2013 02-12 PMI Manitoba Chapter Meeting Presentation-For Release on Slides…

Feb 2013 PMI Chapter Meeting - "I Passed My
PMP, Now What?"

Ken Howell, Executive Partner, PCGI
Consulting Services khowell@pcgi.mb.ca 1

PMP, Now What?"

When I was asked to speak at this PMI Manitoba Chapter
Meeting, I was asked to speak about the Certified
Management Consultant designation.

I was honored but thought it might be more appropriate
to present my journey on how I ended up with CMC-
Manitoba and achieved my Certified Management
Consultant designation. Following my the background on
my journey, I’ll speak to the CMC designation and the
different certification streams available.


PMP, Now What?"

Mine is a typical journey that may of you have already
followed or are about to embark on. My journey may not
be right for everyone, but it was right for me. But, the key
is to have a journey!

During this portion of my presentation, draw parallels
with your career and ask yourself if you see an end
destination. While I have been in the industry for a
number of years, I still ask myself the same question I ask
my kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”


PMP, Now What?"

After graduating with a Computer Science degree from
the University of Regina, and since I was terrible at
racquetball and golf, I recognized that certifications were
key to my professional growth and career advancement.
And for those that will ask, yes, in University they did
teach me to count to 13!

I started my certification journey with my Information
Systems Professional certification from CIPS. This, in
conjunction with a couple of ITIL courses, were an early
first step.


PMP, Now What?"

I came to the realization that obtaining my PMP was my
next avenue. Like many of you, I participated in a study
group as well as a comprehensive course to prepare me
for that exam.

Many of you will remember that you probably felt very
comfortable with the topic prior to starting studying, but
you quickly realized that you need to learn the “PMI way”
to pass that exam!


PMP, Now What?"

I remember those last few nights preparing. The stress
was pretty high. But I eventually made it to that exam.

After what seemed like a day that never would arrive, I
walked in and sat down at that computer, and…..


PMP, Now What?"

After a long 4 hours, it was over. I still remember that
moment between clicking “done” and the calculation of
the final grade, it seemed like forever.

I came out of the exam and the stress washed away, and a
few beers did help.


PMP, Now What?"

Now it was time to get to work. I used those skills that I
learned in the study groups right away. I ended up PMing
a variety of projects. Smaller upgrades which led to
medium sized projects such as Exchange upgrades, which
led to larger healthcare system planning and installations
as well as cellular tower installations.


PMP, Now What?"

As time went by, with the increasingly more complex
projects with broader scope and impact. I started
thinking,, so I passed my PMP, now what? It seemed like a
long long road with many different options. I had to go
back and ask myself, “what do I want to be when I grow
up?”


PMP, Now What?"

With all the different options, it was a challenge to make
that decision of where to expend my energy and focus. I
felt that the options were endless, all pointing in different
directions.


PMP, Now What?"

From the PMI website, “Professional development isn’t a
one-time thing; it should be a continuous part of your
project management career. Make it a priority to assess
and improve your skill set, and you’ll increase your value
to your organization and enhance your future career
prospects.”

This is very true. I wrote an article for the October issue of
the IIBA BA Connection. It’s theme was the right
professional development is crucial for “your”
professional development. We are all building our toolkit
of skills and experiences. Spend your money and your
time wisely.
http://iiba.informz.ca/admin31/content/template.asp?sid
=3117&ptid=77&brandid=5015&uid=0&mi=244101


PMP, Now What?"

Another quote from PMI website: “Plan your next step
and prepare for the future.”

I had been in the industry and wanted something more. I
did some self reflection and had to ask myself what do I
like doing? Was it a specific area or type of projects that I
enjoy?


PMP, Now What?"

It was time to take my early career advice and start
working on additional certifications. Now, PMI has a
number of alternative certifications to pursue.
• CAPM, PMP, PgMP,
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®
• PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)®
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®
• OPM3® Professional Certification

I needed to understand more about what the additional
certifications were needed for.


PMP, Now What?"

Now, in choosing your professional development, ask
yourself, what is in it for you AND your client?.

All your professional development should make you more
knowledgeable, professional, connected, cost-effective
and ultimately in demand.


PMP, Now What?"

