One of our most important senses is our sight.  Many people fear the loss of sight nearly as much as loss of life.

Yet more and more we are engaged in virtual teams trying to accomplish Herculean project tasks without seeing our teammates on a regular basis.  This is further exasperated by the other favorite form of communication that blocks our sense of hearing:  Email.  I am certain if I developed virtual project management software to block sense of smell too I would join the ranks of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs!

Ironically, I see five terrible mistakes made every day in meet ...

Why virtual project management fails - Part 0 - Introduction

I have worked on the art and science of web-based virtual project management since the mid-90's and had the pleasure of being involved with the first virtual program management intranet at AT&T.  One of the most common complaints is how difficult it is to bring together virtual teams of partners, team members, and customers.  What is even more strange is how few of the times people understand why their virtual projects failed to meet the scope, budget, or timelines they set out to achieve.

In this series I will explo ...

On returning to the USA recently for a business trip a picked up a couple of books in the airport in Shanghai.  Finding a decent collection of English language books in the airport is a new experience in itself.  I’d been thinking about how to help an expat friend of mine, a new arrival in China, who has been having some issues in adapting to the new surroundings (i.e. work environment.)  He was getting frustrated with the relative immaturity of business practices and with the perceived unwillingness of subordinates to follow direction.

So in the airport I found three books that I thought migth help: (1) The China Executive by Wei Wang, (2) China CEO, A Case Guide for Business Leaders in China by Juan Antonio Fernandez and Shengjun Liu, and (3) Red Star Over China by Edgar Snow.  Well the last one might seem a bit strange but of course understanding the transitions that have occurred in China in such a relatively short time frame are im ...

I mentioned before that I was considering cultural traits and their impact on the practice of project management in China. A few thoughts....

Leadership.  One example that always comes up is that th ...

Well, now for the other half of my PM self – managing a software development organization for a Chinese software company.  At Hundsun our “bread and butter” is enterprise application solutions for the financial services industry within China.  But we have some other business areas, mine included.  My area of responsibility is outsourced solutions, mostly offshore for European and North America clients but also for s ...

The goal of this blog is to share information about project management in and around China (which is where I have lived for the past 6 years.)  I’ll share my experiences and observations and hope that you will also.  My experience comes from two perspectives – teacher and business leader.  First,  I’ve been teaching information technology project management for more than 3 years at

Started the day on the beach walking the dog as the sun came up. A great way to clear the mind for the day ahead.