July 2013
Contents Summer Greetings ................................................................................................................................................ 2 PMI Netherlands Chapter a truly international and cros-cultural chapter ........................................................... 2 Our Sponsors ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Events calendar ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Proof that you speak the international language of project managemen ............................................................ 4 PMI Journals ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 The intercultural project organization: A Collabyrint ........................................................................................... 6 Whatever can hurt you in regular project can kill you in inter-cultural one .......................................................... 7 Learn more - PMI Webinars about cultural diversity .............................................................................................. 8 Empowering Youth Through Project Management – inspiration stor .................................................................. 9 PMI Netherlands Summit – afterthough................................................................................................................ 9 Let’s stay in touch ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Project management Humour .............................................................................................................................. 11 Get published, Get involved .................................................................................................................................. 12
Summer Greetings! Returning from holidays I just had some time to write a few sentences to introduce the PMI Netherlands Chapter’s first ever newsletter summer edition. The theme of this firs summer edition is about different cultures. Doesn’t that fit nicely to our summer travels abroad, at least I hope you have the opportunity to travel and relax, experiencing other cultures, what we join and where we differ? I myself was in Berlin, a great city to visit (personally highly recommended) and like every city a mixture of cultures. To me that typically adds flavors to a city that makes is lively, continuously changing, r-inventing itself and worthwhile visiting? Why is it than often so difficult to work in a cro-cultural professional environment? In this newsletter for sure some take a way’s and there will be more on using diversity to spark creativity and innovatio
Cees Pijs President
Anyway enjoy your holidays and enjoy our newsletter’s first summer edition. Maybe you have some spear ti during summer to provide feedback on our newsletter. That would be in support to the people that contribute to this edition.Feel free to consider contributing to thi newsletter. Simply mail to communication@pm-netherlands-chapter.org. Take care and enjoy and keep an eye on our website as we will start publishing the events for the next half year soon. Hope to see you at one of our upcoming events!
PMI Netherlands Chapter a truly international and crosscultural chapter When thinking of the PMI Netherlands Chapter, one doesn’t always think of the international membership base that we have. However, if you take into account that the Netherlands houses a lot of mult-nationals and that the people working for these companies tend to come from all over the world and that a lot of these people work in project management, it becomes much easier to understand where the international membership base comes from.
Diepak Kasi
Director Membership and Volunteers
The international and cros-cultural character is reflected in many ways within our chapter. At our events, you can meet members from many other countries. Also, in our volunteer basis we have people from many countries. To just name a few: South Africa, Greece, Argentina, Croatia, Trinidad and Pakistan. And also ou board reflects this internatinal character with board members from Poland and India next to the Dutch board members (and a little bit of Surinam). PMI is a truly global standard and the PMI Netherlands Chapter is a host to all around the globe who lives in the Netherlands and is interested in learning about and advancing their knowledge of Project Management. While everyone is traveling this summer period to other countries to meet new people and learn about other cultures, we have many of these people and these cultures within our chapter. Have a great summer and enjoy!
2 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Our Sponsors Thank you to all our sponsors for your generous support! GOLDEN SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
FACILITY SPONSORS
3 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Events calendar SEPTEMBER 2013 9-9-2013 11-9-2013 16-9-2013
NOVEMBER 2013 IIL PMP Training
2-11-2013
PMP Exam Preparation Coaching Class (2/4
Meeting: Exxonmobil in Breda, topic: Estimating & Contr IIL CAPM Training
4-11-2013
IIL PMP Training
OCTOBER 2013 TBA
Meeting:AVANS University
12-10-2013
PMP Exam Preparation Coaching Class (1/4
More info
16-10-2013
Webinar: Managing Multiple ProjectsOverview
More info
More info
15-11-2013
Meeting:ASML in Veldhoven, topic: PMO
16-11-2013
PMP Exam Preparation Coaching Class (3/4
More info
20-11-2013
Webinar: The Benefits of Risk Management
More info
30-11-2013
PMP Exam Preparation Coaching Class (4/)
More info
DECEMBER 2013 TBA 18-12-2013
Meeting:Regus52 in Nijmegen, topic: U/C Webinar: Art of Influence
More info
Proof that you speak the international language of project management Hello, bonjour, ciao, ¡hola! …. On your vacation you can drop a few lines in foreign language or use your hands & feet and your face and all that to try to communicate with someone you meet.
