PMItoday - December 2008

Celebrating the Best in Project Management— MEET THE AWARD WINNERS Starting on page 7

PMI today PROJECTMANAGEMENTINSTITUTE

Making project management indispensable for business results.^®

A Supplement to PM Network^®| December 2008

4,100 Come to Seize

the Moment in Denver

From start to finish, PMI^®Global Congress 2008—North America was a “wow” experience. A record-setting 4,100 people attended the event, which took place in Denver, Colorado, USA, in October.

Photos by Jim Tkatch

A keynote speech by Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), incredible networking opportunities and more than 150 sessions in 15 areas of focus made for a pow-

erful professional development opportunity. Add an awards ceremony and reception honoring the best of the profession (see “Meet the Award Winners” on page 7), and two breakfast presentations—including one on the landmark study Researching the Value of Project Management— and you have a complete gathering that was well worth taking several days away from busy schedules. After a well-attended orientation

session for first-time attendees on Sunday afternoon, afternoon, the crowd filed into the beautiful Wells Fargo Theater for the opening general session.

A “General” Session

Following several songs from the Colorado Children’s Chorale, PMI President and CEO Gregory Balestrero focused his remarks on how important project management is in these difficult economic times. He told attendees that the PMI Board of Directors codified the Institute’s emphasis on sustain-ability as an important part of managing projects.

PMI Chair Philip Diab offered additional details on that subject, including the new strategic principle stating that PMI shall take actions and make decisions in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

Seth Patton of Microsoft, the sponsor of the keynote address, then introduced Gen. Powell, who entered to a thunderous and spontaneous standing ovation.

Gen. Powell, who had made headlines around the world that morning with his endorsement of Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race, opened by noting, “I’ve had a long and busy day.” His talk focused on how his leadership experience related to managing projects.

Gen. Powell said he realized, when looking at PMI

Former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
focused on leadership in his keynote address to
PMI Global Congress 2008—North America:
“A leader displays excellence,
high standards, moral and
physical courage, and integrity.
Your word is your bond.”

Photo by Lisa Siciliano

Continued on page 4

Tuesday morning’s breakfast speaker Connie Podesta had attendees laughing hard as she went over all the different type of people project leaders will have to understand to be successful in running their teams. She divided the audience into squares, triangles, circles and squiggles— and proceeded to tell everyone in comic terms their negative characteristics.

PMI Leadership Institute Meeting

Leaders Deal With, Embrace Change

change can be difficult, but suggest-
ed that leaders keep their focus on
the “prize,” the amount of value the
profession of project management
can add to organizations worldwide.
That prize is already being real-
ized, as noted by the keynote
speaker Mark Mullaly, PMP, a co-
author of the recently completed
landmark study, Researching the
Value of Project Management.
“Because of project manage-
ment, companies told us they
improved their competitive

Continued on page 12

BY THE NUMBERS

Largest-Ever Leadership Institute Meeting

ALMOST750 ATTENDEES 33COUNTRIES 144 CHAPTERS 27SPECIFIC INTEREST GROUPS 1COLLEGE

100 MORE ATTENDEES
REPRESENTED 16 MORE
COUNTRIES THAN DURING
THE 2007 PMI LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
MEETING IN NORTH AMERICA

Almost 750 PMI volunteer leaders from 33 countries gathered in Denver, Colorado, USA, for the largest-ever PMI Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM) in October.

An important theme of the event was “change”—as the Institute continues its strategic effort to present members a similar chapter experience around the world.