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Monthly Meeting Proposal #9

Management Forum
Topic: 
Networking
Presented by: 
IEEE-SCV-TMC board member
After Dinner Presentation
Topic: 
Great project managers: Delivering value and results, earning influence and respect
Presented by: 
Cinda Voegtli

For a project manager in high tech, what makes the difference in how you're perceived and what you can achieve? Where on this spectrum do you fall: Are you seen as unnecessary overhead; a competent details coordinator; a strong team manager and driver; or a business-savvy influential leader of critical corporate efforts? Even if you're managing a smaller project, where you fall on that scale matters for getting what you need to get your project done.


How project managers are perceived and treated is somewhat determined by the company culture and expectations for the role. But a PM's perceived value and success are ultimately determined by what place on that "role spectrum" they decide to play, and their courage and tenacity at fulfilling the role at that level. This presentation brings out the key factors Cinda has seen result in project managers being highly respected and valued (or not!) by executives and teams, due to how they handled the job and worked with the rest of the company. It will cover key factors such as executive-friendly communication, relationships with executives and functional groups, personal courage, technical understanding, business perspective, process savvy, ownership and initiative, and leadership - and what all these things look like put into action by truly great project managers.

Cinda Voegtli is Founder and CEO of the ProjectConnections.com service providing practical online resources and support to over 250,000 project managers, functional managers, and team members around the world. She has over 20 years of experience in companies of different sizes and radically different project environments, with titles ranging from developer to vice president. She started her career as a hardware and firmware engineer, moved into technical group leader roles, and then became Director of Hardware Engineering at a start-up. Cinda found herself unwittingly falling into (untitled) project management as she managed large releases there, and after the company was acquired made the official leap and managed release programs in 3 different product divisions. Since then she has worn many hats - including contract project manager, interim department manager, project and development process consultant, functional executive, company founder, and executive project sponsor - experiencing the myriad light and dark corners of the business-driven project universe, and still relishing and enjoying all the rewards and challenges.

Over time Cinda has worked on different types of projects to develop products, services, and systems, for areas including communications, medical, IT, factory automation, computer games, construction, and biotech. From all these years of projects she has developed a big passion for making "management stuff" practical, effective, so that we can all enjoy our jobs day-to-day as we work hard to get it all done. Her particular areas of interest are helping get boring, static project methodologies into dynamic, situation-specific use; achieving business-savvy and amazingly synchronized cross-functional teams; and
bringing together the critical skills, attitudes, and experience that result in
truly great project manager.

Time
  • 6:00 PM: Registration
  • 6:30 PM: Management Forum
  • 7:15 PM: Dinner
  • 7:45 PM: After Dinner Presentation
  • 9:00 PM: Adjourn
Meal
Choices: 
Chicken or Turkey Sandwich
Vegetarian or Tuna Sandwich
Pastrami or Beef Sandwich
Meal includes: 
Salads, Chips, Sodas or Coffee
Place

RAMADA Silicon Valey

Location

RAMADA Silicon Valley
1217 Wildwood Ave
Sunnyvale, CA, 94089
United States
Phone: 408-245-5330
See map: Google Maps

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Cost
  • All charges are paid at the door by check or cash
  • No credit cards
Early bird – IEEE member: 
$10.00
Early bird – Non-member: 
$13.00
Standard – IEEE member: 
$13.00
Standard – Non-member: 
$16.00