PMP Coaches
pmp-coaches@pmi-netherlands-chapter.org
In business and projects specifically, it is more than handy if you are able to use a language we all understand. On a global scale the PMBoK contains the international languge of Project Management. If you want to be recognized as a valuable international project member you can easily demonstrate that you speak this language once you gain the PMP or CAPM certification. For eligible candidates we start our next PMP Exam Coaching Class in October.
Registration closes on 12t September. If you are serious about your career you register for our PMP Exam Coaching Class.
4 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
PMI Journals VOX POPULI The public, when ignored, can cause projects to be delayed or cancelled. CHANGING GEARS Portfolio managers must embrace, expect and manage change. A PERSUASION PRIMER Target your argument to the audience in order to communicate about your project. EYES ON THE ROAD An automotive supplier gets a demo of complicated technology ready quickly for major auto shows. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT Public cloud solutions save money, but are they worth the risks? OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Project executives can point organizations in the right direction ensuring that portfolios drive strategy. Link to the issue
The Value of PMI Certificatio April LIMs Stress Serving the Growing Needs of Stakeholders Pulse of the Profession™ Report Engages Executives Call for PMI Annual Membership Meeting Agenda Items Academics and Practitioners Discuss Integrative Role PMOs A Sports-Based Youth Program in Mexico is Inspired by PMI Member Training in New York Volunteers Make Possible PMI-RMP and PMI-SP Credential Exam Updates Project Success Depends on Effective Communication Region 6 Conference Gets Full Chapter Representation Update Your Contact Information with PMI PMI India Hosts All India Chapter Presidents Link to the issue 5 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
The intercultural project organization: A Collabyrinth In the execution of a project, collaboration i inevitable. During a four-year research project I studied how collaboration became manifest in the everyday work life of project participants in the Panama Canal Expansion Program. The journey towards developing a collaborative relationshi can be seen as a collabyrinth. This neology of ‘collaboration’ and ‘labyrinth’ reflects the complicatedness of collaboration.
Even before signing starting a project, parties can conduct a ‘culture scan’. Dr. Karen Smits Identifying the cultural ksmits@hotmail.com LinkedIn: differences and http://www.linkedin.com/in/ksmit similarities at an early Twitter stage of collaboration, @Karen_Smits decreases the risk of a painful culture clash during the execution of a project. A better understanding of the cultural aspects that come together in a project organization supports project participants i accepting and anticipating on cultural aspects li organizational beaviour, work ethics and meeting styles. Hence, explicit attention to cultural aspect in the project environment increases collaboration among its project participants and will, in turn, affect the project’s end result.
Project organizatios generally consist of employees residing from various specialized organizations bringing numerous cultural differences and similarities, distinctive practi and differing values and interests for participatio to the work floor. A collabyrinth demonstrates the complexity of working together across cultures and illustrates the practices of collaboration tha emerged in the project organization under study In the Panama Canal Expansion Program I found a wide variety of practices of collaboration ‘Submarining’, for example, illustrates that actors recur to traditional behaviour and mark boundaries based upon cultural aspects and project office locations. These diminishing practices led t separation and fragmentation among the projec participants and creted distance between them. Nevertheless, as project participants came to recognize the need for a collaborative relationship several amplifying practices evolved. As such, ‘crafting reciprocal relations’ expresses th willingness to collaborate and is enacted in activities that bridge the cultural divide so that despite the complexities, people developed ways to enhance a collaborative relationshi The study stresses the importance of highlighting culture and collaboration on the project management agenda. Unravelling the cultural complexity helps us to understand what is actually going on in a project organization and to obtain better insight into the lived experiences of project participants.
