Five tips for using Project Management in your small business
- Learn common Project Management Terminology – This will allow you to communicate effectively with your contractors, subcontractors and customers. Consistent communication will save your company time and rework.
- Get the low hanging fruit first – There are lots of inconsistent processes in your business. Focus on easy ones first and fix it using project management principles to gain momentum and early wins.
- Keep it simple – You don’t have to use all project management tools and techniques on the very first project you work on. If it is too complicated, no one will follow it.
- Less is more – This is an excellent time for small businesses to make a mark. With power of project management behind your ideas, you can deliver results faster than big businesses, with fewer resources.
- Learn from your mistakes as well as successes – To become successful business owner you have to make lots of mistakes and learn quickly from them. Project Management processes allow you to capture lessons learned during the project. It is important you use that insight gained from one project to use it in the next project. So you don’t keep reinventing the wheel.
1 comment March 10, 2009
Accept you are suffering from information overload
I remember my school days when it was hard to get information on a subject. Information was expensive and information was king. Then came the internet era and Information overload came into our lives. Now, my regular workday starts with checking emails on three separate accounts, checking Facebook and LinkedIn.
In theory, it sounds great to have any information available to me just by clicking and typing few words in my browser. This information was never available to a small business owner before. But what is the point of all this information? Everyone else have access to the same information as well. So where is the competitive advantage? What can we do about it?
First step in solving any problem is accepting that you have a problem.
I know that I am spending a lot of time on unnecessary things and tasks in my daily life. I don’t know the solution yet, but at least I have admitted it is a serious problem for my business and for my daily life. I am opening it for discussion and potential solutions to information overload.
10 comments March 9, 2009
Why Indian stock markets are down?
I have some theory on why Indian stock markets are down. However I don’t have a crystal ball to predict when the Indian stock markets will recover. If anybody says that he can tell precisely when the markets will recover, he is either fooling himself or others.
Indian shares fell to end the March quarter down 22.9 per cent, their biggest quarterly fall since the June 1992 quarter. Here are some of the reasons for Indian stock markets to be down sharply:
1. Surging inflation and signs of an economic slowdown is scaring off investors. Steep rise in inflation for the second straight week above the tolerance level of the central bank was a cause of concern. It’s difficult to see much upside with inflation at a 13-month high. So we can see more correction in the market. Inflation is the biggest problem right now, and with the economy slowing down there will be a pressure on margins of corporate that will lead to an earnings downgrade. I think Indian government is more interested in controlling inflation and would prefer it over arresting a slowing growth.
2. The possibility of the Reserve Bank of India raising rates or increasing the cash reserve ratio is also bad for investor’s sentiment.
3. Fears of more write downs by top US financial services firms. Banking stocks in India are worse performers and will continue to perform badly in days ahead. Financial stocks were hit hard, hurt by persistent concerns of a global credit
4. Information Technology stocks are also performing badly. IT stocks fell on worries about the health of the US economy. Indian IT firms depend on the US clients for a major share of their revenues. Also week US dollar is hurting Indian IT exports.
5. Market analysts have mainly attributed recent fall to reports that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has instructed companies to disclose all losses on derivative, which led to the fears that earnings of companies may decline. But I think in the long term this will be good for the Indian market.
Some good news:
1. I think Indian markets may be over reacting due to U.S. woes. India has good economy and fundamentals so markets should eventually be back on track. No one knows when though.
2. It is great time to invest in commodities like Gold and Silver. Since Gold is already priced high, I will rather invest in silver at this time. If you invest in silver today, you will be happy you took my advice few months from now.
It was clear to me that Indian financial stocks will perform poorly after US financial and liquidity crisis. My theory has proved right and we can see the results in Indian Financial stocks. I also knew Indian IT sector will hit badly with week US dollar, and we can see that today.
1 comment April 2, 2008
PMP Study Group in Detroit
Kapur Training, LLC is sponsoring a PMP Study Group in Detroit. Group limit is 15 people.
Start Date: May 20, 2006
Time: 6-Saturday mornings (From 9:00AM to 12:00PM)
Venue: University of Michigan-Dearborn
Cost: $50 (includes a copy of PMBOK)
Materials: PMPOK
Group is forming now!
Study Group Goal:
To provide venue and discipline for reviewing the Framework and nine knowledge areas in the PMBOK and additional materials, review sample exams and provide an opportunity to talk to people who have passed the exam to share their experiences.
This is our first facilitated PMP Study Group for folks who are studying to take the PMP certification exam.
Requests are being taken for involvement in the next PMP study group. If you are PMP certified, you are welcome to help the group.
A PMP will be leading this group of people on the road to becoming a PMP. The current group is still open, and if you’re looking to find out more about attending a study group, email at jkapur@kapurtraining.com
Send your name and e-mail address indicating that you are interested in joining a study group. Those persons wishing to form a study group must take the initiative to get together to study for the exam.
Add comment May 1, 2006
Are we accomplishing less than a decade ago?
I came across this interesting research that proves “Americans work more but accomplish less”. Most U.S. workers say they feel rushed on the job, but they are getting less accomplished than a decade ago, according to newly released research. According to this research, the biggest culprit is the technology that was supposed to make work quicker and easier. We think we’re faster, smarter, better with all this technology at our side and in the end, we still feel rushed and our feeling of productivity is down.
We never concentrate on one task anymore. You do little bit of one thing and then you’re on to the next thing. It’s harder to feel like you’re accomplishing something. Unlike a decade ago, U.S. workers are bombarded with e-mail, computer messages, cell phone calls, voice mails and the like.
Are we accomplishing less than a decade ago? Is this just a US phenomenon or happening all over the world?
Add comment February 24, 2006
