STOP PRESS!!! Project 2015

Hello all, Welcome to 2015.

So there's been plenty ado about making "New year's resolutions", truth is whether we make new year resolutions or not, a new year brings an opportunity for change, new decisions and a desire to achieve more and become more.

Like I always say...a Project is an activity or series of activities that have constraints such as;

- time (Dec 31st 2015)

- budget (your salary or proposed income) 

and has a specific outcome...which for many of us is to become better, change jobs, grow our businesses, make more money, get married...etc.

So today's post is just suggesting things that you might need to pay attention to when making those decisions...

1. Don't just have a resolution, turn it into a goal.

A goal is a resolution plus a plan.

A goal needs to be SMART.
Specific.
Measurable.
Achievable.
Realistic.
TimeBound

2. Consider external circumstances.

Left to you alone, you will probably achieve your goals (okay...probably not...you are your worst enemy...trust me...you are). Make plans with flexible alternatives based on scenarios that are possible no matter how remote. ( The 2015 elections mean that things will be different, make plans to maximize the opportunities and reduce the threats).

* If you are into a gift service business for example (why gift! Debo are you picking on me?), valentine is a busy period, it wont be this year. So start now, sell gift packages with delivery options and ensure delivery before February 14...election day in Nigeria (single men are excited for this...married men are trapped with their wives..)

(now he has let the cat out of the bag! Shocks!)

3. Make small changes to your plans as you go along. 

We made the model in project management called the
Plan-Do- Check- Act...model
a. Make your plans
b. Do your plans
c. Check to see if the outcomes and the proposed plans are compatible
d. Act. When you see major differences....ACT. Do not wait till 2016.

Thank you.

I will be having a Project Management Training course this month (January 2015). The course is the PMP certification training program with a twist to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses in 2015 and help position career individuals for a better year.

The beauty of PMP is that it cuts across every career and job option.

Cost: N 49,999
Dates: 24th-25th Jan
31st Jan and 1st Feb

I am offering a 10% discount on anyone who contacts me from mofolusades.blogspot.com.

Make 2015 count...its #gametime.

Project Management for SMEs by 'Debo Ajayi - 1

We have a new contributor in the house!! Yaaay. Remember Debo, the project management guy? Yes?

No? Well, he'll be taking a series on project management for entrepreneurs starting today!

Employing Risk to Transform your business.

Okay, so I will be writing a weekly article here to help SMEs build their businesses using a proven technique to grow their business, customer base, portfolio and product line.

Off course the technique we would use is called Project Management.

Today we will focus on risk.

http://www.businessinsider.com/

Risk itself is an industry and we cannot pretend to do any justice to understanding or digging into the depths of risk, but we will look at risk and how we can use a renewed understanding to grow our businesses.

Risk is simply any event with a degree of uncertainty. Risk means that we do not know exactly if an event will occur or not.

If you look at my elementary definition, it is clear that risk is neither a good or a bad phenomenon...it is just a phenomenon

We consider risk to be a bad thing around this part of the world...but this isn't necessarily true. Our general attitude towards risk is Prayer (oh well...). We try to nullify the unknown but we can adopt a proactive method to resolve challenges that risk can induce.

Risk is not always a bad thing for businesses. It can be a good thing as it presents unique opportunities for capitalizing on uncertainties.

Whenever there is an outcome with uncertain outcomes we need to investigate weather or not there are positive possibilities or just negative ones.

If all the outcomes for an event are negative, here is what every business owner needs to do with negative risk;

1. Avoid.
2. Transfer
3. Mitigate

If the outcomes have any possibility of being positive...here are valid responses

1. Seek
2. Enhance
3. Exploit


Avoid:

When there is a possibility that an outcome will be negative, the things to do is avoid the outcome altogether. Somethings we need to pass off certain opportunities because the risk outcome isn't worth it. This is a valid response to uncertainty but needs to be assessed carefully. The decision should be made not out of fear but a conscious methodical process that will create opportunities in the future.

We would continue this series next week........

Thanks.

Project Management for SMEs - Debo Ajayi #guestpost

Hi, my name is 'Debo Ajayi and I am a Project Consultant and Strategist.

A few years ago, I discovered something called Project Management. Let me be clear, I didn't actually invent it (someone just breathed a sigh of relief) I just happened upon it. And I discovered that I was born to do this. It came easily and seamless to me.

Now over the years, I have worked in quite a few industries. From Non- governmental to Entertainment, then Management consulting, Construction, Security, training and capacity building and now Business Consulting, I have noticed that one constant factor in all my business and career endeavors is Managing Projects.

I currently run a fantastic organization called Endive Projects and one of the things we have done is create a Product for Business Owners called Project Management for SMEs. Many start-ups have great ideas. The question is how to turn these "fantastic" ideas into great products and services.....That's where Project Management comes in. It enables organizations turn strategic goals into desired outcomes. Every entrepreneur should take a Project Management course and there would be a radical transformation in businesses with astronomical growth and productivity.

Also I discovered that we have a cultural challenge that inhibits us firm achieving our goals in our environment and country (Nigeria). I observed that we are good Initiators, and even executors, but we are terribly poor at planning and closing out Projects or ideas. We are quick to blame governments for failed and abandoned projects. But the problem is cultural. How many of us know people who never finish what they start (hehe, I see guilty faces, plus me), how many of us can identify uncompleted buildings around our routes and streets. Indeed how many of us have ideas that we started on but haven't followed through on? Yeah. I guessed you also have a few (yes we do),don't be alarmed. We can learn and transform our experiences.

Truth is our nation is a reflection of its people. So we need to change certain patterns to make a huge difference in our businesses and careers.

Project Management is the Number one skill required in Management staffs in the world's fortune 500 companies and great multinationals. (Says who?)

Here's just me jumping in with this picture I found that quite sums up why women especially need project management!! See!

Source: http://www.impacttrainingservices.com

Endive Projects helps businesses execute and ensure project success...we also run Project Management training for interested parties.

If you desire to join any of our programs or need our expertise on a Project, please contact

'Debo Ajayi
debo.ajayi@endiveprojects.com
08095763213

Thank you.