness both through their responses and their body-language. Such candidates may even jump into a salary or benefits discussion before you have had the opportunity to assess their abilities and credentials fully.
Filter Out Poor Candidates Quickly
If a candidate commits a significant interview mistake or discloses that s/he lacks key credentials for the job, have a way to politely and firmly terminate the interview. This will eliminate the annoying situation where you have come to judgment on a candidate and are forced to spend time on a full interview. 
Sell Your Organization
Candidates come to an interview to pitch their skills and their willingness to work with your organization. You should do the same when you meet well qualified candidates. Come up with a list of departmental and company attributes worth mentioning: organizational culture, profitability, performance within the industry, etc. You want the promising candidates to continue to consider working for your company after the interview.
Making a good hire depends, in part, on having a positive interview experience with your preferred candidates. The more you have thought about the interview and interview process, the better your chances are of making an outstanding hiring decision.
David Schuchman

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Communicating and Working the Plan

Posted on by Adam Kovitz

You have heard the comments from others, especially senior management. “Project management (PM) is simple blocking and tackling.” “All a PM has to do is work the plan.” Wow!! If it was that simple, the failure rate would not be over 80%, would it? What we PMs have to understand is that senior management sees PMs in the spectrum of their world. EVERYBODY reports to them. For a PM, the resources report to the project, not the PM. That is a major difference and one that has to be explained to senior management. However, I do believe that if a PM develops a plan that includes budget, scope, resource needs, and the risks, along with the schedule, then that should be part of the explanation. The major part of the explanation is communicating the plan to management and then working the plan.  

Communicating the plan, especially the risks 


The major communication device to the project sponsor and senior management is the status report. Basically, all of the completed tasks, the risks and issues, as well as the upcoming tasks must be communicated in two pages. Whether the status report is called the RAG (Red, Amber, and Green) report or the RYG (Red, Yellow, and Green) report, a picture of the project is worth a thousand words. The PM must remember the audience for this report. Yes, we like the project schedule, the budget, and especially the risks and issues lists. But the sponsor and senior management want one or, at the most, two reports. I strongly suggest that the two most important reports during the execution and monitoring phases of the project are the status report and the risk and issues list. These two reports are what the sponsor and senior management understand. The status report is direct and short. The initial portion of the status report should have a short status of the project, for example “the report is on schedule.”  

The risks and issues report is the report that the PM will be utilizing the most. This report is where the PM should spend most of the time explaining the issue(s) and the resolution of the issue(s) and the possible risks and how they will be mitigated. The PM must keep the sponsor and senior management keenly focused on the risks of the project so as to avoid surprises. I have written about the risk and issues list before on my blog on 6/23/12 http://ift.tt/1lnX5z5. What I have stated is still true today. It is the most important tool for the PM in explaining the risks to the team.  

What to do if a risk becomes an issue 


On the risks and issues list, there should be mitigation to a risk if the risk becomes an issue. During the building of the schedule by the team, the PM should have led the team to identify the risks and the probability that the risks would happen and what the impact would be. Along with that calculation there should be the resolution to the risk if it becomes an issue. That solution must be identified and communicated to the team, especially to the project sponsor, and the sponsor must have buy-in to that solution. 

I have discussed communication of the risks and issues list in a previous blog posted  




Failure is not an option


We have all heard that over 80% of projects “fail” to meet the project’s original goal.  What PMs fail to do is effectively communicate the risks and then the solutions. PMs also fail to communicate the change request effectively. Once a solution is communicated to the sponsor, senior management, and the team, the PM must guide them through how the solutions may change the project’s end date and possibly add to the budget. Once the PM communicates the change to the team, the PM must document it in a change request and present it to the change review board (CRB) and senior management.  Once this is done, the project is no longer a “failure” or going RED. The project is re-scoped and re-balanced to include this necessary change with a change in the end date and resources. 

If the PM can communicate these necessary steps and options to the team, sponsor, and senior management, then the project will not fail.

