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.Ā  As a product idea, Groupon’s volume discount business model launched in 2008 caught on like wild fire.Ā  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.Ā  Consumers get a great deal and in return businesses benefit from the volume in sales.Ā  By 2010 the internet business exploded into a  

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

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

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

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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. Ā 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

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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.Ā  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.Ā  Although strategies to mitigate traffic issuesĀ  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

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29 June 2012 3:09 pm

Project Manager Olympian Wins Gold Medal Due to People Skills

As we approach closer to the 2012 Summer Olympics hosted in London, I think about all the attributes these amazing athletes have developed to be the best in their category of sport.Ā  The level of determination, work ethic and raw talent, with a bit of luck and timing will mean the difference between a Gold Medallist Olympian and those that are knocked out of the top spots.Ā  Although not all Olympians are medal winners, all of them have a common attribute that has led them there in the first place.Ā  They all have that extra “something” that cannot be taught  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 29 June 2012 3:09 pm

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15 February 2012 5:08 pm

Monitoring project costs. A penny saved is a penny earned. Or is it?

I recently read an article where it described the U.S. Mintā€™s challenge in producing pennies and nickels at a cost more than their actual value.Ā  In 2011 it cost the US Mint 2.4 Cents to produce a penny and 11.2 cents for every nickel produced.Ā  I guess the old adage ā€œA penny saved is a penny earnedā€ does not apply to the US Mint.Ā  Ironically, every penny has put the Mint 1.4 pennies in the hole.

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 15 February 2012 5:08 pm

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25 August 2011 2:06 pm

Project Vision: The ā€œAppleā€ Never Falls Far from the Tree

With yesterdayā€™s announcement of Steve Jobs stepping down as Appleā€™s CEO, the first thought that crossed my mind is the critical role leadership plays in any organization.Ā  As the story goes… after building Apple into an industry giant, Jobs was ousted as its leader in 1985.Ā  Following his departure, the company slowly deteriorated and by 1997 the company Jobsā€™ built was running at a loss of $1 billion on its $7 billion in revenue.Ā  Almost 15 years later, under Jobsā€™ leadership Apple has not only transformed its own DNA, but has revolutionized the music industry, the smart phone and the  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 25 August 2011 2:06 pm

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12 August 2011 12:49 pm

Poor Stakeholder Management: Dangerous Politics will Yield Undesirable Results

In recent weeks, the media has been inundated with stories about political turmoil in the US and Western Europe.Ā  We have not only seen the recent news of the USā€™s downgrade in its credit rating and its mounting budget deficit but we have also seen unprecedented social unrest in the UK, the French economy at a standstill and the Euro taking a hard hit due to Greeceā€™s recent instability.Ā  Although a lot of these events are partially due to poor planning by governments, the reality is (and this should not be ignored) partisan politics, self-interest, and poor communication among stakeholders  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 12 August 2011 12:49 pm

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31 May 2011 2:32 pm

Effective Resource Management Requires an Accurate View of your People

In the digital age where the average person has 130 friends on Facebook and are plugged into to numerous other social networks, we tend to forget that many of the connections and relationships that live in these social are networks are limited to their virtual origins.Ā  Most people can probably attribute only a couple dozen connections to real relationships that live outside this virtual reality.Ā  In fact, in a recent research study coming out of Oxford it has been said that the human brain cannot manage more than 150 people in their social network and no more than 50 of  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 31 May 2011 2:32 pm

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11 April 2011 10:08 am

Is Agile right for you? Top 5 considerations when implementing Agile Methodology

We often hear in software development circles how Agile development is taking hold of the industry.Ā  Created as a grassroots framework by developers for developers, the origins of Agile methodology began 10 years ago with a group of progressive software developers at a Utah ski lodge that established the Agile Manifesto aimed to establish a more inclusive, democratic and efficient system for running software development projects.Ā  As result, multiple Agile methodologies emerged including Crystal Clear, Scrum and Extreme Programming all designed to establish self-governing project teams that place equal accountability on all members that touch the project.
As this is  

Written by Neil Stolovitsky
on 11 April 2011 10:08 am

Posted in Information Technology, PM Best Practices  |  No Comments
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