Project Management Toolkit

Project Management Toolkit

Your toolkit resources are outlined below.

Effective project leaders balance the art and science of project management across project definition, planning, execution and control to succeed.

An email has also been sent to you containing the instructions to access our complimentary online project management best practices health check. This 10-minute online diagnostic analyzes if your project and project team are set up to succeed.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

PROJECT DEFINITION

  • Critical Characteristics of a Great Executive Project Sponsor
    If you have a well-chosen project sponsor, they can navigate you safely past all kinds of stumbling blocks and guide you and your project team to deliver what was promised.  So what should you look for in an executive project sponsor?
  • Five Warning Signs of a Bad Project Leader
    We rarely think the problem lies with us. We blame teams, clients, stakeholders, sponsors, or other external factors—not on ourselves.  Learn if you or one of your project leaders is the issue and what to do about it.
  • 3 Keys to Project Leadership
    So what is Project Leadership? Is it task lists? Is it Gantt charts? Schedules? People stuff? The answer is YES, all of the above, and much more.

PROJECT PLANNING

  • How to Break the Gridlock: Prioritize to Accelerate
    What happens when we try to juggle too many projects? Gridlock. Too many of us experience it on the freeway every day.  Working on too many projects has the same effect.  Read about the five key factors to accelerate your project.
  • Getting the Project Resources You Need  to Succeed
    With every project comes competition for resources to get the job done. When managers tell you there’s not enough staff or budget to give you what’s needed to get the job done, how do you get more than your “fair share?”
  • How to Better Choose Between Projects
    How do you best decide which projects are worth the attention and resources? Project selection and portfolio management are the hottest topics in project management today. Once project teams become better at executing projects, the big issue becomes, “Which Projects?”

PROJECT EXECUTION

  • The 6 “Get Right” Basics of a Great Project Kick-off Meeting
    Every project must at some point be introduced and presented to the team responsible for delivering the “goods” and the project stakeholders who play various roles on the road to results. How to set the tone for your all important kick-off meeting.
  • Execution is the Key to Success: Top 4 Project Challenges
    Failed execution is a plague upon many project teams.  Based upon some key data it is no surprise that poor execution causes more failures than poor strategies. Read more to learn about the 4 biggest challenges and what can a project leader do to deliver predictable results.
  • 3 Proven Steps to Better Manage Project Stakeholder Risks
    Is it really true that on time, on budget, and fulfilling all requirements means project success? You’d be surprised. In this article we’ll address winning over the hearts and minds of the people swirling around your project.
  • Top 5 Warning Signs that Your Performance Environment May Be In Trouble
    What percent of your success is dependent upon the success of others? If you are like most savvy project leaders today, you will answer 70%+.  Are you creating the environment for your team to succeed?
  • Project Management Best Practice Templates
    Want to save time and frustration? These 20 proven Project Management Templates will help you to manage your projects more successfully by saving time, reducing cost and improving project quality and business value.

PROJECT CONTROL

  • 5 Steps to Get Your Project Team Pulling in the Same Direction
    Is your project team scattered all over the map? Do they know where they are going and how they are going to get there? The more important, complex and visible your project, the more critical it is to have all the team members working together and pulling in the same direction.
  • How to Best Handle a Fixed Deadline when Project Scope is Unclear
    Lewis and Clark finished their journey almost 1 year behind schedule. When your project finishes 10 months late, chances are there aren’t any parades. How to handle a fixed deadline when project scope is unclear.
  • Top 10 Project Mistakes and How to Prevent Them
    Most high growth companies today complete much of their core work through projects and project teams.  Successful high growth organizations know how to define, plan and execute successful projects. They learn from early slipups and know how to avoid similar mistakes going forward.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT BLOGS


About LSA Global
LSA Global is a performance consulting, training and coaching firm that helps companies grow 58% faster and become 72% more profitable by aligning their culture and talent to their strategy. We measure our success in terms of our client’s success in increasing revenue, decreasing costs, and improving productivity. If we do not make an impact, you do not pay. It is that simple.

LSA Global was founded in 1995 on the principle that training “by itself” will not drive tangible change or business results. Companies that are not satisfied with traditional training and consulting approaches like to work with us because we get results. We are fiercely devoted to their success.

