Take this scenario:

The Winner

Ever met the person who seems to have it all under control – the real “winner”? When you get to know them, really know them, you often find a great deal of doubt underneath. They are not sure of themselves – any more than I am! I remember having the CTO of a major US company speaking at one of our IEM seminars. He said “everyday when I look in the mirror I think ‘today is the day I will be found out.’” He, the well known expert, knew at any day he would be shown to be the fool.

Who is in Your Mirror?

When you look in the mirror, do you see what the CTO saw? Do you think “I will be found to be a fraud”? Or do you think it is no use because:

• no one will want to hear what I have to say,
• I cannot do that.
• I do not have the skills.
• I am not ready yet.

Where does Doubt Come From?

I was wondering this morning where doubt comes from? Why do we doubt? I mean I do not doubt when I am driving down the road that I am not going to be able to drive. I do not doubt when I go into a meeting I have done 100 times before. I do not doubt many things I have done before.

But what I do doubt is doing something new. Or I often doubt putting myself out there – like submitting a blog post!

How to Counter Doubt

So what do we do with doubt? Here is what seems to work for me – at least today…

- Remember others have done it – and they are no better than me!

- Remember that even in failure we learn a great deal – and we can find new paths. Think about all of Edison’s failures.

- Remember that I do not want to be ordinary!

But more important – take action. Even against the grain, even when I must force myself – just plow on. Nothing kills doubt for me like action!

"Just Keep Swimming!"

What works for you? How do you conquer doubt?

Dr. Dale Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

First, Decide What YOU Want.

Get out a sheet of paper, write down all of the things you like. That’s right: Just start scribbling. Don’t even write in straight lines if you don’t want to, just get ideas down on paper.

If you get up everyday and you love what you do for a living, you can’t wait to get to work, and you are so excited about what your day holds for you, then AMEN. That is the way work should be.

But if you’re not there, if you aren’t really sure why you even go to work, then you need to spend some time here.

Second, Do a Reverse Interview

The reverse interview is one of the most powerful methods I have found to find a new job. It is also a very powerful tool for uncovering new business opportunities. Read here for a detailed outline of how to perform a Reverse Interview, but the nuts and bolts are this:

• Decide where you want to be in a few years.
• Find people who are where you want to be – from step 1.Who is already doing what you want to be doing.
• When you meet with them, remember you are interviewing them, and not them interviewing you.
• DO NOT TAKE A RESUME. DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOURSELF AT ALL except to explain why you are there.
• Listen, ask questions, and finish on time. In the end ask them who else they would suggest you talk to. Follow up with a thank you note or email.

You have moved from the person who is looking for anything to the person who is intentionally looking for the right thing. Before you take a job, do this a number of times. I suggest at least ten times. When you get a job, keep doing this to learn new things. Never hate work again!

Third, Learn How to Network, then DO it.

The methods I was taught in college about how to get a job often had limited success. After many years of “playing the game” in job searches and having many jobs I have made some other observations.

• There are more opportunities than you can chase.
• People with a network have more opportunities. Let me state that again People with a network have more opportunities.

• People hire people – not resumes.

• Resumes are an after thought for many companies. My last few “jobs” did not really require a resume. In fact, more than once it came up that the resume was needed from me AFTER the decision was made to hire me. One company told me to forward my resume to HR since they needed on file – weeks after I was hired.

• Networking is a skill most people do NOT have. Perhaps this is why my professors never taught me how to do it – they did not know either.

So, here are your marching orders:

1 ) Decide what you want, 2) use your contacts from the Reverse Interview, and 3) Take Action!

Dr. Dale Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Is the social media site LinkedIn the future of corporate recruiting?  It certainly is, according to John Campagnino, the head of global recruiting for Accenture.  Accenture is looking to hire around 50,000 people this year alone and they estimate that 40% of their hires (over the next few years) will be made using social media.

LinkedIn has something on the order of 60 million profiles that corporate recruiters can sift through.  There were over 17 million visitors to LinkedIn in February.  Every Fortune 500 firm is represented there.

LinkedIn has become a disruptive force to traditional recruiting firms.  It provides a window into an enormous pool of talent with access to their resumes, work experience, interests (for example, groups they have joined), and recommendations.

There will continue to be a need for recruiting firms, of course.  Arlette Guthrie, vice president of talent management at Home Depot, points out that the LinkedIn talent pool is largely composed of corporate professionals, so she uses it primarily for supply chain and information technology professionals.

But there is no doubt that LinkedIn has become a major factor in recruiting.  If you’re not making use of it, you probably should be.  If you are, you need to be smart about how to use it effectively.

There is a good article in the April 12th issue of Fortune Magazine that will give you some added insight.

Don Appleby has served since 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he teaches in the Information Engineering and Management Program. He has over three decades of professional experience in the information technology industry. Prof. Appleby is retired from IBM.Thanks to ProfAppleby.com for this article.