Click here to download Karen’s book “Cross Culture Work: Practices of collaboration in the Panama Canal Expansion Program”
6 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Whatever can hurt you in regular project can kill you in inter-cultural one Małgorzata Krakowian
Cultural differences are very complex matter. You can think about them like about iceberg - we can see only top of it, but what is under water is intangible and hard for us to predict or understand. That's why when we work in intercultural environment we should be aware of the fact that not everything will be clear and explainable.
only have stereotypes Director Communicatio about other - we have in our minds also stereotypes about ourselves. If you think that you are better just because you are from country A or company B, there is a big problem. In multicultural teams there are few hazardous topics you should pay attention to: politic religion, salary, humour, national and religious days, time zones, language etc. As you see there are many of them and because of that we should be more focus on what we are doing and saying.
When we talk about cultural differences we are tend to think mainly about those which are based on differences between countries/continents. This is something obvious for us but what is worth to stress here is that we can also have cultures which are defined by profession, company, gender, age, education and many others.
But to be fair and more optimisticIn Poland complaining is a national sport ;) ) inter-cultural projects and teams are not only pain in the neck and additional work. They are an amazing opportunity for everyone's development. Only in mixed group of people we are able to find best solutions bcause it gives as a chance to see problems from different perspective and combine our divers experience.
The biggest obstacles in working in multicultural team are stereotypes. To be honest I hate them. For me they limit understanding other people, but I can understand the role of stereotypes - they give us first guidelines what we can expect. If don’t know anything about other culture, we tent to build a distance, just because we don't know how to behave and we are afraid to do something inappropriate.
Remember: Diversity is innovation
In collocated teams stereotypes can be easily verified. We see each other every day and have a chance to talk with others. In virtual teams, which are quite often used in international projects, it i more difficult since communication between people is limited. We should remember, we not
7 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
To minimize risk of running inter-cultural project or team and find a way out of cultural collabyrinth (see article 'The intercultural project organization A Collabyrinth' by Karen Smits) we need a good leader. Are you?
And now four most important communication rules: • use paraphrase - check if you understand others and others understand you •
First of all we have to get familiar with cultures we are working with. It is much easier to manage conflicts when we know what, more or less, we can expect. It is also vital to set clear rules - for example jokes based on cultural differences should be strictly banned.
visualize - a picture is a thousand words
• write down and circulate what was decided during the meeting - not everyone will dare to speak up or oppose in front of others, it is also a good thing for those who are not native speakers • do not assume that something is obvious for example ASAP can mean different things
Second rule: We should pay a little bit more attention to team building activities to give peo opportunity to get familiar with each other and at the beginning of collaboration remove all harmful stereotypes. Of course lack of funds and virtual teams are not excuse to give up.
If you don't tolerate cultural differences and feel bad in international environment– betterchange your job! If you think that cultural differences are only source of problems - your team will start to think same way.
Next it is very crucial to never let people lose their face if front of others. Instead of that you should give everyone opportunity to show what is the best in their culture and in themselves as entity.
But if you are a fan of it, people around you will start gain best from it. Be an example for other.
Learn more - PMI Webinars about cultural diversity * In the Flow: I am the creator and destroyer of worlds,.... * Diversity and Global Communication Challenge * Eight common cultural land mines in virtual teams * 7 Deadliest Communication Sins of Project Manager * Galapagos or Arcti Tundra? Diverse or Not? Why Diversity... * The Influence of Culture in Interaction * The Human Factor as a Diverse measure for Project Management * The Diversity Asset: How to Leverage Differences to Maximize * Getti to we: Forming a Partnering Culture in a Diverse Env * What Were They Thinking? What Was I Thinking? * Intercultural Leadership: Communication in a Multicultural E * Surviving by Managing Stability and Change * Negotiation Skills for a Multicultural Wo * Diversity and Global Communication Challenge
8 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Empowering Youth Through Project Management – inspiration story When project managers get together, inspiring things happen. Simon Robertson, PMP, met fellow project manager Walter Ginevri, PMP, at the PMI Global Congress in 2009. Their encounter inspired Simon to take what he learned about teaching project management to children and bring it back to the United Kingdom. The result? Simon and his team created a pilot program at Mill Chase School in which a class of 11-year-old students planned, organized and worked together to design an Olympic stadium. The pilot was so successful that Simon and his team have been invited back to do it again next year.
