Another way to look at projects is to view them in the context of the organization attempting to address threats and/or opportunities presented by the external environment. On one hand the organization has its human resources and capabilities; on the other hand, the organization has to effectively deploy human resources and capabilities to meet those challenges.  This manner of dealing with project execution is really a designed response, of how to exploit the threats or challenges. 

If we can…

Celebrates by Unveiling Latest Version of the Platform with Inline Editing, .ICS (iCalendar) Integration, Advanced Search Capabilities & Filtering, Content Following and Enhanced Peer-to-Peer Messaging

August 20, 2010 (Kitchener, ON) - - IGLOO Software (www.igloosoftware.com), a leading provider of online community and social software solutions for business, today announced that its online community platform has been selected as a Trend-Setting Product by KMWorld, a leading information…

I am by my own calculations a dinosaur of the Computer Age (sigh). No, I wasn't there at the beginning exactly but close enough. When I went to IBM in the early 1970's, computers still required city blocks of space, memory was made of magnetized metal "donuts" on a wire lattice and measured in thousands of bytes (K) instead of billions (GB). Many "computers" were still programmed by rearranging sets of wires (and yes I learned how to do it) or with new programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL,…

What is this formula for success?

Collaboration x Vision x Action x Learning = Results ^(unlimited)

 Collaboration: Nothing great ever happens in a business without people - they are the foundation of success. To achieve your desired business results, everyone inside (and outside) your organization must be engaged, involved, committed, and connected. Focused communication, meaningful two-way dialogue, and direct collaboration on vision and strategy, what it takes to successfully implement it, and…

Ottawa - Canada's North is home to both the wealthiest and the poorest regions in the country, a stark dichotomy that illustrates both the challenges and opportunities in the North. The Conference Board of Canada illustrates this disparity in its first Here the North map, released today as part of the launch of the Centre for the North's web portal.

Collaboration or partnerships are an efficient means in dealing with risk (e.g. when knowledge is too vast) and/or when resources are scarce.  This is a common situation project managers (PMs) frequent themselves.

At the margins, there are two primary reasons for being collaborative.  On one hand business alignments collaborate as a means of diversifying organizational and/or operational risk.  Companies such as RIM or Wal-Mart leverage skill sets in specialized logistics to deliver its products…

When you're starting an online community, it can be hard if you don't see the results you want right away. This is where a lot of people stop and give up. But, if you're committed to the idea, you may need to adjust your perspective.

I'm a big fan of Sean "Diddy" Combs and I draw a lot of inspiration from him. He's a fantastically successful business person and has been able to achieve a high level of success over a long period of time, in all sorts of ventures.

In an interview once, he said that …

The first time I read about mobile money - using your cell phone to make monetary transactions - I was totally fascinated about the possibilities. I was particularly interested in how people in poor countries in Africa, and in India, were using their cell phones to make important transactions. The article in the Economist focused on what the mobile money movement, M-Pesa, is doing in Kenya:

"These phones compensate for inadequate infrastructure, such as bad roads and slow postal services,…

 It's hard to believe I've been a Community Manager for almost two years. And it's even harder to believe that two years ago I had no idea what a Community Manager was. At that point in late 2008 it was an extremely new role, almost entirely specific to web startups as the big corporations hadn't yet realized the potential of social media. The way Sprouter's Founder/CEO Sarah Prevette described the role to me was quite simple - social media, communications, events, public relations, and…