Adding Value

My MacBook has a sticky note displayed in the corner at all times as a constant reminder of successes and failures.

"What we must decide is how we can add value and not how valuable we are"
- Edgar Z Freidenberg

These days so many Project Managers learn Microsoft Project, hound resources to complete tasks, record issues in Excel, take a test and voila!  Look how valuable I am!  I am a Project Manager!

Let's say I come to work for you. Obviously you think I can contribute to the success of your business, and I think I can contribute as well. But if on my first day I walk in and think, "they will never do this without me" will I set the expectations for failure?

How do I achieve any value with that statement? When I sit at my desk on Day 1, I have not yet achieved anything! I have only promised to achieve and add value. So I start about the business of adding value.

Ok, so let's say I walk in on Day 180. I have a couple wins under my belt. You call me first when you have a new project to discuss. Now am I valuable? You bet. But you cannot put my value in the bank, or declare it to shareholders. You can tell the shareholders that you are backing me for a big project because of my previous record of adding value, but the shareholders will still judge us both based on the end value added by our project.


I add value by delivering. I can achieve it best with transparency; if I know the business strategy. Perhaps our company needs entry into a particular market and profits are not key. Maybe we must conform to government regulations and exact requirements and costs are critical. We might even take a smaller project in hopes of getting more work at the client. I will plan the project so that the most critical elements will get the most attention. I will tailor my day-to-day management based on the overall goals and objectives of the project, not by blindly following a canned methodology.

I also add value by bringing information to you, so that you can make informed decisions. "Did you see the article that the government has extended the deadline for compliance?" "It looks like our competitor just got that big contract we were hoping to get." "Companies X, Y and Z just announced products in our market."

Companies exist to make profit. And management must produce that profit. Seems simple, but not all workers care about this. As a business owner, I care. I always look for cost cutting measures in projects that won't affect quality, and ways for utilising staff better.  

Perhaps Dr Freidenberg wanted us to keep achieving: Set expectations and never rest on our laurels. I can rest when I'm dead. Until then, I'll keep adding value.

Social Media: Personal or Professional?

Every year I have the opportunity to review and update my resume thanks to the nature of contracting.  It's time once again to dust of the curriculum vitae and hit the webosphere for the next big gig.

This year, it's a little different though, because I've found that recruiters and sometimes even employers are not only interested in my experience, but also in my activity. As a blogger and tweeter, I've decided to embrace this change and share with you a bit about my social media philosophy for separating Professional from Personal.

1. Assume that people (colleagues, friends, employers) will Google you.
What do you want those people to find? In my case, they generally find an award-winning chemical engineer at Yale. But once they find the correct Julie Zimmerman, they are likely to find this blog, my Linked in profile (currently top Google pick), my twitter and Facebook profiles. These internet postings are as powerful as my resume.

2. Designate a profile/ account as professional or personal in your social media.
I use Linked-in for my professional contacts and I keep all conversations professional, as if I were at work.  The same with Twitter and this blog.  Because both of these can be read by anyone at any time, I treat these as my own professional websites. No cheesy photos, pictures of food, comments about my state of mind or daily commute. I do occasionally tweet on personal subjects, but these are generally targeted as one-offs.

Facebook is my personal "expression" website, and though I would never allow anything on my Facebook that would discredit my professionalism, I would prefer not to have to explain an "out of context" photo or status.  My Facebook loyals would understand, but not someone who randomly lobbed in. I use the settings on Facebook to present  my professional image to anyone who would find my page via search. I make it a habit not to "friend" people on Facebook until we stop working together.

 3. Don't say anything on Social Media that you wouldn't say to someone's face.
There are just too many people with too much time on their hands.  You may end up on someone's FAIL page, or worse, one of your friends may be friends with your next potential boss. Tweeting is not the way to 15 minutes of fame.


4. Join only as many social media sites that you can maintain.
I have a friend who is a social media expert. I get invitations to join every new social media site out there.  Before joining, I always consider whether it will suit me to be a member.  Will I have time to update it?  Will it likely catch on in Australia? Does it duplicate something I already use? The answer is Yes, I have a Google+ account that I don't use.


Hopefully this year I'll be able to parlay my use of social media into my next career move, while still maintain a personal identity online.


How do you keep yours separate? Or do you? What issues has it caused?

10 Things Women in Technology Need to Know

I have just completed my 25th year in technology.  I've worked in almost every role: computer operator, data entry, developer, business analyst, project manager.  I entered when women were beginning to get numbers.  But there are so many things you have to learn the hard way.

After 25 years, I think I might be able to share a few. In no particular order:

1. Know your stuff.  Wanna play with the boys?  Make sure you are learning the same amount of detail they are! Read blogs, search the net, jump into that lunchtime conversation about Security in the cloud.
2. Get involved. Attend conferences, training, get certified, join user groups, write blogs.  Ask your boss to be involved in the new technology upgrade. Put a strategy in place for your career and what you want to do.
3. Volunteer, but not too often. Take on the new project, work a few extra hours. But make sure these will help your career! If you get the coffee, make sure everyone else takes their turn too.
4. Build relationships. Rarely does my next contract come from an advert.  IT is a small business. Use Linked-In and other social media. Knowing people in the business will help you throughout your career.  I've personally worked with over 20 CIOs and heads of consulting firms.
5. It's business, it's not personal. No one comes to work to ruin the work. If someone disagrees with you, it's because they have another goal or objective. They are not trying to ruin your life. If you want to succeed, find out what they are trying to achieve, and figure out how you can both get what you want.
6. Dress the part. Men have had a uniform for business for 100 years. It's called a suit. If they wear one, you can wear one. I like skirts, because I'm not a guy, or jackets over dresses. Think to yourself, would a guy be allowed to wear a similar piece of clothing to work here? Open shirt/ low-cut blouse? Open-toed shoes/ sandals? Shorts/ short (way above the knee) skirt?
7. Sometimes you have to be wrong to be right. Sometimes you will be the first one in the room with the correct answer. You want to speak up and say, "we should do it this way." But you can't. You have to lead the rest of the room to the idea. You will have far more success leading people to the right idea, if you are the one who has to take "credit" for the idea. Don't be upset about it, just do it.
8. Ride the wave. Technology is fickle. A good technology will be around for 20 years, but who wants to do the same thing for 20 years? If you are lucky enough to stumble onto the "right now" technology, make the most of it while it is popular.  Work your butt off for 2-3 years, and if you're lucky and smart, you can make a huge profit.
9. Find the need. If you are on a team of everyone with similar skills, find a skill that you have that they don't and exploit it. As a great organiser, I volunteered to enter the team's time into Microsoft Project.  This lead to me becoming a project manager.
10. They're colleagues, not girlfriends. Most importantly, don't treat your colleagues, especially your bosses like your besties. Don't gossip about the boss (he/she might be behind you) and never EVER show your alcohol capacity at a work function.  Sure, its okay to make a few besties from work, just don't make evident AT work.