There's one project leadership challenge that I dread above all others: talking with a team member who is underperforming relative to the needs of the project and/or the unrealistically high standards of excellence that I hold for myself and others. It's not that I'm conflict averse. In fact, there are times when I flat out enjoy a roiling argument or a self-righteous rant. In those cases, I don't bloody well care what the other party thinks of me, nor whether the relationship will be in tatters as a result. Hey, sometimes I'm even purposely torturing the poor bugger! But when it's a friend, colleague, or team member with whom I'd like to have some kind of continuing civility, maybe even a productive working relationship, it can be downright paralyzing. "What if I screw it up?" I muse to myself. "What if I inappropriately blurt out my frustrations with their perceived ineptness?" I ruminate. If they are critical to the success of the project, and rather difficult to replace in a pinch, I wonder "What if they tell me to get stuffed, scream that they never want to see my ugly puss again, or simply spend the remainder of the project seething quietly, hostility oozing from every pore, while deftly undermining every important aspect of the project within their grasp?" It's enough to stop me dead in my tracks just around the bend from their office, or freeze my index finger poised just above the bright green 'call' button on my brand new iPhone. - - Kimberly M. Wiefling, M.S. - ProjectConnections

Many executives view IT budgets as erratic. Here’s what CIOs can do to present a strong plan for financial control.

Economic downturns play havoc with corporate strategies and budgets, and, corrupting the old adage, when the corporation sneezes, IT catches a cold. - CIO Insight

No investments can be effective in the long term without consideration of risk. The consequences of not doing adequate business continuity planning can be potentially disastrous.

The outcomes of inadequate risk management span the gamut from financial losses to a loss of customer goodwill that may well threaten the long-term viability and survival of a firm. Today, with an increasingly unforgiving regulatory environment and legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley that requires business technology systems to function without error, executives need to be concerned about risk management more than ever before. - Baseline Magazine

Times are tough, and project managers need to understand how the downturn may affect their operations. Baseline interviewed two project management experts, Michael Welles of EdWel Programs, a project management training company, and Lou Russell of Russell Martin Associates, a consulting firm, to feel the Project Management Office’s pain. - Baseline Magazine

In this installment of Getting the Best Out of Geeks, we spoke with project management guru Dr. Steve Flannes to get the scoop on the ten biggest people-related mistakes that IT project managers can make. As the principal of the consultancy Flannes & Associates, he specializes in managing people through projects and is the author of Essential People Skills for Project Managers.

Many of your valuable geeks are most at home while working on big projects. Because these IT projects can make or break managers, it is critical that you consider how to best utilize the people who carry them out. - Baseline Magazine