WELCOME
By David Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the September 2020 edition of the PM World Journal, the 97th monthly edition. As the Covid-19 pandemic continues around the world, and especially here in the United States where we just passed 6 million cases, and as the November U.S. presidential election approaches, it seems the project management professional community is slowly coming back to life. But what life is it now, our project management lives? Nearly every PM professional body is publishing articles about the new normal of virtual work, virtual teams, virtual reality. Up until last year, virtual project management was a special topic; now it is a way of life for everyone. For some, it’s not that bad; for others it is traumatic, even sad and depressing without face-to-face conversations with colleagues and customers.
While it seems that some trends (virtual work, gig work, digitalization) have accelerated this year, I think there are new trends just emerging that will impact many in our field. There are indications that when vaccines are released, the pandemic eases and lockdowns let up, our working world will remain completely changed. There are some serious implications that will affect the PM profession.
Virtual teaming, meetings, training, communications, and many other aspects of our work will be the norm. Many companies will remain downsized, having proven that big offices are not needed. Many professionals working on projects will be laid off, out of work, or forced to relocate. Fewer will enjoy employer benefits, such as health insurance or paid vacations. With the global economy so depressed, there will be fewer projects, programs and opportunities. Some countries and some industries have been devastated; during the coming rebuild, priorities will change, different skills and knowledge may be needed, different types of projects and programs will be required. Globalization has been slowed, even reversed in some ways, affecting future supply chains, organizations and industries.
And some industries and organizations have thrived and grown, for example, online retail, food production and markets, social media, anything internet related it seems. There are also new risks emerging, related to cybercrime, fake news, misinformation, anti-democratic politics, digital warfare. It seems the world has become more dangerous!
Nevertheless, we’ll keep producing the PMWJ. I’m happy to say that this month’s edition contains 32 works by 36 authors in 18 different countries. The current works also cover a good variety of topics in multiple categories…
More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
How to cite this article: Pells, D.L. (2020). Welcome to the September 2020 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. IX, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/pmwj97-Sep2020-Pells-welcome-to-this-edition.pdf
About the Author
David L. Pells
Managing Editor, PMWJ
Managing Director, PMWL
David L. Pells is Managing Editor of the PM World Journal (www.pmworldjournal.net) 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 agencies, 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, serving on the board of directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) 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; Project Management Associates (PMA) in India; the Istituto Italiano di Project Management (ISIPM); and the Russian Project Management Association (SOVNET). Since 2010 he is an honorary member of the Project Management Association of Nepal.
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 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/
