WELCOME
By David Pells
Managing Editor
Addison, Texas, USA
Welcome to the September 2021 edition of the PM World Journal, the 109th monthly edition. This month’s PMWJ contains 19 new works by 25 different authors representing 13 different countries. This is one of the slimmest editions we have published in years, the fewest works, fewest authors, fewest countries. But I am quite happy. I wanted to slow down, stop fighting the calendar and deadlines, and still we have some great content from more than a dozen countries.
Working nonstop through the pandemic, attending virtual meetings, communicating digitally with authors, advisors and friends around the world, worrying about everyone and everything, watching the news too closely as conflicts, cybercrime and climate change accelerate. It’s been a stressful two years! So I’ve been taking a little more time off.
On Saturday, my wife and I drove two hours north to Hugo, Oklahoma to visit Showmans Rest, the Circus cemetery where famous American circus performers and personalities are buried. We paid our respects to Popcorn the Clown, The Great Huberto (tightrope walker), Queen of the Bareback Riders Zefta Loyal, Elephant Trainer John Carroll, Ringleader John Strong and many others. It was a unique experience, to say the least. See for yourself at https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/showmen-s-rest
Not sure why I’m sharing this story, but I’ve been thinking about legacies ever since the trip. Maybe I need to author an editorial on the topic, but what will our legacies be? Individually and as a profession? What differences, what contributions will we make over our careers? These seem more important questions as I get older. Do we all need to accomplish great things? Do we need to become successful or famous? Does helping others matter? Does sharing knowledge and wisdom count? These thoughts also take me back to my editorials earlier this year on “Project Management needs a Higher Purpose.” But on a personal level, maybe the PM World Journal can also provide a vehicle for individuals to add to their professional legacies by documenting experiences and information, sharing knowledge that might help others.
And just as I write these words, I learn that the great Professor Peter Morris has died. Peter was Professor Emeritus of Construction and Project Management at University College London and one of the world’s leading figures in the PM profession. His 2013 book “Reconstructing Project Management” is one of the best PM books ever written, in my opinion. I had the unique opportunity to meet Peter in Moscow in 1993, Washington, DC in 1994, New Orleans in 1995 and other places over the years. We’ve been friends and colleagues for many years. His legacy is complete, but still, such sad news! He will be missed and very long remembered.
The first significant contributions this month are again two excellent interviews. Spring in Beijing has interviewed Michael Pace, assistant professor at Texas A&M University and new president of IPMA-USA (formerly asapm). While I do not know Prof Pace and was not familiar with his background at all, I found his answers and thoughts accurate and interesting. I agreed with his points completely. The second interview is by one of our newest correspondents, Yasmina Khalifi in Paris, who posed some good questions to Michel Operto, co-founder of PMI France more than 25 years ago. Michel reflects on his 30 years of experience in the PM field working on technology projects. His answers should be of interest to many readers.
Three featured papers are included this month. Alan Stretton has expanded his strategic perspective with “Representative examples of operational users converting project-related outputs to outcomes and benefits within an organizational strategic-and-operations framework.” He provides further arguments that it is users who are most responsible for benefits realization; please study this new paper and send us some feedback.
More…
To read entire welcome article, click here
How to cite this paper: Pells, D.L. (2021). Welcome to the September 2021 PMWJ; PM World Journal, Vol. X, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pmwj109-Sep2021-Pells-welcome-to-this-edition2.pdf
About the Author
David L. Pells
Managing Editor, PMWJ
Managing Director, PMWL
David L. Pells, PMI Fellow, HonFAPM, ISIPM, PMA, SOVNET 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 – Italy); Project Management Associates (PMA – India); and the Russian Project Management Association (SOVNET). In 2010 he was made 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 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/