You may be saying to yourself, I don’t work for a consulting firm. I don’t have clients.
A Consultant’s role is to provide expertise in the form of knowledge, experience, processes, models,
technologies or other assets. Both employees and traditional consultants perform these duties.
For CMC-Canada, a consulting engagement must meet the following two criteria:
• Existence of a client-consultant relationship between the consultant & their "clients";
• Were the consultant and client roles clearly defined?
• Do you provide independent and objective management advice to the client in areas such
as strategy, change management, etc?
• Do you use fundamental consulting skills, e.g., interviewing, analysis, report writing, in
completion of each engagement?
• Nature of the work was project-based (not operational).
• Did each engagement have a defined beginning and completion?
• Did you have a charter, plan, and level of effort estimates?
• Did each engagement proceed through a defined consulting process with a set of
deliverables associated with each stage?
If answers to these questions are yes, you too do management consulting.


PMP, Now What?"

When you’re more knowledgeable, your client or your
company you work for gets better value for fees or salary
paid. You spend more time understanding what’s going on
around the project so you can put the work into a sounder
context.

Understanding how other areas in your client’s business and
the language they use or other departments in your firm
“could” impact your project helps you make better
recommendations to your sponsor.

My wife has a favorite quote on our fridge right now from
Stedman Graham (more commonly known as Oprah
Winfrey’s partner):
“Take the power of education, information and knowledge
and filter that knowledge into your own life to create your
own future”


PMP, Now What?"

In a world of questionable practices, and cases where we
hear of “shady consultants”, operating under a Code of
Professional Conduct, can ensure that your clients will be
protected.

As you continue in your career, you will find that a
cornerstone of many certifications or designations are
these codes of conduct. These will help guide you to
ensure your professionalism is never in doubt.


PMP, Now What?"

In growing your intellectual property, you will find that
your circle of influence and circle of control will grow. You
will come into contact with a number of new individuals
that will broaden your professional breadth. As “your
rolodex” grows, your clients benefit from those
relationships as well and they will come to you looking for
advice on areas that you are not qualified to do and you
will then be able to direct them to qualified people they
can trust.

As a client of one fellow CMC declared, “one reason we
like working with you is that you bring us excellent
people.”


PMP, Now What?"

The cost-benefit to the client comes through the link with
all the other elements we’ve been talking about. When
you’re more knowledgeable, professional, connected, and
in demand, the clients get greater value for every dollar
spent than they would otherwise.

The bigger your toolbox, the greater the number of tools
that can help your client.


PMP, Now What?"

All this leads to more recommendations and more work. If
you work for a consulting organization, it also leads you to
the potential to be more selective about the work you do.


PMP, Now What?"

I also went down the path to study complimentary project
management certifications. Many of you have heard of
PRINCE2. It was created as a public domain methodology
by the British Government. It’s the predominant project
management methodology outside of North America and
growing in use here in Canada and the US.

It has a number of certifications
• PRINCE2 – Projects in a Controlled Environment
• Program Management – MSP
• Portfolio Management – MoP
• Risk Management – M_o_R
• PMO – P3O


PMP, Now What?"

I also went down the path of industry certifications and away from the PM
methodologies. As we all know, all projects are about change, change in one
way of doing things to another, change in a solution, etc. Prosci is a change
management methodology that my client also was standardizing on.
As I began specializing in healthcare, I began attending an annual course
offered by the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine. I attended 3 years
of a 6 week 1 night a week course focusing on 12 different topics in the
medical field. I also achieved a designation by Canada’s Health Informatics
Association called a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and
Management Systems
These industry specializations, along with my PM training helped shape me to
where I am today.
Other courses that are very good are facilitation skills and conflict
management I am assuming that we all have dealt with conflict over our
career. Wouldn’t it have been easier to deal with it with a bit of training?


PMP, Now What?"

As you can see my career to date has taken me on a
wonderful journey. Lessons I have learned are:
- I still am searching for what I want to be when I grow
up.
- I realized that continued professional development is
crucial to adding new tools to my toolkit.
- I continually need to keep evolving as my clients evolve.
- Understanding my client’s business is incredibly
important to providing value


PMP, Now What?"

