Some patterns from PM workshops ....

After training 1000+ project managers from different nationalities, it is time for some soul searching for patterns;

1. All PMP certified project managers are not great managers.
2. All non PMP's are not poor managers.
   
3. Some PMPs and some non PMPs are great managers.
   
4. A PMP certification just ensures that one knows the basics of classical (some people call it as traditional or ancestoral) project management.
5. Only 10% of the workshop participants makes it to the exam hall.
   
6. 98% of those who made it to the exam hall have passed.
7. All the candidates who failed in the first attempt, did not consume the allotted time of 4 hours for the exam.
8. As the usual trend of most of the project managers, the initial reaction after failure was disbelief and the next - blaming it on other factors, and never taking responsibility for failure.
9. Most of the failure cases, never read PMBOK seriously before the exam.
10. Some people told lot of people about their PMP exam, which created peer pressure for them to pass in the first go itself, and they cleared in the first go itself.
    
11. Some others told lot of people about their PMP exam, and this created peer pressure and they succumbed to it.
12. Most of the guys who failed referred to multiple course wares by different authors
    
13. Most of the guys who failed gave undue importance to this exam than what it deserved
14. Most of the guys who failed, tried to mug up the PMBOK
    
15. Whoever started with low scores in the session end tests during the workshops started scoring very high towards the end.
16. Some intelligent guys failed. Some times some dumb guys also failed :-)
17. Whoever attended the maximum telephone calls during the workshops did not understand much and they gave some negative feedback.
18. You should never start any training program before 9.am. in Asia. Everyone will say that they will come and only half will turn up.
19. Sometimes people prefer holidays to attend the training programs, and when they come to the training class on a holiday, they miss their holidays :-)
    
20. Company sponsored candidates prefer working days for attending trainings where as individuals sponsoring themselves prefer holidays to attend the training.
21. When what is taught in the class (PMBOK) differs from what they are practicing, some gets offended and some switches off. Majority realizes that they are there to learn something new.
    
22. Some come to the training programs just to evaluate the food, facilities and the instructor :-).
23. Some offer jobs to the instructor
    
24. Some negative stuff pointed out by someone will be a very positive thing for someone else
25. If somebody does not write the exam within 45 days of the workshop, the chances of them coming back to the workshop after a year is very high
26. Whoever got the PMP certification either got promoted within the organization faster or got a better offer from outside :-)
27. When the number of participants increases, the communication channels increases challenging time management
    
28. When the number of participants are very low, the interaction levels are at it's best and poses time management challenges
    
29. The hygiene factors like the effectiveness of the air conditioning, quality of food , seating arrangements , snacks, lighting etc are very important
30. The first one hour and the last one hour of the training is critical to it's success
    
31. Some people like experience sharing and for some others it is boring
    
32. Some people like videos and for some it does not work
33. Some like case studies and some do not
34. Some motivate the trainer and some demotivates
    
35. Participants can be late for a training
36. Trainer cannot be late for a training
    
37. Participants are the customers hence the king
    
38. The trainer is the service provider hence the servant of all
    
39. If you agree with someone they disagree with you
40. If you disagree with someone they agree with you
    
41. Some participants know everything, still they come for training
    
42. Some participants come to training to learn something new
    
43. Some others are on a vacation :-)
    
44. It is the dilemma of every trainer to decide whether to reward the guys on time or the guys who are late.
45. Some people get offended when you ignore them in a training
    
46. Some people get offended when you give too much attention to them
47. Some smoke cigarettes and some do not
    
48. Some party till the early morning and come to the training to relax :-)
    
49. All are nice interesting people. There is something interesting in every one
    
50. Some people understand project management with one certification, where as for some it takes multiple certifications. Very often I hear the quetion 'What after PMP?'. The answer is 'Go and practice what you learned and make a difference'. The expected answer is 'PRINCE2 or program management'. May be, some people keep learning throughout their life without practicing any.