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If Risk Is Your Business, Do It Better Than Captain Kirk

July 16, 2019 | Andy Silber

As a great philosopher and chewer of scenery, Star Trek’s James T. Kirk once said, “Risk is our business”—nothing great can be accomplished if you’re not willing to take some risks. I like to say, “If failure isn’t an option, then innovation isn’t an opportunity.” However, risk must be managed carefully. In “Return to Tomorrow,”...

How to Get a “Yes!”

July 9, 2019 | Katie Kalafus

Convincing Your Team That LiquidPlanner Is the Perfect Solution You’ve looked through dozens of task and project management tools and have finally found LiquidPlanner—the perfect project management solution for your business. Now, you have to convince everyone else. Where do you even start? During my three years on the sales team, I worked with thousands...

How to Fix a Troubled Project by Falling Back on the Fundamentals

June 25, 2019 | Andy Makar

According to the Standish Group’s 2015 Chaos Report, I have a 64-percent chance of guessing you’ve been on a challenged or failed software project. According to the Chaos Report, only 36 percent of all projects have been successful while others were challenged or failed to meet the business objectives. I’ve seen a lot of projects...

Ask a PM: How to Avoid Your Own Burnout When Your Team Doesn’t Pull Its Weight

June 18, 2019 | Elizabeth Harrin

Dear Elizabeth: There are people in my team who don’t pull their weight. They don’t deliver what they say they will, and they don’t seem committed to the goals of the project. I need them to step up and do what’s required, but I can’t seem to make that happen. Instead, rather than let them...

Manage This! Jen Morrisey Featured on Project Management Podcast

June 11, 2019 | Ben Rock

“The workplace, rather, is rapidly evolving, as is the PM role, and I think project managers today face so many challenges as well as opportunities…. I think the core challenge is that they’re asked to do more with less resources, so now more than ever, they need to use their resources in the most optimal...

Welcome to the New LiquidPlanner.com!

June 4, 2019 | Ben Rock

The LiquidPlanner website has gotten an update recently. We’ve created a cleaner, more modern experience that’s easy to navigate and fun to explore. While some pages like Product and Pricing have gotten cosmetic updates, others are completely different! Take a look at the new Support Center where you’ll find our knowledge base, training videos, and...

Ask a PM: Where to Start after Taking a Career Break

May 28, 2019 | Elizabeth Harrin

Dear Elizabeth: I start a new job in a week after a couple of years away from work on a career break. From what I know, I am entering a complex project with multiple stakeholders. They are active in leading the work, so at least I don’t have to worry about not having support for...

Five Ways to Identify Your Personal Strengths and Apply Them to Project Work

May 22, 2019 | Team LiquidPlanner

Does your job leverage your natural strengths? If you’re doing work that doesn’t tap into your greatest strengths, your performance and motivation will suffer along with your career. In contrast, when you’re aligned with your talents and interests, you gain a wellspring of confidence and expertise, and you do great work with a sense of...

11 Ways to Build the Strengths of Your Team Members

May 16, 2019 | Team LiquidPlanner

To lead a top-performing team, you need to do more than direct and delegate work. Truly effective managers can recognize the unique strengths of each team member and optimize all those natural gifts. If you’re in a leadership position, this might sound like a daunting task, but it’s not. The first step is to identify...

Three Must-Reads to Build Better Teams

May 14, 2019 | Andy Makar

Building high-performing teams isn’t easy, even though teamwork and project management go hand in hand. As teams form, they all go through Bruce Tuckman’s four stages of team development, which is characterized by formal introductions and pleasantries, recognizing conflicting opinions, establishing common ground, and eventually working better as a team. Tuckman formally defines these stages...

How Serenity, Courage, and Wisdom Can Help You through Workplace Struggles

May 9, 2019 | Andy Silber

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer is familiar to anyone who’s been through a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous. I don’t know if it helps with addiction, but I do know it helps me...

Ask a PM: How to Recover a Project That Is Struggling in Execution

April 30, 2019 | Elizabeth Harrin

Dear Elizabeth: I’ve been brought into a project part-way through. The project is struggling, and my manager is expecting me to get it back on track. Are there specific tools I should be using to make it easier to pick up a project that is already in the Execution phase? How can I start to...

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Ask a PM: What to Do When Your Sponsor Is Too Busy