Lowell D. Dye, PMP, is certified Project Management Professional and a certified trainer. He provides project management training and consulting services to IT, Manufacturing, Research & Development, Federal Government and Defense organizations.

Lowell is the co-editor of two books — Project Portfolio Management: Selecting and Prioritizing Projects for Competitive Advantage (1999) and Managing Multiple Projects: Planning, Scheduling and Allocating Resources for Competitive Advantage (2002) — is a frequent speaker on project and portfolio management topics, and has published several articles in US and international publications. He holds an M.S. in operations management from the University of Arkansas, and a B.S. from Excelsior College.

In dynamic project oriented organizations, successful project performance hinges on personal and professional performance. Companies spend thousands of dollars every year on training programs in the hopes of developing and enhance project manager’s skills – often to be disappointed in the outcome. Why?

Is it because project managers are untrainable? Project managers are typically not the problem. Unrealistic expectations on the part of management is. Just sending someone to a two or three session on how to be a good project manager is just the starting point.

Managers return after attending a training session only to ask themselves, “Now what? How do I make this work?

Best practice dictates that in order to maximize the learning process and accelerate the implementation of the new knowledge and skills, additional coaching and mentoring focused on skill application is required.

Coaching and mentoring simply refers to a skilled experienced mentor working with individual project managers or project teams to transfer facilitated knowledge and guide the application of new skills.

Some of the topics this session will address include:

• Establishing an environment that encourages coaching and mentoring
• The basic steps in a skill acquisition process
• Goal setting for performance improvement
• The characteristics of a good coach/mentor

In the profession of Project Management, Lee R. Lambert, PMP has established the standard against which others in the field are measured.   Throughout a fast-paced 18 year corporate career with Chicago Bridge & Iron, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, General Electric (Nuclear Reactor Division) and Battelle Memorial Institute--where he worked almost exclusively with engineers and scientists--he quickly ascended to senior management positions and was responsible for the development and implementation of ground-breaking, sophisticated Enterprise project management processes for Engineering, Medical Diagnostics and Research & Development.  In 1981, as a result of his pragmatic application of the PM methodologies, he was invited to be an integral part of the creation of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Program.  He is a recipient of the PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award and was a member of the PMNetwork/PM Journal Editorial Review team for over a decade.  He also contributed as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the PMI’s Earned Value Management System (EVMS) Practice Standard.  Educated as a Mechanical Engineer, he is a holder of a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.  He most recently has been nominated for one of the PMI’s highest honors for his ground breaking applied learning programs:  The Professional Development Provider of the Year.   As an author of two books and 32 professional papers, no other project management educator/speaker can contend with his uncanny technical knowledge, material content and refreshing and entertaining delivery—his hard-hitting, but humorous style, has mesmerized more than 40,000 students in 22 countries.  In May, Wiley Publishing retained Lee as author of PMP Prep A-All-In-One Desk Reference Guide.  Lee takes the saying; “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt” to a new level.  Lee can be reached at Lee@LambertConsultingGroup.com.

1Delivering the Truth!  Truth:  Management can’t handle the truth!  Capitalize on powerful but simple, easy to use tools for developing and delivering truth to organizational decision makers.  Deliver truth that is not just your opinion, not your emotion, but based on facts, nothing but the facts.  When a serious analysis of the “cause & effect” resulting from project status, is prepared appropriately, management will find it impossible to ignore.  Your efforts to develop and deliver truth will eventually lead to better, more timely decisions.  Learn how you can become the Sodium Pentothal for your project.

Carl Pritchard, PMP, EVP is the principal and founder of Pritchard Management Associates.  An author and lecturer, he has served in some of the most prestigious roles in the project management community, serving as lead author for the Risk Management chapter of the Guide to the PMBOK, Fourth Edition; a PMI Project-of-the-Year judge; a member of the board of directors of ProjectConnections.com and as the U.S. Correspondent for the British Project Management Magazine, "Project Manager Today".   He has written five significant texts in project management and contributed variety of others. His texts include: "Risk Management: Concepts & Guidance, 3rd Edition" (ESI  International), "The Project Management Communications Toolkit" (Artech House). "The Project Management Drill Book: A Self-Study Guide" (ESI International), "Precedence Diagramming: Successful Scheduling in the Team  Environment"  (ESI International), "How to Build a Work Breakdown Structure" (ESI International).  He was a chapter author for:  "The Field Guide to Project Management," (David Cleland, Editor), "Project Management for Business Professionals," (Joan Knutson,  Editor).  He contributed content for:  "eXtreme Project Management" (Doug DeCarlo, Author), "Right-Brain Project Management" (Michael Aucoin, Author).  He researched and authored white papers, including:  "Standardizing the Standards" (a look at project management  standards and how to normalize them) (Cutter Consortium), "Alternative Perspectives in Risk Management" (a look at how organizations that don't do project management have inventive ideas on risk) (Cutter Consortium).  He has written more than 100 articles for organizations and magazines including:
"Training and Development Magazine," "Project Manager Today" (UK), "Projects and Profits" (India), Cutter Consortium's Enterprise Risk Governance Practice,

ProjectConnections.com, ProjectWorld, "ESI Horizons," and PMI Chapter Newsletters around the world.

He is a co-producer and voice on the highly successful "Portable PMP Prep" 9-CD audio training program.  He teaches on the Internet for ESI International, PMI's international headquarters, and a variety of private clients.  His company was recently recognized by Dell Corporation as capturing the spirit of small business, and his business was featured on Dell's Times Square Billboard. His website is www.carlpritchard.com
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Carl Pritchard provides the tips essential to become a truly great consultant AND serve your employer more effectively at the same time. Carl offers insights on the best practices for developing your consulting repertoire, building effective networks, and developing relationships that will stand you AND your organization in good stead.