I’ve now come to the conclusion that understanding my client’s
business is just as important as knowing my own business.

There are many ways I can improve my knowledge of my client’s
business, for example via an MBA or management certifications

There are a number of business or management certifications out
there:
- Certified Human Resources Professional from the Human
Resources Association of Manitoba
- Certified in Management from the Canadian Institute of
Management
- Certified Business Analyst Professional from IIBA,
Or,


PMP, Now What?"

The avenue that I chose: the Certified Management
Consultant Designation from CMC-Canada.


PMP, Now What?"

What do you think when you first heard the words,
Management Consultant?
Isn’t that what you become after you`ve been fired, or let go,
or downsized?

My friends and family really don`t know what I do. My kids
think I drink coffee and run meetings all day!

In a way, it is correct (maybe not the coffee part though).

I help the company that I work for (PCGI) or my client get
things done!

I use my project management skills and my understanding of
what my client does to assist them in meeting their business
objectives.


PMP, Now What?"

But, really, what does management consulting mean?
Wikipedia even has a definition!

Another view of management consulting is:
…the independent and objective, value-added advice to
help organizations achieve their goals by:
• Sharing best practices and benchmarks from
industry.
• Solving problems across organizational silos.
• Identifying and seizing new opportunities.
• Leading change.


PMP, Now What?"

With thousands of consultants out there, how do you
stand out from the crowd?

Well, the answer to standing out in the crowd and
differentiating oneself is about being a professional.

Consulting is an unregulated industry/profession.

The barrier to entry is $10….the cost of printing business
cards….because anyone can print anything on business
cards….and many people print the words, Management
Consultant.


PMP, Now What?"

Many people believe that being a management consultant is akin to being an
expert. But, it is so much more than that. Being an expert is not enough.
A true management consultant imparts his knowledge to his clients to leave
them in a better place than when they came in.
Objectivity and independence is crucial for success. A management
consultant’s recommendations must never be in question, there should never
be any question of motivation behind any recommendations. The client’s
interest’s must always be first.
Not wanting to single any industry out, let me provide a generic example. Let’s
say a “consultant” comes from a local supplier of widgets and wants to do a
study on the use of widgets in your firm. Would you like to bet that they will
return with a recommendation that you are woefully undersupplied of widgets
and they recommend their widgets to fill that demand????
It isn’t easy staying objective and independent, but it is a hallmark of being a
professional management consultant


PMP, Now What?"

As a management consultant, you must not be afraid to
say what is needed to be said. You have to be confident to
state “the project status is red!” even when the client or
sponsor does not want to hear it. That is what you were
engaged for.

The true role of a management consultant is that of a
change agent. Clients pay money and invest time so they
can affect change, for the better.

A management consultant is only effective if they help
their client improve and do things better.


PMP, Now What?"

David Maister, the guru of management consultants
said….

It is more than just what you know……it is how you
interact with your client.

That makes the biggest difference.

A professional management consultant needs to invest in
their intellectual property on how they interact with
clients.


PMP, Now What?"

CMC-Canada has a history of serving as a leader in the
development of the Management Consulting profession in
Canada and across the world.


PMP, Now What?"

In 1962, the Quebec institute of CAs concluded that
management consulting was a separate profession and it
needed a formal body to establish professional standards,
ethics and to educate the Canadian business community
about the profession.
The Canadian Association of Management Consultants
was established in 1963. Later, a number of consultants in
Ontario and Manitoba started lobbying their provincial
governments to recognize the profession and the title of
Certified Management Consultants was recognized by an
Act of the Ontario legislature in 1983 and Manitoba in
1986.
Recognizing that management consulting is a worldwide
profession, CMC-Canada were also a founding member of
the International Council of Management Consulting
Institutes.


PMP, Now What?"

Too many consultants are untrained.

If you agree with the fact that consulting is people based,
then I suggest that there is a proven process, to help
ensure a quality assignment. This is not unique to CMC-
Canada, but it is a process that is widely agreed to around
the globe.

Different consulting firms might call each phase
something different, but for the most part, the process is
consistent.

Essentials of Management Consulting course is an offering
that CMCs use to standardize on a process.


PMP, Now What?"

