In this episode of Project Management Paradise, Johnny speaks to lecturer, trainer, and author Jeff Furman about project management ethics and more.
Jeff trained 1000’s of Project Managers towards getting their PMP certification over a number of years to date as well as diversifying into training for many other certifications such as training he delivers at the US Army bases. Jeff is also a lecturer in NYU (New York University), where he aids in delivering a total of 8 courses in areas of ethics and project management;
- Basic PM
- PMP Prep
- Persuasive Presentations For PMs (New Course I developed for NYU SCPS)
- New: EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT (1-Day Intensive)
- New: CRITICAL PATH METHOD (1-Day Intensive)
- Communications Management (part of 10-Day PM Summer Intensive certificate program)
- Principles of PM For Construction Professionals (for Schack Institute of Real Estate, a certificate program in PM for Construction Professionals)
as well as a course, he developed entitled “Ethics in project management”
In this interview, Jeff shares some insights regarding project management ethics in addition to some great gems from his book – The PM Answer Book.
Excerpts from Episode 24: Project Management Ethics
“everyone thinks I’m the good one but some bad people are unethical”
Jeff explains how the above quote is not factually correct as many ethical people are pushed into performing unethical activities. “How do you say no to your boss or customer?” It is easy to say that the long term is more important than any short-term benefit but you have to ask the question,
“what do you do when it’s you?”.
Jeff also considers how project managers are often pushed into giving a presentation on their project to persuade a customer or even a senior staff member. This can often be one of the biggest challenges for a PM and they can tend to just go through slide after slide, death by PowerPoint effectively. Jeff believes persuasion is key for these presentations and to be persuasive you need to engage with the audience and keep them interested. – “Engagement is the key to success”.
There is changes coming to the PMP exam in the coming year in line with PMBOK 6 which includes a lot of agile references. Jeff believes that incorporating Agile with Agile is the way forward right now. He also believes that Scrum Agile is really taking over, especially in New York and with a lot of traits from Waterfall, could be the “new wave in project management”.
One last point that Furman makes to his students to engage them in the process is everyone “can usually think of an incident in your live where it could have gone better – there is usually an ethical issue at the core”.
Show Notes
Find out more about Jeff at jeff-furman.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefffurmanlinkedin
Twitter: @PMAnswerBook
Facebook Fan Page For The Project Management Answer Book
Jeff’s book: The Project Management Answer Book, 2nd Edition (Management Concepts Press, paperback or Kindle) includes a strong chapter on Ethics In PM, real-world examples, Q&As on the ethical concepts that are tested for on the PMP Exam
- The PMI Code of Ethics And Professional Conduct (free, from PMI)
- My One-Page Quick Guide to the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
- My 2 exercises I developed for teaching “Ethics In PM” class (included in the Ethics In PM Chapter)
- “The Groundhog Day Game” and
- “You Be The Ethicist!”
- “The Groundhog Day Game” – is ALSO part of the
20 free Training Activities available as part of “The Trainers’ Toolkit App”
- “You Be The Ethicist” was also reprinted in:
- The Book of Road-Tested Activities – Compiled and Edited by Elaine Biech
- The Ethicist – column every week in the New York Times Sunday Magazine
- EDMF – Also a free guide from PMI
Books Jeff uses in his Project Management Ethics Class
- BE GOOD: How To Navigate The Ethics of Everything By Randy Cohen, original creator of Letters To The Ethicist in the NY Times.
- The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies By Steve Harrison.
Persuasive Presentations for PMs
“What led me to this class was…
Certification: CompTIA Certified Technical Trainer. This certification is good in itself, but is also a pre-req for:
- MCT – Microsoft Certified Trainer
- ACI – Adobe Certified Instructor
- Presenting With Power: Planning & Preparing Presentations (Free eBook — Top Experts Share Their Secrets, from Mighty Guides)
- Telling Ain’t Training – By Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps
A selection of Jeff’s Articles / Blogposts
- Top 10 Trainer’s Tips To Help PMs Giving Presentations (Article: PM World Journal)
- My Life Is A PMP Ethics Question (Guest Blog: A Girl’s Guide To Project Management)
- “Your PMP Class Is Over… What’s The Best Way To Study Down The Home Stretch? My Top 11 Final Tips?” (Article: PM World Journal)
- Do You Get A Lot Of Help On Presentations From Your Manager? Or, not so much)
- Info & Resources About The PMP Test Change ( Linkedin post)
- Sneak Preview: PMBOK V6 Changes… 3rd Qtr 2017
- The NON-Firehose Approach To PMP Prep
Upcoming
Jeff’s new book: The Project Management Answer Book, 2nd Ed.
Jeff’s upcoming PM Courses @ NYU SPS): www.Jeff-Furman.com/upcoming-classes
