Three Things My Dad Taught Me

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Johnny and JohnBeing my first Father’s Day without dad, it’s apposite to share three things that he taught me that made a profound impact in my life.

First, expect nothing but the best. Class Valedictorian. Perfect 4.0 GPA. Aim for the top. But do it without stress. He felt that as long as you have the right intention in mind, regardless of the outcome, you’ll always come out on top.

For every paper or exam that’s a 100%, he gave me one peso. Lots of positive reinforcement. He was always there. It worked. So I did the same for my children except that I gave them one dollar. They graduated as valedictorians too.

Second, be well-rounded to be successful in the world. He signed me up in karate and Scouting. As a senior officer in the Special Forces, a judoka and a Scout himself, he valued self-esteem and self-reliance while staying physically and mentally fit.

Third, own your own business. So, four years after graduate school, I incorporated my first company while keeping my corporate job. It took 12 years to turn it into passive income streams to allow my family to travel around the world for a year. Eighteen years later, it enabled me to spend more time with dad last year. I now help my clients chart the same path in two months instead of two decades. Thanks dad.

Six-Figure Passive Income Streams

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Royalty ChequesWhen I was growing up, I never even imagined that one day I will become an author. It was a chance encounter with Dan Poynter, author of 130+ books, which opened the world of possibilities for me. At that time, never in my wildest dreams did I realize that it was possible to generate six-figure passive income streams from books.

More than ten years of long hours and a hundred thousand dollars of trials-and-errors later, I finally figured out a way to write a book, any book in any topic, which can predictably generate a six-figure passive income stream each time. That’s when I realized that my parents were wrong because they told me that “money doesn’t grow on trees.” Books are printed on paper which came from trees. So, money can grow from trees. But I have to give them some credit because electronic products and books don’t need trees to generate income for me day in and day out even when I am asleep! Read more …

Be Open for Options Not Obligations

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Be open for options not obligations.Organizations are not obligated to continue with a strategy that is not working. They have the option to change course. They don’t need to maintain the status quo for a poor performing product. They can make it better.

Are you happy with your current relationship? You have the option to make it better. Is your outlook in life bringing you down? You have the option to change it or change your attitude towards it. Do you practice your faith based on your own volition? Don’t let others force you to believe what they believe.

When you see a dire situation, keep in mind that there are always options. Oftentimes, resistance to change presents itself as an obligation (sunk cost, emotional attachment or political correctness) but in reality, several options exist. You just need to be open to these options.

Sample Exam Questions: Project Management Professional (PMP)®

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PMI PMPTo help project managers pass the latest Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam by PMI, I worked with my fellow project management experts in Canada, U.S. and U.K. to put together more 1,000 practice questions based on the PMBOK® Guide (Fifth Edition).

Unlike most of the sample exam questions which were written by individuals, this book offers an unmatched variety of questions from multiple authors from different countries. We conducted peer-reviews, engaged a team of technical editors and worked with content editors to ensure the clarity and accuracy of every single question.

We are extremely proud of this book—more than 800 exam-quality questions with detailed answers and explanations, plus more than 200 fill-in-the-blank, true/false, and short answer questions to help you prepare for the exam.

Project Resource Overallocation: Why a Blank Resource Pool is Bliss

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Microsoft Project Share ResourcesIf you manage multiple projects using Microsoft Project and you use common resources on some or all of them, you know how difficult it is to resolve resource overallocation. Here is one simple trick—use a blank resource pool.

Assume that you have Project A and Project B.

  1. Create a blank Microsoft Project file and call it “Resource Pool”
  2. Open Projects A and B
  3. Select Window / Arrange All to see all open files
  4. Select Project A and click on Tools / Resource Sharing / Share Resources
  5. Select “Use resources” from “Resource Pool” and “Pool takes precedence”, and then click on OK
  6. Repeat for Project B
  7. Switch to the Resource Pool and click on View / Resource Usage
  8. Insert the Project column to see which project is causing the over allocation

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Outsourcing of PMO Functions for Improved Organizational Performance

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Outsourcing PMOThis book presents the research results of outsourcing PMO functions. The research used case studies from multiple countries and surveys from 104 project professionals across multiple industries and PM roles.

It became evident that outsourcing PMO functions can positively impact organizational performance—and how proper management governance and standards practices contribute to favourable results.

I found the PMO Functions Outsourcing Criteria very useful because it highlighted what organizations should consider if they are planning to outsource their PMO functions. All of the organizations who participated in the case study outsourced their project methodology and tools. Half of them outsourced project manager development; a different half outsourced project delivery altogether.

If your organization is planning to outsource its PMO functions, this book is a must. You’ll know that you have your facts straight instead of relying on anecdotal information from others.

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Finding Faults vs. Seeking Solutions

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Project Management ProblemsWe live in an imperfect world. Most projects are fraught with problems. Why is it then that some people prefer to find faults instead of seeking solutions to problems? That’s because it is easier to whine. It’s easier to complain. It’s easier to do nothing.

If you find issues or problems in the office or in your projects, start seeking for solutions instead of focusing your efforts on finding faults on others or the “system”. It is better to be a part of the solution instead of the problem.

Doctoral advisors ask PhD candidates not to plant a tree of knowledge but to simply add a leaf to that tree. You don’t need to solve world hunger. You simply need to contribute a small piece to the solution. If you cannot lead or follow, then get out of the way!

A Fast Way To Book Project Meetings

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Project Schedule ManagementYou know how challenging it is to schedule meetings with other individuals.

It is not that bad if the meeting attendees work for the same organization because you can usually view their availability. However, trying to book a meeting with individuals outside of the organization is a totally different ballgame. You can exchange a dozen e-mails with the project team and still not achieve a consensus.

Thanks to Doodle, you can now easily send meeting invitations to different individuals and have them vote on their preferred time(s) based on their availability. With just two e-mails, one to send the poll and the other one to book the meeting, you can schedule meetings in no time at all.

Doodle charges a small annual fee but you can easily get it back through increased efficiency and reduced aggravations!

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Risks and Rewards of Virtual Project Teams

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Virtual Project ManagerAlthough it is challenging to manage a virtual team within a company, it is even more challenging to manage an international team of independent contractors (e.g., elance, oDesk, etc.).

In the past ten days, I quickly assembled a project team of 11 independent contractors (assistants, researchers, writers and testers) from the USA, India, Philippines and Romania to help my business grow. The speed at which I hired (and fired) them was unbelievable!

One contractor went AWOL. The other decided to end the contract. And, the third one had an emergency. So far, I’m fairly happy with the remaining eight in my team and they completed tasks that would have taken me hours to do by myself. I am still exploring this unchartered territory but if there is something I learned so far, I need to “hire slowly and fire quickly”.

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