Ty Kiisel of @task wrote a commentary titled Is Certification Losing Value over at CIOZone.  The ongoing (recent) discussion has been about there being too many unqualified but “certified” people in the workforce, while there are also seasoned professionals who will not get certifications because they believe they no longer hold value.  Geoff Grane over at PapercutPM and I have been going back and forth on this for days now.  Ty said he didn’t think we was ready to say the PMI’s certification was irrelevant quite yet.  He added that he believed the burden of demonstrating the value of any certification rests within the certification body, in this case the PMI.

I agree with him.

Unfortunately, I believe PMI is becoming a victim of its own marketing success.  Though there is an audit process in place, to verify if PMs really have the necessary education and experience to sit for the PMP exam, I don’t believe there are enough auditors to do the job. They are overwhelmed by sheer numbers of applicants.  Let’s not forget the PMI is a for-profit organization. They want more members.

This paradox speaks to potential quality, not value. I think the PMI marketing department has won the war with hiring managers, convincing them the credential has value. What the PMI needs to do now is sell the (global) project management community on the quality of its credential. Until that happens, you’ll have some people racing to the nearest boot camp to get a certification, not to learn best practices.

Read the 47+ comments over at Geoff’s blog

Read Ty’s entire commentary over at CIOZone

Graphic source: Nature.com

Hello, stakeholders, look at your PM, now back to me, now back at your PM, now back to me. Sadly, he or she isn’t me, but if he or she stopped making things up as they went along and switched to proven methods, he or she could deliver results like me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a meeting with the PM your PM could deliver results like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s a a signed SOW with two features you love. Look again, the features are now delivered. Anything is possible when your PM uses proven methods and not make them up. I’m on a horse.

Thank you to Old Spice and the Old Spicy Guy for this inspiration.

Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love. Look again, the tickets are now diamonds. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady. I’m on a horse.

If you’re a general project manager, and you’re looking for work, you’re probably not finding as much available work or noticing people are not willing to pay you as much as they used to.  With an increased amount of people choosing project management as their profession, you need to find a way to stand apart from them.  If you focus on a niche market or vertical or refine your skills in a particular knowledge area, you may find yourself in great demand and commanding a much higher rate.

Lindsay Scott asks some excellent questions.

To get more on this topic, read more from Arras People and Lindsay Scott.

People are getting their PMP® (Project Management Professional) certifications at a breakneck pace.  This year alone, new PMPs are averaging  just under 4,300 a month.  You would think this would be great for the industry, having more qualified project managers engaged on projects.  Instead, the question is being raised if people who should not be PMPs are in fact being certified.  Are hiring managers creating an environment for those with no project management experience to game the system?

Geoff Crane sees a pattern.

• A new credential is created
• The credential is marketed, making success promises to hiring managers
• Hiring managers make the credential a requirement
• Shortage of credential-holders increases perceived value of the credential

Get the complete list and what comes next at Papercut Edge.

I’m rereading (listening) to Rework for the 3rd time.  It’s been about a month since I last absorbed this artfully crafted piece of wisdom from Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37Signals.  People who read my blog know that I hate meetings.  I’m ok with the 5 minute stand-ups.  I’m ok with the 22 minute meeting, when necessary.

The painful reality is one poorly organized meeting can suck more time and energy than a week of good meetings. How many meetings do you go to in a week? Do you really need to be there? Is there a published goal-based agenda?  Not going to meetings is like not watching CNN for a week.  If it’s really important, someone will tell you the news.  Otherwise, you find yourself commonly hearing the same old thing over and over again.  Your time is more valuable than that.  Go do something else.