Project Management Community
March - April 2005
PMI CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL ASIA PACIFIC CONGRESS IN SINGAPORE
Swissôtel (The Stamford) – The Congress Hotel
PMI declared the first PMI Global Congress in the Asia Pacific region an “overwhelming success” and the attendees seemed to agree. Almost 400 project managers converged on the Swissôtel (The Stamford) in Singapore in February to network and expand their knowledge by attending some of the 45 paper presentations.
PMI CEO Greg Balestrero addresses the Opening General Session
The Congress opened with a dramatic welcome by acrobats posing as a dragon, but soon transitioned to a serious note as PMI CEO, Greg Balestrero, described the fantastic growth of project management in the region. He noted that the number of PMP's in Asia Pacific has been growing exponentially, and now numbers 22,638, 25% of the worldwide total. He expects 600,000 new PMP’s in the next five years in China alone. PMI has responded by opening two regional offices, in Beijing and Singapore.
Bill Stewart addresses a standing room only audience on
the future of PMO's
Conference participants enjoy a demonstration of traditional dance during
one of the receptions
Japan Project Management Forum President Hiroshi Tanaka, pmforum.org Managing
Editor Hugh Woodward, and PMI Sydney Chapter President Gordon Bartlett pause
for a photograph between paper presentations
Participants checking out the products offered by one of the sponsors
PMI Chair, Louis Mercken, also addressed the opening general session, but focused his comments on PMI’s planned response to last December’s devastating tsunami. He described a five-point action program:
- Mobilize PMI component members in the region to assess the need for project management
- Address relief assistance through changes in the congress program
- Directly donate $25,000 (US).
- Build a pm model for disaster recovery and nation building in underdeveloped areas, and partner with the American Society of Association Executives to implement it.
- Partner with a local PMI chapter to rebuild a village.
The opening session concluded with keynote speaker, David Lim, the leader of the first Singapore based team to reach the pinnacle of Mt. Everest. He underscored the magnitude of this feat by showing a picture of the highest natural point in Singapore, a mere 164 meters above sea level. Mt. Everest soars 8850 meters above sea level. He went on to enumerate the project management principles which allowed them to be successful. He talked about “chunking down the tasks” and setting intermediate goals. He described the importance of “collective intelligence” and “managing expectations”. He warned that if we concentrate on the obstacles, we will miss the goal. And he stressed the five C’s that were critical to their success:
- Competence
- Commitment
- Compatibility
- Communication
- Courage
Following the opening general session, the participants attended a Tsunami Reconstruction Panel Discussion, and then broke to network and to enjoy the bountiful variety of food at the Grand Opening Reception.
Ramesh Kandadai, PMI Board Member Karen Tate, and Linda
Salac enjoy some refreshments as they discuss the Congress
For the next two days, the attendees enjoyed some excellent presentations grouped into eight separate tracks including Globalization and Outsourcing, New Trends in Project Management, and Project Management in Asia Pacific Region.
Participants discuss the Congress in the exhibit hall
The small groups that congregated in the exhibit hall between the paper presentations represented countries throughout the region, indeed throughout the world. And they spoke a multitude of languages. But the assessment was the same in whatever language it was expressed: “it was an excellent conference”.
GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT FORUM SETS NEW DIRECTION
After a meeting in Singapore on Sunday 20 February 2005, the Global Project Management Forum (GPMF) Steering Committee announced the 10-year old organization would be revitalized under a new leader and with a new direction.
The “GPMF Redevelopment Meeting” was attended by Adesh Jain,
Bruce Rodrigues and Hiroshi Tanaka, representing the GPMF Steering Committee;
Louis Mercken, Iain Fraser and Greg Balestrero representing PMI as a major
stakeholder; Adesh Jain representing IPMA also as a major stakeholder; and
Rebecca Moore, logistics coordinator provided by PMI.
The meeting resolved that conceptually, GPMF would:
- Neutralize biased perspectives of organizations throughout the world when addressing global imperatives of PM profession
- Create a “by invitation only” Think Tank
- Invite “thought leaders” as participants
- Narrow the agenda to Strategic Global Imperatives
- Conduct facilitated discussions; brainstorming; special provocateurs
The following distinguished leaders were appointed as Steering Committee members with the understanding that the committee would be expanded as the new GPMF grows:
- Hiroshi Tanaka, Chair
- Kenneth Hartley, Co-chair
- Adesh Jain (IPMA)
- David Pells (PMI)
- A delegate to be selected by APM
- A delegate to be selected by AIPM
The new GPMF Steering Committee will hold its first meeting during PMI Global Congress EMEA in Edinburgh Scotland this May, while GPMF will host its last GPMF Global Forum in the traditional format in New Delhi in conjunction with the IPMA World Congress scheduled for November.
The GPMF Steering Committee was originally formed in 1994 by six PMI members
who responded to a proposal by David Pells, now President of iWorld Projects
and Systems, Inc. and the first Forum was successfully launched during PMI
95 in New Orleans with 300 delegates representing 40 countries.
Subsequently, another 13 GPMF Congresses have been hosted in North America,
Europe and Asia Pacific.
For more on the history of the GPMF, see: gpmfbkgrnd.ppt
For more on the new direction of GPMF, see: 200205gpmfmtg.ppt