Trust me – these REALLY work. I continue to hear from people who have tried it – so why don’t you?

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Second Method – Be a Hero

Another method to network is by using organizations. Yes I know – this is exactly what you have done before – and you end up meeting another person looking for a job just like you – and that is all! gonig to professional organization meetings is what they told you to do in school – and you HATE doing this. I get it!!!

………………….But here is the rest of the story!

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First, like always, decide what you want. There are millions of organizations and associations. You need to know where your efforts should be placed. Why go to a software developer meeting when you want to build homes for a living? Who cares where you are today – where do you WANT to be? Go hang out with those people!

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Second, use your contacts from the Reverse Interview. Since you have already done this (you have – right) you already KNOW they right people in the right organizations. Now instead of showing up blind and walking into a room with panic in your heart – not knowing what to do next – you go straight to your contact and say hello. Guess what they will do? Introduce you to people!! And – introduce you to the RIGHT people. Remember to also go and meet the head of the organization – if you have not met them already.

To take the pressure off the first time – contact the new person in your network and ask if they will be going. Ask them to introduce you! Also, email or call (I know – you will email) the organization president or leader and tell them you want to come check them out. Then go in and introduce yourself saying “I am the one who emailed you about checking this out.” This will lead somewhere – trust me!

Remember to not talk about yourself too much – let other people talk. You should become skilled at asking questions.

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Third, take action. Every volunteer organization, no matter the size, struggles from having a lot of takers and very few givers. The people who are the decision makers in a 1000 person organization can likely fit around a small conference table. They are the ones who give their time and actually do something. So your trick is to find out where they really need help and then lend a hand. The result is that you will not be a nameless figure, instead everyone will know you AND that you can get something done.

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Fourth, do it. People are ALWAYS watching and judging – so the character you display within the organization is what people will always assume is you. And they are right. If you show up and do what you said, they will think highly of you. If you do not, you would have been better off to have never joined. Remember the adage Under Promise and Over Deliver.

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Results Count

I will say again – this works. It may take a little courage to do this – but you can quickly go fro a nobody to a rock star! I know – I know several people who are TOTAL introverts who I used to introduce to others at meetings. Now they introduce me! They are still introverts – but introverts in charge!

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Don Appleby has served since 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he teaches in the Information Engineering and Management Program.  He has over three decades of professional experience in the information technology industry.  Prof. Appleby is retired from IBM.Thanks to ProfAppleby.com for this article.

Do you remember when you were trying to get your first job? Remember the advice and maybe even a class on writing a resume? Did anyone teach you HOW to network?

When I was in college they taught me to write a resume – but they NEVER taught me how to network. What they did tell me about networking seemed to have limited success.

• advice – Go to professional meetings to meet people.
• result – Ended up standing around knowing few people or meeting people in the same situation I was in.
• advice – Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job.
• result – Limited success. I did get to meet some people who were the hiring managers – but it seemed my own network was not enough to get me in the doors I needed to get into.
• advice – Use the college career fairs and career counselors.
• result – Again, limited success. Problem is I was limited to those companies looking for people like me. Instead I was looking for something else.

Playing the Game

After many years of “playing the game” in job searches and having many jobs I have made some other observations.

• There are more opportunities than you can chase. Most people are looking for just one, but so many people see none!

• People with a network have more opportunities. Let me state that again People with a network have more opportunities.
  

• People hire people – not resumes.

• Resumes are an after thought for many companies. My last few “jobs” did not really require a resume. In fact, more than once it came up that the resume was needed from me AFTER the decision was made to hire me. One company told me to forward my resume to HR since they needed on file – weeks after I was hired.

• Networking is a skill most people do NOT have. Perhaps this is why my professors never taught me how to do it – they did not know either.

So what works?

I am going to give you some tips in the next few post which will tell you HOW TO NETWORK. These are networking skills that REALLY work – even for introverts. And I mean the REALLY work – powerfully!!! But you can start by using one of the tools I have already blogged about – the Reverse Interview.

Note: These post are part of my upcoming book on taking control of your career!
So let’s get started on building your network! Yes – even if you are an introvert!

Exercise: List the people in your network.

• Who do you go to lunch with?
• Who can you call on if you are looking for a new job or opportunity?
• What group do you hang out with which presents new opportunities to you on a regular basis?

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

Stop doing (things the PM used to do, but should delegate to their team)

• Not letting your team members participate in full-lifecycle activities – The more that your team is involved in the full-lifecycle activities, such as requirements gathering and planning, the more they will feel a sense of ownership. Allow your team to take part in these crucial meetings, not only will they better understand what is being built and why, they will also help these activities be more productive and successful.
• Assigning work to team members – Start with a cross functional team and let everyone choose their own role. The software engineer can be a database analyst (DBA), the DBA can be a quality tester (QT), the QT can be the business analyst (BA), etc. It doesn’t matter which role they choose as long as they are committed to getting the tasks assigned to the role completed.
• Telling team members when to get their work done – Continue to track and manage your backlog and hold your sprint planning meetings. However, once the scope of the sprint or iteration has been set, then get out of the way and allow the team the freedom to work it in any order that they choose.

