WELCOME
By David Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the 146th monthly edition of PM World Journal (PMWJ). Since the October edition was cancelled, this month’s PMWJ combines the works submitted for both October and November. Therefore, this is a very full and diverse edition, with 43 new works by 64 different authors representing 19 different countries. The new editions this month bring our totals to 5,257 works by 2,035 different authors representing 90+ countries published in the PMWJ to date and soon to be archived in the PM World Library.
Short Intro (Mini-Editorial)
Happy International Project Management Day! I am writing this on 7 November, the day that project management is being celebrated by thousands of PM professionals around the world. This initiative to celebrate professional project management each year, launched by my friend and colleague Frank Saladis in 2004, continues to gain steam. And why not? Let us celebrate the positive value we all create every day for so many organizations. And let us celebrate the projects that we accomplish, so many of which change the world for the better. We are agents of positive change. Thank you, and Hurrah!
Unfortunately, there is also some not so good news. The professional ethics that we all adhere to and that many of us thought were commonly shared values (don’t lie, cheat or steal) do not, after all, seem to be shared by many non-project managers. Examples can be found among many politicians and their supporters in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. That has long been true of those who support authoritarian regimes where power usurps ethics for millions of people. It’s also true in many countries where corruption is still common. Underlying unethical behavior, in my opinion, is the simple act of lying, not telling the truth. Lying now seems to be rampant in society, whether via misinformation or intentional corrupt behavior. In that regard, I want to recognize Adam Boddison’s great editorial in the Autumn 2024 edition of Project (p. 16). In his article titled “Professional bodies’ role is more Important than ever”, under “Guardians of truth and quality”, Adam states “Professional bodies are uniquely positioned to counteract this threat (of lies and misinformation). They establish and uphold standards of practice, ensuring that their members adhere to ethical guidelines and rigorous quality expectations…” Exactly right! Thank you, Adam!
I also discussed this topic in my short editorial “The Big Reverse: Politics, Anti-leadership and the Looming Threat to Professionalism” in 2017, which you can read here.
On a somewhat related topic, the re-election of Donal Trump to the American presidency this week is exactly the kind of significant disruptive event that I have discussed over the years in the following:
Pells, D. L. (2009). Disruptive Events! Are you, your project or your organization prepared? PM World Today, September.
Pells, D. L, (1999). Aftershocks: How Significant Global Events Can Affect the Project Management Profession, PMI South Africa International Project Management Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, November.
Pells, D. L. (1998). Global Tides of Change: Significant Recent Events and Trends Affecting Globalization of the Project Management Profession, PMI’98 Symposium in Long Beach, CA, USA, October.
This change in American leadership may be one of the most consequential political events of this century; it may have massive impacts on international trade, economies, industries, geopolitics, societies and individuals in many places. If your organization, program or project has activities, offices, employees, customers or suppliers in multiple US states or countries, you will be affected. Be prepared; you may regret the impact.
This month in the Journal
One Letter to the Editor is included in this edition in reaction to two other recent letters to the editor on the topics of milestones and performance management. Regular PMWJ contributor Dr. Paul Giammalvo in Jakarta has really weighed in.
Two interesting Interviews are included this month, courtesy of PMWJ correspondent Yasmina Khelifi in Paris and Ipek Sahra Ozguler in Istanbul. Yasmina has interviewed Matt Quick, Head of Military and Veterans Programs at PMI in the United States. Ipek has interviewed David Power, an experienced American PMO director who is currently leading the Ambassadors 2024 program for the Association of International Project Management Officers (AIPMO), based in Switzerland.
17 Featured Papers are included this month, by 30+ authors in 10 different countries. These papers are the results of academic and professional research by professors, graduate students and senior project management practitioners. The topics vary from directly to indirectly related to program and project management. Six of the papers are by teams of academic researchers in Nigeria. Four are by working professionals in Indonesia who have been participating in a 6-month long Graduate-Level Competency Development/Capacity Building Program developed by PT Mitrata Citragraha and led by Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo to prepare candidates for AACE CCP or other Certifications. The other seven fully-referenced research papers are serious contributions by both new and regular contributors to the PMWJ. Rather than mention all of the titles and authors, I can say that these are substantial works representing many hours of research and writing. So please review the titles and summaries and read one or two. Several are quite technical, several fascinating and a couple on significant topics.
More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
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How to cite this work: Pells, D.L. (2024). Welcome to the October/November 2024 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue X, October/November. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pmwj146-Oct-Nov2024-Pells-Welcome-to-the-October-November-2024-pmwj-3.pdf
About the Author
David L. Pells
Managing Editor, PMWJ
Managing Director, PMWL
David L. Pells, PMI Fellow, HonFAPM, ISIPM, PMA, is Managing Editor and publisher of the PM World Journal (www.pmworldjournal.com) and Managing Director of the PM World Library (www.pmworldlibrary.net). David is an internationally recognized leader in the field of professional project management with more than 40 years of experience on a variety of programs and projects, including engineering, construction, energy, defense, transit, technology and nuclear security, and project sizes ranging from thousands to billions of dollars. He occasionally acts as project management advisor for U.S. national laboratories and international programs, and currently serves as an independent advisor for a major U.S. national security program.
David Pells has been an active professional leader in the United States since the 1980s, as founder and president of several PMI chapters, founder of PMI’s first SIG (Project Earth), and member of the PMI board of directors twice. He was founder and chair of the Global Project Management Forum (1995-2000), an annual meeting of leaders of PM associations from around the world. David was awarded PMI’s Person of the Year award in 1998 and Fellow Award, PMI’s highest honor, in 1999. He is also an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK; the Instituto Italiano di Project Management (ISIMP) in Italy; and Project Management Associates (PMA) in India.
Former managing editor of PM World Today, he is the creator, editor and publisher of the PM World Journal (ISSN: 2330-4880). David has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington and an MBA from Idaho State University in the USA. He has published widely and spoken at conferences and events worldwide. David lives near Dallas, Texas and can be contacted at editor@pmworldjournal.com.
To see other works by David Pells, visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/david-l-pells/