The project management training program was fantastic. It could not have gone any better.  It was extremely helpful to me as a manager to be strategic during a time of explosive growth and change. It was fully customized to our industry and our needs, everyone came out of it with a solid direction of next steps.  We are excited to take the next steps with LSA Global and to implement the project management best practices in a way that works for our unique culture.

Karen M. Inzilla
Director, Sales Operations

Blackhawk Network

LSA did a great job. The project management solution was really well done from both a content and approach perspective. Overall a very positive experience that provided a lot of value. They really understood the art and science of project management and the specifics of our industry.

Laxmi Peri
VP Technology & Product Development

Thoratec

We hired LSA to design and deliver a Project Post Mortem for sixty five key people on a mission critical project with a very tight turnaround. LSA’s ability to identify the key trends, leverage points, and next steps was remarkable.

They really got to the heart of the issues in a constructive and unbiased manner that exceeded our expectations.

It was not an easy task with so many skeptical people with different agendas, styles, experience, and perspectives.  But they nailed it.  Thank you!

Darrell Gallagher
Head of Studio

Crystal Dynamics

LSA’s ability to do an effective project postmortem and then help us to use those insights to define and plan our next strategic project were invaluable.  Their practical approach and built-for-purpose project kickoff and definition methodology have definitely taken our project definition, project planning, and project management skills to the next level.

I bet they helped us to move 4 times faster than we would have without their help.

Elizabeth Smith, PMP
Senior Project & Portfolio Manager

LSA Global Applegate Consumer Product Client

We turned to LSA Global to help us take our project risk management practices to the next level. As we continue to grow and our projects are increasing significantly in complexity, it is imperative that we incorporate risk management best practices deeper into our Delivery and Project Management methodologies to continue to increase productivity, efficiency, and client satisfaction. I am really happy with the results and would recommend LSA to anyone looking to take project risk management to the next level.

Scott Wassmer
US Director of Production

AKQA

LSA recently designed and delivered a project post mortem for a highly strategic project with a group of 25 team members from engineering, design, marketing, product management, sales, manufacturing, purchasing, business development, research, and finance. The pre-workshop diagnostic, interviews, and experiential session greatly exceeded our expectations.

We were able to honestly and effectively get everything out on the table, agree upon key lessons, and create a targeted action plan that made sense for our unique situation, team, and culture. The whole process made a very complex and potentially political situation a big success. We could not have done the retrospective without LSA.

Eric Vernon
Director of Operations

dolby-client-logo-technology-LSA-Global

LSA’s Customized Project Management workshop exceeded our expectations. The facilitator was a true expert in both the content and our industry. They really understood our priorities and helped us learn not only the best practices in Project Management, but how to apply them to our specific environment. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to create the foundation for successful projects and project teams.

Dave Musolf
Director Program Management

Palm

We have found LSA to be highly responsive to meeting our unique project management training program needs. Their passion for high levels of customer satisfaction and quality align very closely with our core values.  

Kudos to LSA Global for the program that they provided my team. It was exactly what I wanted, and your team did a great job of engaging our group and providing the solid Project Management skills that we need.

Laura McHugh
Director

Gilead-Sciences-Logo-LSA-Global

LSA’s Project Management facilitator is one of the best I have ever worked with. His efforts and work in teaching complex and intensive Project Management principles across all levels and backgrounds within our organization have been of the highest value.

Leslie Guzman
Learning and Development

Roche

We recently designed and implemented two high value Project Management Workshops with LSA. The goal was to improve the fundamental project management skills for less experienced project managers and team members and to prepare our experienced project managers to become PMP certified. The programs were very well received and additional sessions have been requested. Both facilitators were excellent, building strong rapport with our scientists and taking time to encourage & answer questions. Based upon the results and the feedback around the company, the next workshops are already full. I highly recommend LSA to any company looking to take their project management skills to the next level.

Stacey Porter
Senior Manager Learning & Development

Roche

Thanks for a great and valuable session. The Project Management expertise and methodology that you brought to the table was perfectly targeted to our needs and our company. You definitely helped us launch an important step in driving best practice company standards around project management. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to improve project management skills and methodologies.

Bill Thayer
VP Field Operations

Bloomenergy

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