CMC-Canada serves as the voice of the industry and profession.

Our bi-annual industry survey is highly anticipated and is used to
help gauge the temperature of the industry.

Our Consult magazine has won awards

When Statistics Canada wanted to develop a consulting price
index, they contacted CMC-Canada!


PMP, Now What?"

I’d like to share a little information on how to become
certified.


PMP, Now What?"

Just as much as the CMC designation can stand alone, it is
also complementary to other professional designations

Many consultants obtain their CMC to complement their area
of expertise (PMP and Project Management, CMAs and
Finance, CHRP and Human Resources, CAs and Accounting)

Most other designations indicate expertise within a silo or a
specific area. The CMC designation ensures that the
consulting professionals know how to impart their wisdom on
to their clients. It is about the “giving of advice”….not the
depth of expertise (as the other designations prove).

There are almost 200 individuals in Canada that have their
PMP that also have achieved their CMC designation.


PMP, Now What?"

The CMC designation is a competency based designation that helps to
assure clients and the public of an individual’s knowledge and skills. It
measures individuals against 9 core competencies.
• Helping clients assess their business situation, challenges and opportunities.
• Helping clients to develop strategies for improvement.
• Helping clients implement a recommendation.
• Conducting a consulting assignment.
• Demonstrating interpersonal competencies.
• Demonstrating personal competencies.
• Demonstrating ethical behaviour.
• Demonstrating functional competence.
• Demonstrating management breadth.

Experienced professionals are afforded credit for their experience and
proficiency.

Canadian standards are regularly compared to the competency
framework set out by the International Council of Management
Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).


PMP, Now What?"

There are four avenues to achieve a CMC in Manitoba
which are based on the number of years experience:
• Entry Stream
• Experienced Stream (many of you would qualify here)
• 2 Executive Streams


PMP, Now What?"

Entry and Experienced streams both require an undergrad
degree or qualified professional designations, 2 CMC
sponsors and an Oral Assessment.

The main difference between these two designations are
the number of years experience required. Entry is less
than 8 and Experienced is greater than 8.

The professional educational requirements are more in
depth for the entry stream as you can see. But there are
opportunities for exemptions.


PMP, Now What?"

Executive Streams are very senior practice leaders of
consulting organizations or been in the industry a
significant amount of time. Based on their senior
leadership and demonstrated experience, we wave
educational requirements. There are slight variations in
each stream, and I can talk to you privately if you would
like more information.


PMP, Now What?"

You may have questions, I can answer a few right now:
• How do I get started?
• Go to www.CMC-Canada.ca and follow the menu to CMCCAC Designation, Earn
the designation, or
• Contact me for assistance.
• How do I get sponsors?
• Approach any CMC you may know and ask them if they would be interested in
sponsoring you, it’s that easy!
• Don’t know a CMC?
• Ask me for a link to an online directory of Manitoba CMCs
• How much will it cost?
• It varies on the number of years of experience you have. Common costs are:
• Ethics Course - $495
• Structured Oral Interview- $850
• How long will it take?
• It depends on your level of engagement and scheduling of the oral assessment. It
could take as little as 1 month….
• What exemptions would I get?
• For the Entry Stream, a PMP will get an exemption for the project management
coursework. Other exemptions may be achieved with additional courses.


PMP, Now What?"

I appreciate being asked to come to speak to you today.

The key message I want to share today is that your PMP is just a start
in your professional development journey.

I found the CMC to be a very worthwhile journey. I have met and
worked with individuals that I would never have come into contact
with before. HR professionals, Marketing specialists, CFOs, CEOs, and
very experienced senior consultants. I have worked with much larger
pan-Canadian companies with much different experiences and
backgrounds than I. I am also pleased that I am able to give back to
my profession for those starting out in the management consulting
profession as those who have helped me in the past (and still do to
this day).

While I have found the CMC to be a great addition to my career, I urge
you to find the designation or certification that is right for your career.


PMP, Now What?"


2013 02-12 PMI Manitoba Chapter Meeting Presentation-For Release on Slides…

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Destaque

Destaque (8)

Último

Último (20)

2013 02-12 PMI Manitoba Chapter Meeting Presentation-For Release on Slides…