Message from the Chair

And here we are. It's already June and half our year has seemingly evaporated. Which we all know is not the case. For the last six months you, your peers, and your Consulting SIG Board have been working to deliver value to our clients through the application of project management in our consulting engagements. We are our clients' agents of change. Be it changing internal processes and procedures, or developing operational capability in support of our clients' strategies. While economics may have impacted our effectiveness as budgets have been cut, and continue to be scrutinized, we have continued to create meaningful value where we have spent our time and attention.

The interesting thing for me is that no matter who I talk to, no matter where I travel, the issues have a commonality that speaks to the universal challenges our clients face. At the recent PMI® EMEA Congress I met practicing project managers, many of them consultants like us, who were struggling to tie their efforts in a visible and concerted manner to the senior leadership of their organizations and the strategies that they needed to implement. In the standards working session that preceded the Congress many of the themes that arose were not specifically about the use of project management methods or the standards themselves. The primary driver came down to a single point of focus - people in projects.

From defining a standard for the best method to manage the leadership of projects, to the effective incorporation of clear and specific requirements into the management of projects for success, each area identified by the working groups directly required the effective inclusion and management of participant involvement in projects. In fact, the working group of which I was a member identified stakeholder management as a key area in which PMI could define some clearer standards; this could also be a rich source of thought leadership for the foreseeable future.

Why is this important? Because the success of our consulting relies explicitly on the effective and active engagement of people in the implementation of our projects. Through them and with them we are successful. With this in mind, we face a challenge as a Specific Interest Group that means a very different future for our organization. (See the recent Virtual Communities Project overview from the EMEA Congress.) A new organization structure, a new way of supporting project management as a profession is coming. We'll need your help to best position us to both transform and to take advantage of the new capabilities and capacity that the new structure will entail, as SIGs become Communities of Practice. How quickly is this change coming? Well that depends on your perspective.

How long does six months feel to you?

Andrew "Drew" Marshall
Chair, Consulting SIG
chair@pmiconsultingsig.org

1. Creating a Marketing Tool Box for the Board which will assist in ensuring a standardized message is communicated to the members,
2. Publishing a Global Advertising Campaign which includes coordination of networking events,
3. Establishing alliances with other SIGs to leverage some of the great programs they have on offer to their membership to CSIG members and
4. Building a Consulting Library and Knowledge Center where our members can access a speaker bureau, templates and best practices papers.

Please visit the CSIG website and view the "Volunteer area" under "Opportunities" to view the open position descriptions.

Oh No, You Gave Me What I Asked For!”: Part 2 - Using Consulting Skills to Uncover Expectations

Part 1 mentioned 5 pitfalls to uncovering expectations: 1) the Time Trap, 2) Stated Requirements Don't Meet Expectations, 3) Ineffective Questioning, 4) Using the Wrong Techniques and 5) Accepting Solutions Presented by the Business. This article continues the discussion by addressing how these common pitfalls can be mitigated by using a consulting approach and focuses on consultative questioning. View the complete article>

Through this unique and thought-provoking presentation, attendees will gain an understanding of the seven gray areas most leaders face, and learn how to navigate these areas through powerful toolsets around four primary themes: Ideals; Leading by Questioning; Systems Thinking; and Empathy. This holistic approach enables better decisions from broader perspectives, as opposed to near-sighted assumptions, quick fixes and one-size-fits-all solutions. This presentation is based on the best-selling book Jerry Manas' Managing the Gray Areas, which Pat Williams, Senior VP of the Orlando Magic, called "a new path for leaders."

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Webinars are available in the Members Area of the CSIG web site