Education gives students knowledge, but project management teaches them how to use that knowledge. Watch Simon's story to learn more...
PMI Netherlands Summit – afterthought We still receive many good words about PMI Netherlands Summi 2013. Thank you!
June 16th the annual PMI Netherlands Chapter Summit was held in Zeist (http://www.pm-netherlands-summit.com/), the key note addresses and sessions were thought provoking, refreshing, enriching and viewed the PM profession from different angles than the average conference probably would. I found the quality of the speakers, in my opinion, very high indeed. The PMI Netherlands chapter did an excellent job in finding speakers that were each very different but yet combined formed an coherent summit with very valuable lessons to take to IBM and clients. Bert Luppens, PMP, MBA IBM Nederland B.V.
9 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Let’s stay in touch Our webpage is the main source of information about thePMI Netherlands Chapter: http://pm-netherlands-chapter.org You can also sing here to get Chapter news on your email.
Join 482 members of our LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/PM-Netherlands-Chapter-130083 share your thoughts and join discussions. We will also inform you about Chapter events, newletters issues andother PMI news. You can also follow our company page: http://www.linkedin.com/company/pm-netherlands-chapter with 480 other followers.
Check out our Facebook Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/PMINetherlandsChapte which was set up to inform you about recent news and for community building purposes. We will let you know about Chapter events, newletters issues and share with you our meetings impresions.
Besides the website, LinkedIn and Facebook you can follow us on Twitte: https://twitter.com/pminl On regular basis we sent tweets to inform you on Chapter events, news from PMI etc. Have a look and give it a go and join the 221 followers. Looking forward to tweet-connect.
If you miss our Chapter meeting or want to hear it agai, now you can check our YouTube channel were we publish recordings from our events: http://www.youtube.com/user/PMINetherland
To make reading our newsletters more convenient for you, we’ve created an Issue account where you can find all our newsletters:http://issuu.com/pmi_netherlands_chapte
10 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Project management Humour High Flying PM A man is flying in a hot air balloon and realizes he is lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts: "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised my friend. I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The man below says, "Yes, you are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees North latitude and between58 and 60 degrees West longitude." "You must be a programmer," says the balloonist. "I am," replies the man. "How did you know?" "Well," says the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost." The man below says, "You must be a project manager" "I am," replies the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," says the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were in before we met, but now it is omehow my fault."
The Genie Three men: a project manager, a software engineer, and a hardware engineer are helping out on a project. About midweek they decide to walk up and down the beach during their lunch hour. Halfway up the beach, they stumbled upon a lamp. As they rub the lamp a genie appears and says "Normally I would grant you three wishes, but since there are three of you, I will grant you each one wish." The hardware engineer went first. "I would like to spend the rest of my life living in a huge house in St. Thomas with no money worries." The genie granted him his wish and sent him on off to St. Thomas. The software engineer went next. "I would like to spend the rest of my life living on a huge yacht cruising the Mediterranean with no money worries." The genie granted him his wish and sent him off to the Mediterranean. Last, but not least, it was the project manager's turn. "And what would your wish be?" asked the genie. "I want them both back after lunch" replied the project manager
11 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org
Get published, Get involved PMI is the best places to get and share PM knowledge and PMI Netherlands Newsletter is one of our channels we try to keep you up to dat, what is going on within the Chapter, and give you opportunity to learn something new. We would like to encourage you to get involved in making PMI Netherlands Newsletter more interesting for readers If you are passionate about certain aspect of PM and willing to spend some time to write down your thoughts, please do so and contact with us. We will be more than happy to publish your article.
Małgorzata Krakowian Director Communicatio
If you know something about interesting PM events or news hich may be interesting for our members you can also drop us a message. Of course we are also waiting for your feedback on our newslette and open for suggestions how to improve it
Editorial Office: • Małgorzata Krakowian, Director Communicatio • Karen Obi Contact: communicatio@pmi-netherlands-chapter.org
12 PMI Netherlands Chapter | Postbus 90261 | 1006 BG Amsterdam - Vakvereniging voor Project-, Programma- en Portfoliomanagers www.PMI-Netherlands-Chapter.org