I am open to discussion at any time on these blogs or anything else related to project management you would like to explore. If you would like to comment about this blog, please do so by posting on this blog or by responding in an email at Benny A. Recine. You may inspire a blog article. I look forward to your comments.

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Making a Good Presentation

Posted on by Adam Kovitz
Many people are troubled when they have to give a presentation in front of a large audience. It’s important to know that it’s normal to experience stage fright.

Some presentations feel like magic and grab our attention. While enormous credit goes to the skill of the presenters, there are a few things we can all do to make our presentations great.
Prepare for Your Presentation
Start by considering the information you will be providing and the makeup of your audience. Whatever your topic is, some things should be emphasized, like highly technical or vital information. Often, less relevant information might distract or disengage your audience. Take the opportunity to explore resources that you may want to include in your presentation, such as charts and images. The right content makes all the difference to your audience, especially when you pass on an idea that they may not have considered before.

Storytelling
Storytelling helps your audience to remember all of the vital points that you want to get across. Try to tell stories that most of them can connect with. By framing the information into the context of a story, your audience is more likely to retain it over time.

Be Truthful
Don’t give your audience a reason to doubt you because you won’t be taken seriously. You could damage the whole presentation with just one wrong statement, and you will have lost your credibility with the audience. If the audience thinks that you are presenting false information during your presentation, they’ll simply take out their smartphones to quickly check what you tell them.

Interact with Your Audience
It’s not simple to keep everyone interested, especially if you give a long presentation. One of the best ways for you to increase the impact of your presentation and improve the audience’s attention is through questions. Asking and answering questions helps to break up the presentation and improves audience concentration.

Questions help your audience become part of the presentation. Encourage brief discussions between you and the audience as you make your way through important points. This maintains audience attention during the more complex points, clarifies new or confusing information, and helps conclude your presentation by allowing you to revisit the covered topics.

Visualization Attracts Attention
If you decide to make a PowerPoint presentation, use a crisp common slide layout. Keep text brief and direct. Use the text to introduce each point, then you will talk to each point. Don’t make your audience have to read each slide to pass on information. You do not want your PowerPoint slide deck to be your presentation. You want to use it to emphasize the information you are presenting.

Include images and videos, where able to help, to emphasize various ideas in a clearer manner.

When You’re on the Stage
Know your presentation, topic, and supporting material. Do not to use any notes so that you can make as much eye contact as possible. This way you will engage the audience make them feel important. Unless you are giving a very technical presentation, do not use too many big/fancy words because the audience may consider you arrogant. 

Have a Back-up Plan
Sometimes, not everything will go according to the plan. If you experience a technical problem, you need to find a different way to keep your audience interested and informed. Consider yourself a showman while you’re on the stage. You may have to improvise. Keep hard-copies of your slides to work from.
It may take some time to plan it, but practice makes perfect. All you need to do later is sit back and wait for results.
David Schuchman

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The Interview Focus Is on Future, Not Past

Posted on by Adam Kovitz

Until about 1990, the conventional thinking was that if you did your job satisfactorily, you would keep it for many years to come. Several of my friends were AT&T employees in those days, and many of them had had seniority for one or two decades. So it seemed like they had it made and that […]

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Developing the Plan

Posted on by Adam Kovitz

During a discussion with a colleague, the topic of the project schedule vs. the project plan came up. The first thing I did was thank my colleague for correctly stating that the tool we Project Managers (PM) use–MS Project–is the schedule, NOT the plan. When I state this, I usually get a glazed look from folks who are not PMs or do not completely understand a PM’s role in the overall project plan. So a discussion is necessary to answer the question, “What is a project plan?”  The first thing we must do as PMs is stop using the term “project plan” when we really mean the project schedule. Now, we can begin the discussion of what is in the project plan.

