Learning infused with Fun.. A LIM is never DIM !!

A trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is rarely associated with serious business. Project Management Institute 's Asia Pacific South Asia Leadership Institute Meeting - PMI #APSALIM24 was serious. It was of course, business! But then it was more fun and frolic than mere three days of boring Learning. There was of course the powerful N-word.. Networking, with fellow Leaders and PM professionals from across the broader Asia region to the east of and including Pakistan, all the way to the Philippines, with even Australia & New Zealand thrown into the mix. There were the usual illuminating sessions on various topics ranging from the mundane to high octane. There were collaborative workshops with teams both from our own regions and others, where we could share our philosophies on how Project Management should work and how PMI initiatives can be leveraged for the benefit of the world. And much more..

First and foremost, I am grateful to my own Project Management Institute Chennai Chapter and my fellow Board Members for this wonderful opportunity to represent the Chapter at this LIM. I was accompanied by my fellow Board members - Parvez Alam M (President), Sundaram M and Dr B Shyam Sundar,C.Eng,FIIE,Ph.D . We were also fortunate to have PMI Region 11 Mentor Prasanna Sampathkumar travelling along with us from Chennai.

Tomes have already been written on the various amazing sessions and speakers from this event, and surely many more are in the pipeline. I would restrict myself to critical learnings and take-aways from the 3 days.

The LIM started with a bang, where LuAnn Piccard, PMP , Board Chair, PMI, electrified us with a stunning statement that would reverberate for years to come and serve as a Motivation and rationale for my association with PMI (I paraphrase):

There is some 19-year old student out there somewhere, who aspires to change the world. Our aim should be to empower him / her..

The emphasis should always be PMI's "values", most important of which, according to me, is to "Embrace Curiosity". In the Panel Discussion that followed, Amit Goyal, PMP , MD - PMI South Asia, beautifully summarized this spirit via the story of monkeys getting conditioned and pulling back other monkeys - a classic case of Learned Behaviour. Refer this link for the story.

Project Management Institute South Asia Page , especially in India, has been actively working with nodal Governmental agencies like National Skill Development Council in defining and establishing pathways for PM professionals to get trained and certified in alignment with PMI standards.

In the workshop on PMI Culture and Values, there was a lot of emphasis on #PMINext Strategy, PMI's Vision and Purpose Statement:

Maximizing Project Success to Elevate Our World

There were insightful discussions on understanding and interpreting this statement - especially regarding what "our" world was, and how it influences our perception of PMI and our association with it. Every PMI Chapter contributes in its own way to elevating the world it perceives to be part of, thereby contributing to global benefit. As Chapter Leaders, we made a Commitment to undertake actions based on our culture values to achieve PMI's purpose and strategy. The key take-away, which was a pleasant realization to us, was this:

Most PMI chapters have similar problems; only the solutions are different.

The super-duper highlight of the entire LIM, for me, was the session by PMI #StudentClub representatives. Through their powerful and exciting narration of their experiences in setting up Student Clubs within their Universities, overcoming many challenges and guiding their next batches, Nandana Radhika , Aryan Tiwari and Benny Goh simply blew us all away. These "kids" are pioneers in showing us all the way how Project Management and PMI can be taken to the Next Generation. They not only led the setting up of Student Clubs within their colleges, but also established a Governance structure for others to emulate. Aryan and team, together with counterparts from PMI Gujarat Chapter , even have compiled a ready reckoner named The Catalyst, on how to build a vibrant Student Club and how to sustain it. Similarly, Nandana has been ably guided by PMI Kerala Chapter and Benny by PMI Singapore Chapter . So far, there have been about 20 PMI Student Clubs set up globally.

Personally, at our Chapter, we have been trying to establish Student Clubs for soem time now, but we have been hitting a wall. From these discussions, I understood the mistakes we were committing, and ways past them, thanks to the enlightening information from our young Leaders. The biggest take-away in this regard was:

Student missions should be driven by the students, and guided by academic staff, rather than PMI pushing it..