Start doing (things that the PM did not do, but now should)

• Clear road blocks for the team – The fundamental role of the agile project manager is that of removing barriers to progress out of your team members way. Road blocks can be anything such as the need for new hardware, communication issues between departments, or even office politics. Any burden that you can take off your team that isn’t directly related to their functional role is key.
• Serve as a facilitator and coach – Just because the team is self-managed doesn’t mean that there won’t be conflict. The agile project manager must work constantly to help keep their team on track and focused on the goal at hand. The agile project manager must also work to develop the individuals on their team by coaching and mentoring them.
• Hold the team accountable – Even under the best circumstances we all need someone to hold our feet to the fire. Allow your team to set their own goals, but make sure that each day they are moving toward the overall project goal. If someone isn’t carrying their weight then don’t wait until it is too late to take corrective action.

By transforming your team into a group of self-managed individuals, you are helping to cement agile practices within your enterprise. In order to achieve this goal you must stop doing a number of activities including; shielding your team from key meetings, assigning work, and deadlines. In addition you must start; clearing impediments to progress, facilitating, and holding your team accountable. By truly embracing the role of an agile project manager you will be helping your team to become the most productive team that they can be.

Brian Rabon is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Mr. Rabon is an Adjunct Instructor and the newsletter editor for the IEM Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mr. Rabon teaches EE606 :Technical Project Management as well as EE 615: Business Process Modeling to clients of the IEM Program. Thanks to http://blog.yourpmpartner.com for this article.

“Companies are less interested in spending money on IT initiatives and are looking to maximize their return on investment through better implementation of needed information technology systems.”

A couple of key points stood out for me “maximize their return on investment” and “through better implementation”. Let’s investigate each of these:

When I think about maximizing ROI, I think about minimizing implementation costs. The lower the product costs to implement, the less new revenue will be required to recoup the project costs, and the higher the ROI will be. By carefully managing projects and keeping an eye on the bottom line PMs will be able to help companies achieve the highest ROI possible.

“Through better implementation” is a point that I think most PMs can relate to. Isn’t everything that we do focused on achieving better execution? We must be ever vigilant about not implementing process for processes sake, however now is our time to shine. Let’s demonstrate to the world that PM can provide better implementations through lightweight processes focused on delivery business value.

In summary, 2010 is the year of the Project Manager. There is no doubt in my mind that as the economy recovers PMs will be needed more than ever.

Numbers 2-10 were as follows: 2. Security 3. Network Administrators 4. virtualization and cloud computing 5. Business analysis 6. Business Process Improvement 7. Web development 8. Database management 9. Windows administration 10. Desktop Support

To read the full article please visit http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2010/01/18/daily6.html

Brian Rabon is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Mr. Rabon is an Adjunct Instructor and the newsletter editor for the IEM Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Mr. Rabon teaches EE606 :Technical Project Management as well as EE 615: Business Process Modeling to clients of the IEM Program. Thanks to http://blog.yourpmpartner.com for this article.

Having a business license is about legal protection. If you have no assets, do you really need that protection? Learn more about just what business licenses are worth, and just what they’re not.

Dale Callahan is a contributing writer for the IEM Blog. Dr. Callahan is the IEM Program Director for the Information Engineering and Management Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His thoughts here represent the types of topics covered in the Entrepreneurial courses he teaches the clients of the IEM Program at UAB.

Thanks to DaleCallahan.com for this article.

In the Sunday, February 14th, 2010 edition of the Birmingham News, there was an article entitled “Green Shoots.” (This was on page 1 of Section C, the “Money” section). In the article, Samford University business professor Franz Lohrke offered seven things to consider if you are starting your own business. I’ll recap them briefly here:

1. Focus on providing value.
2. Learn about your industry.
3. Understand your business model.
4. Manage your cash.*
5. Minimize fixed costs.**
6. Use low cost “guerrilla” marketing tactics.
7. Try to find partners.

It’s a good article. I recommend it.

To quote a couple of Prof. Lohrke’s comments:

* “Know when it [cash] is coming in and going out. Even profitable, growing businesses can go bankrupt because they can’t pay their bills on time.”

** “Higher fixed costs like rent and equipment mean more sales are needed just to break even.”

It’s handy to know how to make cash flow projections and how to do a break-even analysis.

Don Appleby has served since 2004 as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he teaches in the Information Engineering and Management Program.  He has over three decades of professional experience in the information technology industry.  Prof. Appleby is retired from IBM.

Thanks to ProfAppleby.com for this article.