PM Insights Foster City - 

Appreciative Inquiry Management

Appreciative Inquiry focuses on the strengths of the people under management and forms processes around those strengths. This is the opposite of the conventional practices which look for deficits and seek to strengthen the skill of individuals to fulfill the deficits. The deficit focus drives negative comments which drives lower morale and turnover. A positive focus drives process changes around the good skills sets which the people possess.

Appreciative Inquiry Management, though simple in theory, is difficult to manage as it requires a shift in mindset often unattainable without coaching and feedback. It requires a strong willingness to change processes based upon the skill of the individuals within the organization. Without an agreement to provide feedback with the assumption of good intent, it is impossible to implement.

PM Insights Foster City - 

Agile and DevOps – Better Together

Among the two critical trends in software development, the key ones are
adoption of a product-centric approach and second is combining Agile and DevOps to accelerate time to capability, improve product quality and thereby user experience.

In this session, my focus will be to share my experience on how we bring
agile and DevOps together to deliver the same values for our customers.

PM Insights Foster City - 

Battling Distractions During Crisis:

What’s
Your Focus?

Crisis is a distraction for everyone. It pulls us away from our life focus and towards something else. We must discipline ourselves to stay focused in times of crisis so we can stay focused in times of crisis. Are you implementing strategic plans that give you direction for today and increase your potential for tomorrow?

Anupama will share some insights into what one needs to put behind and what needs to be put before us, based on her own experience during this critical time. It’s critical that you include your team as part of your strategic thinking. Before you can implement your plan, you must make sure that you have the right people in place. If you practice strategic thinking, others will listen to you and they will want to follow you.

PM Insights Foster City - 

An Introduction to Web3

A catchy VC term or the next generation of the internet? Through this discussion we will take a look at Web3, the technology behind it, and its future use cases (and no, it's not just jpegs).

PM Insights Foster City - 

Carrots, Sticks, and Magic

Catalyst, visionary, lubricant - these are the hats we wear as PMs. They are also how we define great leaders. Software teams, executives, marketing, and sales teams all look to the PM as the core instigator of change, driver of productivity, and persuader for possibility. Your customers rely on you to bring amazing products to market that solve hard problems and entertain like magic.

Good Project Managers recognize all the knobs and levers they control and can see to leverage the controls to drive the success of their products - but it takes learning and mastering a diverse set of skills (including self awareness). These skills aren’t standard in any curriculum. Leadership requires that we take ownership of outcomes, motivate teams, remove or lubricate frictions, and understand the psychology of all our stakeholders.

That sounds like a lot of responsibility - how do we succeed? Join us for the answers.

PM Insights Foster City - 

Strategic Thinking:  A Rare and Valuable Competency

Research shows that the next generation of leaders must be able to demonstrate:

• The ability to think strategically
• An understanding of the parts of the organization and how each part contributes to the value proposition
• An ability to drive change

As project managers progress to more demanding and strategic projects, they need to better distinguish good strategy from bad strategy.  They need to be able to cope with ambiguity and non-linear complex environments.

This engaging presentation will help the audience recognize and describe the four pillars that define strategic thinking, how strategic thinking is different from strategic planning, the four DICE X-factors of strategic thinking, the Ben Franklin technique for applying the microskills of strategic thinking, and why “competent strategic thinker” ought to be part of your personal brand.

PM Insights Foster City - 

Introduction to the Levee Improvements Project

The Foster City levee system, surrounding the majority of the outer bayfront perimeter of the City, is crucial in providing protection from flood hazards and storms.  In 2014, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined that Foster City's levee system does not meet minimum requirements for flood protection.  In order to maintain FEMA accreditation and keep Foster City properties out of the flood zone, Foster City voters approved Measure P in 2018 with nearly 81% support, authorizing the City to issue a $90 million general obligation (GO) bond to improve and strengthen the Foster City levee system.

Levee improvements will allow Foster City to keep Foster City properties out of the flood zone, maintain FEMA accreditation, prevent residents from paying mandatory flood insurance, and protect essential city services during storms and earthquakes.

PM Insights Foster City - 

Factors That Create the Foundation for
Leadership 

PM Insights Foster City - 

Risk Management in Agile