Which tools make up the plan?
The first tools the PM must receive are the Statement of Work (SOW), and included within it, the Scope Statement, or in other words, what the project is delivering. We are all familiar with the term, “What is in scope.” Well, the scope comes from the SOW. What I like to do is begin the kickoff meeting with the client by reviewing the SOW and highlighting what is in scope and most importantly, what is out of scope. The SOW that includes the scope statement is the PM’s first and most likely most important tool. This is the compass that the PM must use to begin building the rest of the project.
The next tool is what we use to organize or fill the roles necessary to deliver the project. We sometimes call this the Human Resource (HR) Plan. But I like calling it the Resource Plan because we all know if this is an Information Technology (IT) project, the resources could be new hardware or software. This plan should highlight what talents and technology are needed for the project. It should also note if the resources are already “in-house” or if there is a need for a third-party consultant or a purchase of hardware and/or software. Once these resource needs are identified, then the PM can work with management to fill those needs.
The communication plan, which includes the contact list, can then be developed. Also, the PM must have at the ready tools that will become important during the project, such as the risks and issues list and the change request.

Once these tools are established, the PM can then meet with Human Resources to begin building the schedule. This is another common fallacy that must be dispelled: the schedule is not built by the PM alone. On the contrary, the schedule is built by the team. You see, it is the team that puts together the tasks of the project, links the resources to the respective tasks, and then places a schedule for that task, creating the whole MS Project schedule. When this schedule is put together, then reality sets in regarding delivering the project on-time, within scope, and within budget. It is at this time that the first change request may be written and submitted.


I am open to discussion at any time on these blogs or anything else related to project management you would like to explore. If you would like to comment about this blog, please do so by posting on this blog or by responding in an email at Benny A. Recine. You may inspire a blog article. I look forward to your comments.

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“A Call to Action” by Frank Kovacs

Posted on by Brian Mecca

Saturday August 9, 2014 at 8:00am ET

In 14 years of leading the Tri State area’s top networking group we have always strived to stay ahead of the curve and give job seekers and those wanting to manage their careers the best information possible

Phase 1 – Post 9/11 – we set out to help job seekers and found out that the job search process was broken – so we analyzed each step and came up with approaches and techniques that provided an “edge” at each step over other job seekers. Whether it was advice on how to make the case with your resume, how to help the employer see you as a cultural fit, or how to network your way in – we were there with the best advice

Phase 2 – The advent of Social Media – first we began with embracing Yahoo Groups to manage TBCNJ and our communications but then Social Media through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others became instrumental to our job search approach and how to leverage these tools both individual and as a networking group became another critical element

Phase 3 – Enter the New Way Business is done. It began quietly cloud and bring your own device but Cloud, Mobile have now been joined by Big Data, Social, Robotics, Gamification and Cybersecurity and all under the umbrella of Digital Business, Digital Frameworks and Digital Transformation. The rate and volume of change is reaching new levels daily. Now the way business is being done is changing so radically there are new jobs, different titles, and new position responsibilities plus many “legacy firms” those in business pre-2000 are competing against many who were created post-2005 and from the get go on Cloud with new Digital Business Models. Many of the legacy firms are downsizing and people are lost trying to navigate among new job titles, more hands on responsibilities, flattened organizations and last but not least where is your network with the legacy firms or the new hot post 2005 firms? Everyone has a lot of work to do the quicker they get underway the stronger they will be as they find their niche in the new way business is done.

Frank will take you through these changes and give you a clear path on how to position yourself and your career successfully

About the speaker:

Frank Kovacs is the founder of The Breakfast Club NJ the top networking group in the Tristate area which is closing in on its’ 14th year and has over 4,000+ members and has helped over 6,000+ individuals land jobs. TBCNJ was founded following the 9/11 Tragedy to help those that were displaced from their jobs, however, the prolonged economic and financial problems that our economy and businesses have endured necessitated keeping the group and its’ mission alive beyond what was ever envisioned. It is comprised of volunteers who “pay forward” their assistance on techniques that help give a job seeker an “edge” at each step of the job search process, and then we added many ways social networking could be leveraged through yahoo groups, LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, google+ and others. Frank also added a weekly Radio show, You’re Career is Calling, that he has delivered at Rider University every Sunday going on 4 years.

