I attended the annual Professional Development Day hosted by Northeast Wisconsin’s PMI chapter yesterday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on May the 4th (be with you), 2022. I always learn so much at these conferences, but apparently, science tells us that we only retain a very small percentage of what we learned. Because of that, I like to do a debrief or knowledge share after I get back so I can help instill the valuable points and key takeaways. And lucky you, I’m going to share them with you, because that was the theme this year: “You, Inc.”!
Keynote: “Finding your place in a new, digital world” by Michael Milutis
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmilutis/
Mr. Milutis was an energetic and knowledgeable speaker, with an intriguing topic. The focus of the speech was recognizing that new technology is continually being created and that as leaders, we need to be aware of them because we’ll probably be dealing with them soon.
Here are a few key quotes:
“You need more than knowledge to get where you want to go.”
“Brand is a forward-looking, aspirational vision of where you want to be.”
“Your brand is not your resume.”
“If you keep waiting for a moment of certainty, it will pass you by.”
Key things to do:
- Learn continually
- Network strategically
- Brand purposefully
“People do business based on where you’re going, not where you’ve been.”
“Be the CEO of yourself.”
“Start where you are.” (and don’t start with technology)
“Tech is JUST an enabler to generate business value.”
“You don’t want to be redundant to the technology.”
“EQ will become increasingly valuable – unique human empathy is huge.”
“Become more human.”
Focus on:
- Imagination
- Creativity
- Transdisciplinary
- Generalist
“It’s dangerous to be a specialist in anything.”
“Be a generalist.”
“One specialist exception: cyber-security – this makes you very powerful.”
“No one needs to go back to school; everything is online.”
“Find mentors.”
“Knowledge compounds, like interest.”
“Everything in our world is information technology.”
“Learn how to learn.”
Executive Panel: “How executives execute corporate strategies” with panelists:
| Name | Company | |
| Kevin Adesso | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-adesso-0234ba181/ | Johnsonville |
| Michael Rehberg | https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrehberg/ | Navitus |
| Tim Riley | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-riley-b70b3a1/ | Network Health |
| Sean VanHandel | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-vanhandel-a6206b10b/ | CoVantage C.U. |
This four-person panel of IT leaders from local companies spurred a great conversation about executing strategy, and so much more. Rather than quotes from this group, I’m sharing the key ideas, since it was kind of difficult to keep track of who said what:
- The biggest challenge right now is Labor
- Companies are looking to automate more
- COVID caused companies to choose projects that were essential – it forced prioritization
- A benefit of COVID is that the potential talent no longer needs to be local
- COVID improved requirements gathering
- Started finishing and stopped starting [projects]
- COVID forced them to empower managers to manage their teams
- Companies don’t want to lose the interaction of in-person work
- They miss collaboration with the crowd but figured out ways to adapt
- Organizations are more focused on being flexible
- People can opt-out of meetings if they’re not essential (only attend if absolutely necessary)
- Collaboration tools were key to getting through COVID
- Tech people are not coming back to the office
- Only ask people to come in for collaboration events – use these as high points
- Communication is difficult
- Companies need to reward and recognize their employees
- Agile exists in most organizations, but primarily for development – not business
- Employers need to engage with their employees and make sure they have a career path
- Having a culture of trust and belief in the company’s mission is important to people
- Salaries are like housing prices right now
- Companies are trying to attract and diversify their talent pool
- Focus on onboarding so people want to stay
- To keep people happy, give them a variety of experiences; find other places they can learn and grow within the organization
- When people are in the office – make it valuable
- Be attentive and hyper-focused
- Provide employees with self-directed training or learning opportunities
- One current worry is compartmentalized knowledge – there’s a need to knowledge share
- Leverage partners to help move faster; outsource
- Diversity is an ongoing journey, now and forever
Session: “Five Use Cases for Project Management Tools you may not be using” by Michael Roberts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-roberts-5a72032/
I presented at the same conference as Michael Roberts a few years ago (WIBADD), and we’re connected on LinkedIn. Plus, I was originally a Roberts (my maiden name), too, so I had to attend this session.
