4 March 2013 9:28 am

Groupon’s Troubles: Proof that the people behind a product can make the difference

In the latest in tech news, Groupon CEO and co-founder Andrew Mason was recently laid off adding to the already Management issues that has been plaguing the internet giant since its IPO in 2011.  As a product idea, Groupon’s volume discount business model launched in 2008 caught on like wild fire.  Groupon delivers huge coupon discounts to restaurants and retailers to its audience with the strategy of pooling like-minded consumers by leveraging the Web and social media.  Consumers get a great deal and in return businesses benefit from the volume in sales.  By 2010 the internet business exploded into a  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 4 March 2013 9:28 am

Posted in About PM box  |  No Comments
22 February 2013 2:52 pm

The Hollywood Sign Project: Lights, Camera, Construction?

The “Hollywood” sign is one of those iconic structures that conjures up images of celebrity, fame and the American dream.  As a symbol of the entertainment industry, the Hollywood sign is recognizable around the world.  What most people do not realize, is that the sign’s original intent was quite mundane.  In fact, it was the extraordinary birth and changes of the entertainment industry in the surrounding area that raised the sign to its iconic status as we know it today.

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 22 February 2013 2:52 pm

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18 December 2012 3:04 pm

Letterman Top 10 Signs your are not ready to be a Project Manager

To continue on the  tradition of last year’s top ten list focused on projects, I came up with a topic more focused on you – the project manager.  So the category is the top ten signs you are not ready to be a project manager.  Here we go…

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 18 December 2012 3:04 pm

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19 November 2012 9:39 am

Project Porsche 911: Where the rubber meets the road

Porsche 911 Genius Red

Although the Porsche 911 will celebrate its 50th anniversary in a few months, it definitely doesn’t look its age!  It is an absolute classic among sports cars and its timeless design never goes out of style.  In the world of Project Management, the Porsche 911 is certainly a flagship project.  According to German magazine “MotorKlassik” only 10 prototypes were built prior to its release in September 1963.  This fact alone, is almost unbelievable, compared to today’s mass-production manufacturers who can burn through 100s of prototypes before a product launch.

Written by Sofia Hess
on 19 November 2012 9:39 am

Posted in Famous Projects, Manufacturing, PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
19 October 2012 1:33 pm

Top 10 tips for effective Resource Management whether jumping from space or not

In light of the recent historical space jump from 128,000 feet performed by Austrian dare devil Felix Baumgartner, a feat that lasted approximately 8 minutes, we can’t forget a team of scientists, engineers and aviation experts contributed to the success of this new world record. In the digital age where the historic jump captured the attention of the world, we should not to forget that it took millions of dollars in product development, planning and expertise to successfully accomplish and promote the space jump.  Felix Baumgartner’s success was facilitated by an entire project team that carefully planned the mission every  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 19 October 2012 1:33 pm

Posted in Famous Projects, PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
12 October 2012 11:00 am

Managing Bottlenecks. Good Project Management is a lot like avoiding traffic

Living in one of Canada’s largest metropolitan areas, Montreal is infamous for its traffic jams caused by never ending construction and growing population.  In a recent report it confirmed that the typical Montrealer that has a 30 minute commute loses 92 hours a year to traffic. The reality of this loss is astronomical impacting businesses, the environment and in some cases health issues that result from increased stressed levels and the broadened carbon footprint.  Although strategies to mitigate traffic issues  exist, similar to the project management world, it only takes one unexpected change of event to occur and you will  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 12 October 2012 11:00 am

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
15 June 2012 2:48 pm

41% of Projects Still Fail: Good project managers always plan for failure

Recently, Kickstarter an internet platform developed to assist entrepreneurs fund their projects by recruiting investors online, has confirmed the reality that after 17 years since the first Chaos Report was published, the knowledge of failure has done little to change the grim statistics associated with project success.  According to a recent article, 41% of projects on Kickstarter fail.  So if projects are likely to fail, why bother planning for success in the first place?  Seasoned project leaders understand that project planning is more than developing a detailed Gantt Chart with accurate timelines and reasonable workloads.  Good project planning is as  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 15 June 2012 2:48 pm

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
30 May 2012 4:05 pm

Project Team Unity: The power in numbers must not be underestimated

I recently read an article that a group of Kansas farmers grouped their efforts in negotiating remarkable lease pricing and terms of their many acres of land to Oil giants for potential drilling.  Interestingly enough, a group of 100+ farmers were able to drive the lease price up of their land by pooling their resources together and standing strong resulting in incredible returns in their agreement with their tough negotiators.  It’s not atypical for big corporations to use their financial clout and size to bully the “common person” for their own financial gains.  However, history has repeated itself more than  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 30 May 2012 4:05 pm

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11 May 2012 1:04 pm

iPhone technology proves it can take 40 years to become an overnight success

In a world where innovation moves at the speed of light, most of us take for granted of the many great innovative NPD projects that have improved and changed the way we live.  The truth is many NPD projects sustain battle scars from years, and in many cases decades, proving their worth and/or acceptance for their intended audience. The reality is 90%-95% of great innovations initially fail.  In fact many great innovations were created by technologists and inventors who had no concept of market acceptance or the desire to fill the need of a particular audience.  Moreover, even in the  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 11 May 2012 1:04 pm

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
17 April 2012 10:11 am

Working 9 to 5. What a way to manage projects!

Recently, Sheryl Sandberg Facebook’s COO publicly admitted to working a 9 to 5 schedule which for many is blasphemous in Technology circles. Although in the past she was reluctant to reveal her work schedule, in her recent announcement she attributes her well-balanced work and life schedule to her present day success.  Even though she has incredible responsibility, it shows that and organized plan and schedule can go a very far way. In many ways, her ability to successfully execute on (one would imagine to be) an insurmountable amount of work in a 9 to 5 schedule is a true testament  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 17 April 2012 10:11 am

Posted in PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
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