Frank’s vocation is as a Technology Executive who has spent close to 30 years directing some of the largest global transformations for the marquee names in the business – AT&T Bell Labs, Citigroup, AIG, JP Morgan Chase, Bowne, Medco, GSi Commerce/EBay, McGraw Hill and Ernst & Young. Most recently Frank built one of the largest and most successful Cloud Practices in the world and sold then directing the largest migration ever to Cloud for Nasa’s 1900+ websites Now Frank runs Digital Business, Frameworks, and Transformations for the largest Business Process Outsourcer in the business which includes the disrupting technologies of Cloud, Mobile, Social, Big Data, Robotics, Gamification, and Cybersecurity.

Given Frank’s work in these two areas (Technology Major Transformation Executive/Career Management Expert) and hear first-hand the presentation that he has developed, “A CALL TO ACTION”. The way business is done is changing dramatically. What jobs there are, what responsibilities these jobs have, which firms will be able to define and execute these new Digital Business Models better than their competition is going to lead to the biggest change in the way we do business and work. Many firms just aren’t going to successful make the transition Come and hear this message first hand so you can start preparing today to position yourself effectively in what will be a much different environment The change is already started and underway.

If you are in transition this message is critical to understand what you can change quickly to get re-engaged

If you are currently working this message is needed so you can start preparing today and make the most for yourself from the changes we all will be facing.

Looking forward to seeing you – You Don’t want to miss this critical perspective of the future and its’ impact on you and your career.


 

Posted in Monthly Meeting

Do You Need to Backup Your Cloud-Stored Data?

Posted on by Adam Kovitz
Do You Need to Backup Your Cloud-Stored Data? by David Schuchman
Some organizations assume that because their enterprise data is already stored in “the cloud” that they do not need a separate backup solution for that data. That assumption is wrong. Cloud based solutions for data and application storage require the same diligence for backing up data as for locally stored data and applications. Plus, there are other situations you need to protect against that you may not have considered.

Backing up data is vital for businesses. Lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure. Individuals who don’t backup computer data run the same risk. You need to treat your solution for data backup completely separate from your cloud-based solution for data and applications storage. Your cloud-based data and applications must be viewed simply as the virtual equivalent of having the data and applications hosted in your own facility. Therefore if you would have a data backup solution for your in-house facility, you must do so for your cloud based solutions.

Reasons for backing up your enterprise data are:

Point-In-Time Recovery
You may have business or regulatory needs to recover data from a specific point in time, such as the end of the year close. This could be for audit, tax or meet other requirements. Some databases have this feature built in, while others do not. If your cloud applications or databases do not support a point-in-time recovery, then you need to ensure your backup solution satisfies that requirement.
Accidental Deletion
Most applications allow the users to delete data. Users typically can delete network files they no longer need. When you need to recover lost data, the only means to do that may be via your backup solution.
Protect Against Virus or Corrupt Data
While it is likely that your cloud based service provider has virus protection within their operation, it may not be in force on your instance of the application or data storage. In that case should your data become corrupt, you will need to recover the data from your backup solution.

Reasons to backup your enterprise data stored in the cloud:

Don’t assume the cloud provider is backing up your data
The cloud provider will agree to do whatever is in your contract. They may have their own virus scanning, backup and recovery procedures for their operations. However, that may not be applicable to you or may not meet your specific needs or timing.
Your Cloud Provider Goes Out of Business
If your cloud based data and applications storage provide goes out of business, you lost your data. You may be able to quickly contract with another vendor to host your applications and install the software. If your only copy of the current data is with the vendor that is out of business, you have likely lost that data forever. Even if you could sue the vendor to recover the data and/or damages, it will take much too long for your needed recovery.
You choice for a data backup solution and provider will be made based on your data recovery needs. You primary consideration must be that your data backup solution provider be different than your production application and data provider. That’s because of my final point above. If you have one provider and that organization goes out of business, you lost your data even though its backed up.
David Schuchman

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Are You Nervous before the Job Interview?

Posted on by Adam Kovitz

Most people are nervous before a job interview. And that’s normal. A job interview is nothing less than an oral exam. In most cases, it is very important because the outcome could change a person’s future, milieu, income, and so on. But when large groups of people are asked whether they feel nervous before an […]

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