A SUPPLEMENT TO PM NETWORK® PUBLISHED BY PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE JULY 2013

CONTENTS
The Value of PMI Certification 3
Pulse of the Profession™ Report 13
Engages Executives
Call for PMI Annual Membership 14 Clockwise from left, PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley; closing speaker Cathy O’Dowd;
Meeting Agenda Items plenary speaker Avinash Chandarana; Murad Bayar, Turkey’s Undersecretary for Defence Industry.
Academics and Practitioners 15
Discuss Integrative Role of PMOs
A Sports-Based Youth Program 17 PMI® Global Congress 2013—EMEA:

Leadership in
in Mexico is Inspired by PMI
Members’ Training in New York
Volunteers Make Possible 18

Times of Change
PMI-RMP and PMI-SP Credential
Exam Updates
Project Success Depends on 19
Effective Communications By M. Cecilia Wong

Region 6 Conference Gets 21
Full Chapter Representation
Events Calendar 22
Update Your Contact 23
Information with PMI
Chapter Links 24
PMI India Hosts All India 31
Chapter Presidents
April LIMs Stress Serving
the Growing Needs
of Stakeholders See page 10
I
stanbul, the storied Turkish city where PMI President and CEO Mark A.
East meets West, proved an apt setting Langley kicked off the event with some
to discuss today’s massive cultural and welcome news: EMEA (Europe, Middle
business shifts—and what they signify for Continued on page 6
the profession. More than 850 project
professionals from 68 countries gathered
at PMI® Global Congress 2013—EMEA to
learn about everything from cross-cultur-
al collaboration to leadership skills.
Available online for PMI members only at PMI.org
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 Page 6 PMI Today July 2013
PMI® Global Congress 2013—EMEA
Continued from page 1
East and Africa) is expected to create
approximately 3 million new project
management jobs between now and
2020. The question is whether project
professionals are prepared to meet the
needs of a changing business landscape.
“Are you ready?” Mr. Langley asked.
“Because organizations are not looking
for you to manage projects—they’re
looking for you to lead projects.”
The Need to Lead
Keynote speaker Nader Mousavizadeh
of Micro Advisory Partners spoke about
a business landscape no longer domi-
nated by free-market capitalism. These
days, emerging markets such as China,
Nigeria and Turkey are redefining power
on their own terms, combining capital-
ism with state support. “Countries are
beginning to organize less according to
prescription and more on what works
for them,” Mr. Mousavizadeh said.
A panel discussed the effects of the changing geopolitical landscape on project management. From left, PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley,
Imran Malik of du Telecom, Puian Masudifar, PMP, of VIRA Co. and Adnan Metin of Turkish Airlines.
PMI TodayJuly2013.indd 6
Mr. Mousavizadeh discussed four ways
for project professionals to lead in this
new business environment:
1. Implement due diligence. Pay atten-
tion to sector developments at both
the micro and macro levels.
2. Plan for the long term. Uncertainty
and volatility don’t last forever.
That puts a premium on planning
for the future.
3. Be bold. Leaders tend to act
conservatively during times of
uncertainty, but this can lead to
missed opportunities.
4. Create an agenda that benefits
others. Stakeholders should be
convinced your success is in their
best interest, too.
That kind of leadership advice resonated
with many attendees. “Aside from
methodology itself, being a good leader
and adapting with the changing envi-
ronment make the difference for
project managers,” said Jurg Walchli,
PMP, Swiss Life Asset Managers,
Zurich, Switzerland.
Cultural Awakening
As business continues to expand into
emerging markets, project professionals
must look beyond their own cultural
backgrounds. Plenary speaker Avinash
Chandarana of MCI Group urged
attendees to get past the “us-versus-
them mentality.”
“We consider our own culture to be
normal and others to be abnormal,”
Mr. Chandarana said. “We must get
over cultural perceptions if we’re to do
business on the global stage. Only those
countries, organizations and people that
bridge cultures and geographies will
succeed,” he said.
“Project environments are getting more
and more diverse, as Mr. Chandarana
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 PMI Today July 2013 Page 7

Building a Better Team

Talent management continued to
dominate congress conversations.
Keynote speaker Murad Bayar, Turkey's
Undersecretary for Defence Industry,
spoke about the need for qualified
project professionals, particularly in
his sector.
“A combat aircraft takes 15 to 20 years
to complete,” he said. “By the time the
project is finished, the requirements
have changed.”
His department has started to lay the
groundwork for improved practices by
encouraging its project professionals
to earn the Project Management
Professional (PMP)® credential. “We
need people with good leadership
and a deep understanding of strategic
organizational, commercial, industrial
and political environments,” Mr. Bayar
Breakout sessions led by experienced practitioners such as Mohammad Ali Niroomand Rad, PMP (left) said. “Is there someone in the room that
and Giusi Meloni, PMP (right) cover a plethora of valuable project management topics. I can hire today?”
Continued on page 8

mentioned,” said Nurdan Ozdemir

of Meteksan Savunma, Ankara,
Turkey. “Today, project managers need
to be prepared to work with all sorts
of nationalities.”
The changing geopolitical stage—and its
effects on the profession—took center
stage in a discussion on project manage-
ment in emerging economies. Moder-
ated by Mr. Langley, the panel featured
Imran Malik of du Telecom in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates; Adnan Metin of
Turkish Airlines in Turkey; and Puian
Masudifar, PMP, of VIRA Co. in Iran.
The panelists described a widespread
lack of project management culture and
little awareness of its value. “Practitio-
ners need to educate decision makers
by translating the tangible benefits of
using best practices in the context of
business,” said Mr. Malik.

Keynote speaker Nader Mousavizadeh

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 Page 8 PMI Today July 2013

PMI® Global Congress 2013—EMEA

Continued from page 7

Congress wrapped up with a rous-

ing case for teamwork. Author Cathy
O’Dowd, the first woman to reach the
summit of Mount Everest, spoke about
working together to conquer the odds.
Whether climbing Earth’s highest
mountain or getting a project to the fin-
ish line, Ms. O’Dowd said, teams must
communicate. While you don’t have to
like your team members, she said, you
do have to trust them and hash out
issues, big or small.
Above all, leaders and their teams
must be as fearless as they are strategic.
“Project teams need technical
knowledge,” Ms. O’Dowd said, “but
they also need the courage to set
outrageous objectives.”

A celebration of Children’s Day, a holiday in Turkey.

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 PMI Today July 2013 Page 9

Along with featured speakers and daily

breakout sessions, attendees enjoyed
numerous opportunities for networking,
at events such as the grand-opening
reception, a boat cruise organized by
the PMI Turkey Chapter and a Turkish-
themed reception, complete with local
cuisine and live music.
“Congress is a great opportunity to
meet people from different parts of the
world,” said Michael Fleischman, KBR,
PMI-RMP, PMP, from Dubai, United
Arab Emirates. “I like learning how they
understand concepts and use them in
their business—especially in the global
marketplace that we’re in these days.”
PMI® Global Congress 2014—EMEA is
scheduled for 5–7 May in Dubai.
Keynote speaker Nader Mousavizadeh and PMI President and CEO Mark A. Langley.

Tweet It Out
The networking and knowledge
sharing extended beyond the
confines of Istanbul’s congress
center as attendees weighed in on
Twitter. Check out PMI’s collection
of tweets at storify.com/PMI/
pmi-congress-2013-emea.

Michel Thiry, PMP, PMI Fellow, was among Attendees look at the Event Guide.
the presenters.

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