If you want the best of the best, then be ready to go for it. And be ready to think a little outside the box in order to get that project talent.

It's OK. Think the sky is the limit. Dare to dream. You want the best, your projects are complex and need the best. Your project clients would appreciate having and paying for the best.So how do you get the best?

How do you locate and hire the best project management talent available? Be open, throw out your rigid hiring practices, and see what happens...to start with. And then stick to these three concepts...

No one ever wants to admit that they are in over their head. It’s a show of weakness or possibly a professional short coming. It may actually be neither – you simply may just be overworked, but it can feel like a weakness. And we are just not programmed to scream that out loud.

​We can try to “fake it till we make it”…which is what I like to do if it’s something new. I like to take on new projects, new challenges and learn along the way. I feel that as long as I’m in the ballpark, I can make it happen. But sometimes we all come up short. If that happens…what do we do? I’m focusing on technical projects here so let’s consider some options…

Some of us choose to manage projects.  Some of us planned this process out for quite some time and took steps to move into the project management position.  Others fall into it by accident…some even against their will.  However we fall into the position, productivity and organization, it is expected of the project manager, no matter what.  And if you’re an accidental project manager, there’s no guarantee you can just jump back to your last position…you may be let go period if you fail to produce or succeed.
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Let’s imagine you’re one of a group of project managers in your organization – or possibly even the only one if you’re new or a startup – and you are tasked with mentoring one or more non-project managers who are being tasked with leading projects.  What processes would you go through?  What are some of the high-level things you would be focusing on to bring those non-project managers up to speed – at least with some of the key best practice focuses to start building a consistent and effective project management process in the organization?  The key is this: keep it simple and practical.  I’ve been in these situations before, and I try to focus on the following three key concepts to help the new project managers start out as productively as possible…

​On December 2nd, 2015, 14 people were killed and 22 more were seriously injured when Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik opened fire and tried to engage a bomb at a San Bernardino County Department of Public Health training event and holiday party of about 80 employees in a rented banquet room in San Bernardino.  Both fled the scene and were killed four hours later in a shootout.
 
There is no question of their guilt, but as a result of the investigation, the situation right now is that the FBI wants the information on the the dead terrorist Farook’s iPhone.  They have a warrant to search the phone and - because it was Farook’s work phone - they also have obtained permission to do so from his employer.  The problem is, unless they hack it with the skills of the best black hat there ever was, it is likely that the data on the phone will be erased automatically when they fail too many times to crack his access code to the phone.
 
Enter Apple and the judge
 
The big news in all of this is that a judge is “asking” Apple to help hack the phone.  Farook, the male shooter, used an Apple iPhone 5c running Apple’s iOS 9 iPhone operating system. The issue isn’t whether the FBI or law enforcement is entitled to search the phone.  They definitely are.  The issue is can they – or should they be able to – force the phone’s manufacturer to create a way into the phone for them so they don’t risk losing whatever data is on the phone.  Apple says, “no way” because they know that it will set a precedent and they will be asked to do this many times over in future terrorist investigations or law enforcement situations. And they are wise in stating that once they have created that backdoor code into the phone, everyone is at risk because that code is only as safe as the protection around it. As we all know – if you read my articles and listen to those skilled hackers at the annual Black Hat conferences here in Las Vegas and around the world – every thing is hackable.  Period.  Even the protection surrounding the hacking code.
 
Should they or shouldn’t they – and the potential risks?
 
Does this concern you?  It does concern me.  I felt one way about it this morning, but as of now I feel differently after gathering more information about the situation.  What was originally a terrorist action leading to 14 deaths could now become a cybercrime situation if the code gets into the wrong hands.  And there are relatively easy ways that hackers can get the code onto your phone – even without you knowing it and likely in public places where you use unsecured networks like Starbucks, other coffee shops, buses and restaurants, etc.  And it would be completely invisible and unknown to you.  All that has to happen is for the code used to get into the terrorist’s phone to fall into the wrong hands…either through someone on the inside or a very good hacker…and this one-off move to get terrorist info could become an identity theft epidemic. 
 
My thoughts / call for input
 
So, my opinion is this…Apple should not comply with the judge’s request.  They are refusing to comply and they should stand firm in that refusal, in my best opinion.  And I just read that Google is standing with Apple on that decision.
 
What’s your take?  How do you feel about this?  Should Apple comply?  Should they be forced to comply (if that is an option)?  Please share your thoughts and let’s discuss.

Everything can be hacked. And hackers and black hats are already at least one step ahead of despite what we're doing to protect ourselves and our projects. If you have a plan it's outdated.

I wish I could tell you that if you have a cybersecurity plan then you’re covered.  But you are not.  Why?  Because the hackers and the black hats and the pursuers on the Dark Net and the Dark Web are one or more steps ahead of all of us all the time.  If they weren’t, then there would be no security breaches or identity thefts or deadly hacks. 
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With that said, here are three key reasons why your cybersecurity plan is outdated and needs to be revised...

We must be aware and communicating and learning from our project mistakes so that we don't just keep repeating them. And you may not want to buy a new DeLorean, but that's up to you.

Recent news states that the DeLorean sports car – that unique vehicle that stopped production in 1982, is set to re-emerge on the general public in 2017 with 5,000 new units. The DeLorean caught everyone's attention in 1985 as the time-traveling vehicle for Marty and Doc in the “Back to the Future” movie trilogy.
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Gone will be the extremely underpowered original 160hp V6 engine in favor of a more practical – for a sports car – 350-400 hp V6 engine.  Other than that, everything else will be the same – mostly being assembled from the remaining inventory of parts left over from the original production plant.  With a price tag of $100,000, this car won't be for everyone and it certainly won't be gobbled up by the general public, but movie and auto enthusiasts will most undoubtedly love it...