PMLL Episode 0173 From the Dance Floor to the Raised Floor (PMBestPractices)

Notes and Podcast info from the PMlessonsLearned.com Conference Call:
Topic: From the Dance Floor to the Raised Floor (PMBestPractices)
PM Best Practices host Alicia Colantuono leads this call.
Presenter: Howard Smallowitz, PMP
Date of Conference Call: 19Nov2015
Podcast Number: 0173
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PRESENTATION:
The presentation materials will be available just prior to the call - follow the Files and Presentations link on our website to download it
NOTES FROM THE CALL:
The popularity of television shows such as “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance?” has led to an explosion in the number of people wanting to learn how to dance. Presenter Howard Smallowitz knows this because, in addition to being an ITIL-certified systems engineer and a PMP-certified project manager for IBM, he is a professional dance instructor.
At first glance, it would seem that these two jobs could not be more different. But hardly a day goes by that he doesn’t learn something from teaching people to dance that could help us all to be better project managers. Dancing is all about leading and following. The rules don't differ much whether you are on a dance floor or a raised floor. The skills dancers spend years cultivating to be better leaders apply directly to project leaders.
Some lessons are obvious:
• Know, in advance, what you want.
• Communicate it unambiguously to your partners.
• Constantly refine your skills.
• Above all, if you're not having fun, it's time to change something.
Some lessons are not so obvious:
• What's your number one job as a leader on the dance floor? (Hint: It’s not leading.).
• Why it is not true that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did backward in high heels, and what you can learn from it.
Howard will reveal these secrets and many more. So even if you believe you have two left feet, no rhythm, and you retired from dancing the moment you were done with your first dance at your wedding, Howard will show you lessons from the dance floor that will help you to be a better leader and project manager.
Session Objectives and Participant Benefits: At the end of this session, participants can expect to learn a great deal about how to get what they want from their personal and professional lives and, as on the dance floor, can expect to have a lot of fun while learning how to do it.
PRESENTERS BIO:
Howard Smallowitz, PMP®, is an ITIL-certified and PMI-certified project manager. He is a widely published author and has had a variety of responsibilities in his 15 years with IBM. He has trained people world-wide on systems engineering tools and techniques. He currently is a first-line manager at IBM, overseeing a large group of IT architects implementing service management systems on to some of the world's largest strategic outsourcing accounts.
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