Michael covered a handful of project management tools that are currently popular. I didn’t take a ton of notes at this session, but there were some good discussions about what tools people are using to manage their projects, programs, and portfolios. Michael shared specific use cases of tools his company uses to help organizations transform how they work.
The basic business problem for all the case studies was similar – companies were pushing and pulling data from different systems, and it was inefficient. By bringing workflows and tasks together into one system, organizations were able to reduce context switching and create a single source of truth.
Asana is one tool that was specifically discussed. I have used Asana for about a decade. Originally, I used it for work-related organization, but now I purely use it for my personal to-do lists. Asana is easy and intuitive – no training is required. Just start entering your tasks and marking them off when you’re done.
Another system extensively discussed was Jira. Michael disclaimed that his company has a relationship with Jira, but that he wasn’t trying to sell us anything. My personal experience with Jira was about a decade ago, and I wasn’t very impressed. However, since Atlassian purchased the software, I’m sure there have been massive improvements. I don’t hate Jira, but I don’t love it either, but it still remains popular.
Finally, the main key takeaway for me from Michael’s presentation was that no matter what tool you decide to use, the most important consideration is integration with other tools. This is the best way to connect the dots so you can have a smooth system that meets your business needs.
Session: “Solving Tomorrow’s Problems Today” by Myles Miller
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamylesmiller/
Myles opened his talk by asking us if we knew what day it was. I had to be the one to pull out my baby Yoda (Grogu) keychain and shout “May the 4th be with you!” I was instantly enraptured that a fellow Star Wars fan was at the podium. He proceeded with his presentation by having us all shout:
“I am a problem solver!”
And here are a few more key quotes I captured along the way:
“10-15% of people succeed in life, but they also fail along the way.”
“Always be learning.”
“Don’t promise – always deliver.”
“Become a ‘realistic optimist’.”
“Never say ‘YES’ at first – learn when to say ‘NO’ without saying the word ‘NO’.”
“As a PM, you must be good at acting – you’re on stage with a spotlight on you every day.”
“A great PM knows every day what needs to be done.”
“Prevention is always better than a cure.”
“Get out of the office with someone – it will change the dynamic.”
“Use three-point estimating.” ((Optimistic + (Most Likely x 4) + Pessimistic) / 6) aka PERT
“EQ – just check in with people as human beings.”
“Projects would be perfect if people weren’t a part of them.”
“Inject some fun! No hour-long meetings!”
“Everyone has something that motivates them more than anything else.”
“You need to know who to push and prod, and who to leave alone.”
“Change is the only constant.”
Do daily:
- Find balance with and without your team
- Plan, replan/assess, reassess, focus over the horizon
- Teach others what you know works, so they can produce similar results
Endnote: “Don’t believe everything you think!!” by Ali Starr
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-starr-372828123/
Ali Starr was another energetic, engaging speaker. Her presentation was interactive, and I felt like I learned a lot. The focus of her speech was to help us recognize that Emotional Intelligence is crucially important to how we show up as leaders. Here are the key quotes and takeaways from her speech:
“Servant leaders help you become the next best version of yourself.”
“We know it and feel it when we have a good leader.”
“People never forget how someone made them feel.”
“Emotional Intelligence = Recognizing, understanding, and managing our own emotions.”
Elements of emotional intelligence (from Daniel Goldman):
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Empathy
- Motivation
- Social Skills
Disclosure: There may be affiliate links contained on my website that I receive commissions from when purchases are made through my links. I only recommend products based on my personal experience and I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or used myself.
“Ask for forgiveness and say, ‘I’m sorry’.”
“9 out of 10 communications miss the mark in some way.”
“Blind spots are something you can’t see about yourself; someone has to mirror them to you.”
“Show up in a way you will be proud of.”
“90% of you is good enough; work on the other 10%.”
“When you feel defensive, use the phrase ‘Say more’.”
“Be careful of assumptions; we are all human.”
“Don’t believe everything you think.”
Final Thoughts
I am always re-energized after attending a conference like NEW-PMI‘s Professional Development Day, and it was absolutely amazing to be back live and in person with so many familiar colleagues and friends. I normally give presentations myself, so it’s nice (for a change) to be able to sit back and listen to the wisdom of others. I hope that this short smattering of ideas will help you, too!