Book Review: Social Media for Project Managers

A book review: Social Media for Project Managers by Elizabeth Harrin

   The title of this book could easily find strong resistence by the traditional project manager.   He/she might say that it would be a conflict of traditional definitions, hard fixed expectations and deliverables controlled by a project manager.   However, that already is not the case.  Just consider enviornmental factors that have been in place for years, such as email and virtual conference status calls.  Elizabeth Harrin notes those very factors as a basis for her intial discussions in her book.

I am a strong proponent of moving beyond the ways of yesterday.  I was very curious of what the author would bring forward that to the novice, new to the experienced, and most importantly how the subject would cross into the hallowed halls project management.  She did very well covering a gambit of topics.  We are at the beginning of a new era, and a loose term is becoming much more prevalent - Project Management 2.0.  Much of the book touches upon tools and concepts that are already well recognized in many varied ways, such as blogging and collaboration.  However, the author does a great job of placing a proper perspective acknowledging key and sometimes critical corporate business concerns such as costs, security, legal, configuration, transistioning, ongoing maintenance, privacy, and professionalism.   These are all extremely important factors that are overlooked and / or not understood by the individual sitting in the privicy of his home, twittering and blogging away, or the stand-alone independent project manager who does not have the understanding nor exposure of the bigger picture of business operations.  Unfortunately, these become somewhat dry topics, and as a result some the book reading is slow. 

I commend the author, who is a well recognized blogger, on a healthy book.  I believe project management personnel who have the ability to break the mold of tradition should give this book a try.  This is not a book on how to be a blogger, nor should it be.  There is value from the novice, to the indvidual who thinks he already knows it all. 

A clean desk

How clean is your desk and office?   Are you presenting a a healthy image to visitors?  Are you well organized or is there too much clutter and junk?  

Several weeks ago new employment at a new employer allowed me to rethink how I manage my workspace.  A started with a few foundational approaches.   Minimal hardcopy dependency and retention was the 1st rule implemented.  This was difficult for me as I am a pack rat who thinks there is a need to have a hard record of everything.   

A second approach to pursue was a combination of minimal stuff on the desk throughout the day and a clean desk at the end of the day when I go home.   I implemented this approach about 20 years ago upon a job promotion and new office at that time.  Good organization of manila folders and hanging folders are key.  At the end of the day, everything on the desk is cleansed and placed away.  There are a few special color hanging folders at the front of the desk drawer that reflect current activities or projects.

The last and yet most important factor is my To-Do list management.   I have a very small, thin portfolio sporting a writing tablet where I manage my daily prioritized To-Do activities and very quick notes.  While I have tried technology solutions like desktop tools (or PDAs in the past), they don't always fit well within corporate rules and boundaries, and are not always as accessable, portable and quickly usable as one would wish.   I also exploit my Microsoft Outlook - extensive use of folders, categories, Notes and Tasks functions.   As an example I have a 'standing' Note in Outlook where I capture notes and thoughts throughout the week to add to an agenda for a weekly project status meeting.

Here is another article for your review on this topic:  Does Your Desk Tell Secrets About You?

How many tweets ..... Come on.....

How many tweets?   How many tweets show you have value or something meaningful to say?

While I may not be a big tweeter I look for value, not volume, when I look at potential people to follow. It is amazing to note how often some people tweet. I recently saw an individual who had 38000+ tweets!!!! Yes, you read that right. Come on, really... don't you have anything better in your life? I have seen one individual who did nothing but post inspirational thoughts pertaining to a specific profession. While that may be good in intention, it becomes bad once they become recycled within 10 days or so. Come on, don't you have a better way to contribute than that? I have seen several people totally facinated by posting via 4Square every 5 minutes. Come on, are you totally addicted to technology, .... I hope you are enjoying it -- maybe I am missing the point there. ..... Then there are those who are doing providing nothing more than transposing their own, or their corporate advertising. And then there are a few people who post meaningless messages -- they remind me of people who you meet who just love to hear themselves talk. Of course I am not perfect either, but I am not sure about some of this.