My enthusiasm toward becoming an acknowledged Project Manager!!!

I am happy to share that I am learning Project Management from Emilio Garcia as my mentor in a very holistic manner with real-life solved case scenarios at Google and other top-tier prominent organisations like PwC, BCG, and HubSpot

Over the past 7 years, I have successfully accomplished several projects individually and as a part of a team.

Any project is a unique endeavor?and usually includes a set of unique deliverables.?It's also a temporary pursuit.?It has a defined beginning and an end.?To put it another way, a project is a series of tasks?that need to be completed?to reach a desired outcome.?Often times reaching that desired outcome takes collaboration?and careful planning that keeps?the project on track and on budget. I have also failed in successfully executing many projects due to a lack of precise coordination and communication gap among the team, budget constraints, or exceeding deadlines.

The good experiences are better, and the bad experiences are definitely a pivotal learning curve on "why" it didn't work as it should have been (desired expected outcome).

Luckily project management is a transferable skill. As a business development manager in the b2b arena, I can clearly remember many instances where I lead projects following a process that involves planning and organizing,?managing tasks, budgeting, controlling costs, and other factors.?Everything I did was to make sure the project can be completed on time and?on budget.?In broad terms, I needed to make sure that?the project outcome is bringing value to the company. Honestly, it used to be a lot of pressure?and responsibility, but when you?I got it right, it felt amazing.

Those experiences further advanced?and sharpened my skills, making me equipped to manage even?bigger, more daunting tasks.?The abilities that helped me?complete these past projects?are a great selling point for?me as a future project manager.

In my former company Peakward, I was responsible as a key accounts manager for bulk commodities (b2b customer relationship management). There were several occasions when our mother vessel would arrive at CTG port with bulk commodities (clinker/gypsum/aggregates etc.) of multiple consignees. There were several uncertainties at CTG port like the availability of lighter vessels, bad weather, crane breaking down, etc. that would hamper the discharge operations. As it's a time-chartered vessel, we all know time is money here, and every single second counts. The target/objective/superordinate goals were to discharge the cargo as soon as possible and let the MV cast off and gang disembark within the specified period as per CP terms to earn dispatch. This is not an easy job as it involves many back-end fittings to be ensured. I managed it all with coordination from concerned team members, stakeholders, and even third parties like shipping agents and carriers.

Every such assignment involved following certain SOPs (standard operating procedures) just like any good project manager would. I used to segment the entire operations into three parts namely pre-mother vessel arrival, ongoing operations, and post-MV cast-off.

The SOP looked like as below:

Pre MV-Arrival

• Collect MV Information via Agent/Electronic Data Interchange?(EDI)
• MV Waiver declaration for the discharge port
• Collection of Relevant Documentation for IGM Submission
• On-board stevedore and on-board agent Representative Selection?
• Discharge Operation & MV berthing Planning (Kutubdia/Alpha)
• Coordinate with Consumers & Ensure Duty Payment Planning is executed
• Coordinate with Consumers & Ensure a lighter placement/allocation plan is executed
• Communicate Pre-MV arrival notice to consignees, double check & troubleshoot any loose fittings.?
• Ensure full gang at k.dia/OA before the arrival of MV considering Tide chart and lighter movement plan.
• Full Gang deployment in Kutubdia/OA as per tide chart and lighter movement plan.

On Going Operations

• Ensure Gang Members, Stevedore, and Agent representatives on board MV
• Ensure Kutubdia Lighter Allocation is collected as per the discharge plan and align the client accordingly with the help of KAM and also align C&F accordingly.
• Ensure Lighter Placement as per the discharge plan
• Follow-up with consignees, carriers, agents, and other stakeholders to ensure smooth discharging
• Generate Daily discharge reports and record time lost in SOF other than bad weather and keep touch with the daily discharge rate
• Ensure pay loaders and necessary equipment is in MV for smooth discharging as per the stowage plan
• Coordinate with all stakeholders (onboard supervisors, agent carrier, etc.) to tackle any unforeseen situation and solve it immediately
• Ensure uninterrupted last moment finishing until gang disembark

?

Post MV Cast Off

• Calculate the final Discharge Rate
• Calculate MV Dem/Discharge in coordination with the shipping team.
• Collect Lighter survey Reports and communicate with concerned parties.
• Produce an internal Loan coordination plan (as required)
• Accommodate any learning experience for the next MV operations.

Similarly, for trading, commercial, and shipping activities, there were definite SOPs that were followed.

On the other hand, in my present role at Crown Cement, I have acquired a new skill of managing projects and keeping track of deliverables using the SAP software. A typical day at the office begins with tracking pending orders to be delivered, issuing new Dos (delivery orders), issuing invoices for delivery been made, collecting payments, chasing for payments, keeping in touch with customers for end-to-end solutions, maintaining spreadsheets and tallies and conducting the market survey to keep competitors’ market information for strategic decision making. I also manage and coordinate with the factory production supervisor, store in-charge, procurement in charge, and operations manager to ensure the timely delivery of goods and a running supply chain at its optimum level.

Every one of us is a project manager. If you are interested in learning about my experiences at a deeper level, feel free to shoot a message inbox and we can both learn from each other.

Whenever I worked with a project or program manager, I also made sure to check in with them?about why they were doing what they were doing. I'm someone who doesn't really learn from books so I always found somebody who was willing to teach me why they were doing?what they were doing because that's how I learn. I tend to be more kinetic.?I learn as I go. Project management?to me was a natural calling.?Not because I like to run around?and tell everybody what to do,?but because I have a real?personal passion for bringing people?together and getting everybody on the same page to move towards the same goal.?Whether that's convincing my colleagues to resolve conflict or to work on?an idea and collaborate on projects on the side together.

?