Day 2 started with a topic that was close to my heart - "How to be a Global PMI Volunteer?" Contributing at Chapter level notwithstanding, going above and beyond, impacting the workd at large through global PMI initiatives, is something that we aspire to. A power-packed discussion led by stalwarts like Ramam Atmakuri , Girish Kadam and others, moderated by Leena Gupte , gave us impactful ideas how to be a global volunteer. Some interesting insights gleaned from this session include:

• Treat PMI work as Therapy that helps you amidst your hectic schedule
• Always do the right thing; not the convenient thing!
• Always behave responsibly!

As volunteers, we always talk of Work-Life balance. I learnt to view my PMI contributions from a different dimension:

Work - Life - Volunteer balance !!

There were a few amazing key-note sessions that were perspective-changing for us. In his session on Jungle Innovation, Neal Cross cautioned us on the difference between Innovation and Technology (hint: they are not the same!), as also between Innovation and Apps (hint: agaIn, not the same!). Through the cycle of 4 D's: Discover - Define - Develop - Deliver, we create a safe place to fail. Implementing models that drive behaviour fosters Innovation much better than any other approach. To quote Neal:

Culture is like a rubber band. If you let go of its ends, it goes back to its original nature. So it is important to pin its ends with sensible KPIs !!

The workshop on "Purpose-driven Marketing" opened my eyes to critical aspects of what Purpose really meant in the context of branding ourselves and our Chapters. Through simulated exercises, we could understand how Purpose-Driven Marketing differs from Traditional Marketing. At the end of this session, I was left wondering what my purpose was, in the context of my family, my job and my PMI role. Powerful stories lie at the core of any purpose-driven marketing campaign. In the words of Sally B. and Devika Bajaj Puri :

Purpose is the fundamental reason for our existence. It is beyond just achieving profits. It creates a value much higher..

The next collaborative workshop on Outreach, was very helpful in understanding my own role at PMI Chennai Chapter. In addition to distinguishing between multiple types of Outreach, viz, Corporate, Academia, Industry, Governmental and the like, I had the privilege of leading a group discussion and team on the topic of Industry-specific Outreach, where we identified the challenges, best practices and possible solutions in this space. As a team, we even brought out a sugegstion for PMI to bring out its next version of #PMStandardsPlus, which would be #PMStandardsPlusPlus :)

I was fortunate to be among the select few chosen to part of the Workshop on Prompt Engineering for GenAI, where a team led by Prasanna and Dr. Danny Chung taught us how to effectively leverage the power of asking the right questions ("Prompting") to elicit the best support from an assortment of GenAI engines, prominent among them being PMI's own #PMInfinity. The results of comparing the outputs from multiple such tools was indeed funny, and at the same time insightful.

Day 2 concluded with a break-out session of PMI Region 11 teams, lead by Amit Goyal, PMP and Prasanna. There was emphasis on the need to disseminate stories from Chapters to the Media and across the region and the globe. As Amit put it succinctly: We need to act as our own PR agency !!

Day 3 was short but packed a punch in its own way. The day started with a session on Building Stronger Chapters through Conflict Resolution. A key take-away was the need for all Board Members to be aligned and have one voice on critical topics.

The best of the Day was saved for the last, at the closing keynote by Azran Osman-Rani , former CEO, Air Asia. Through examples of how he built Air Asia into one of the best airlines in the world, Azran insisted why we need the courage to fail. As he mentioned, the language we use defines our mindset. We learnt of the four types of mindset that sets people apart - that of a Victim, Player, Knower and Learner and how to navigate across these on our path to success. As Leaders, we must perfect the art of asking for and receiving feedback.

I was privileged to meet Pierre Le Manh , President and CEO of PMI, as well as Amit Goyal, PMP , MD PMI South Asia, for what I believe would be the first of many more times to come.

The hospitality of our hosts PMI Malaysia Chapter, led by its President Dr. Joshua Netto, DBA, PMP? PMI-RMP? PRINCE2? , across all the days of the Conference, made us yearn for more. The wonderful opportunity to make new connections from fellow PMI leaders from across the Asia Pacific and South Asia regions, and to renew older networks, was a mission in itself that justified the very rationale of being part of events like this LIM.

The learnings and fun I had across the entire duration of the LIM, and these two were not much different, would last a life time and help me become a better person, professionally and personally. I express my gratitude to every one for this great opportunity!