John Canniffe, of the American Management Association (AMA), talks with Todd Williams to answer the question that plagues executives and project managers alike-- “What do we do about problem projects?”

Stop them, bring in a new team, throw money at them, and so on, are some of the answers that float around the room and keep you up at night.

What if you could avoid them almost entirely?

In this webcast, you’ll learn the two crucial steps that ensure projects start successfully. Without a solid foundation, projects are doomed from the start. Most problems can be traced to the earliest points of project inception—long before that delivery team is involved.

This program, originally airing December 14th 2011, can be heard through an on-demand replay on AMA's site!  Simply register and listen to it for free.

This episode of Andy Kaufman's People and Projects Podcast addresses the question, "Do you know how there's often not a common understanding of terms and processes around your organization when it comes to managing projects?" This e-learning program gives everyone practical insights on how to plan and deliver projects.

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Michael Krigsman, Information Technology (IT) Project Failure Blogger for ZDNet magazine, moderates a roundtable discussion between Steve Romero and Todd Williams on preventing IT project Failure.

Listen to the discussion!

Tom Cox Hosts a radio show on BlogTalk Radio titled "Tom on Leadership." He aired his interview with Todd Williams in March of 2011. Take a few minutes and listen to this and some of his other shows.

Listen to the interview!

From the United States:

Samad Aidane interviews Todd Williams about his upcoming book Rescue the Problem Project. The interview was done in October 2010 in a busy Starbucks on Seattle's waterfront.

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Yearly a large health services provider in the Puget Sound area, with hospitals throughout the northwest, assembles over 100 employees from their various Northwest offices to hold an Operational Excellence conference.  At this year’s event, held outside Seattle, Todd Williams was requested to give a three-hour workshop on the people, projects, and negotiation. Read the entire press release here.

A project manager's job is to deliver value. Achieving the original schedule, budget, and features is meaningless if the customer does not receive value. As with all simple statements, this much easier said than accomplished. Projects managers must assemble adaptable teams that use flexible, lean methodologies. Arrogantly selling the latest technology or tool is narcissistic. Focus on the customer. Be vigilant at ensuring the information is always available for the customer to reassess the project's value and for the project team to reevaluate their proposal.

"People say I am indecisive, but I am not so sure about that." I have seen this quote attributed to a former US President, but I doubt he actually siad this. First, it is too intelligent a comment for him and, second, he is far from indecisive. The liberal pundits trying to attribute that quote to him confuse indecision with defective decision making. You can figure out who the President is on your own; however, it is irrelevant. This article is about leadership not politics. Organizations confronted with a decision-challenged individual in a leadership role, is adrift in the sea of serendipity. They bobble around having no direction.

Project failure is rampant. In the US alone, the cost estimates for failure run as high as a trillion dollars annually. Regardless of the industry, executives seem powerless to alter this direction. The challenge for them is understanding where to focus their time and energy. All too often, they take the seemingly obvious move of zeroing in on the project manager, their teams, and technology. Other executives, reflect on their contributions to the failure. That self-reflection is time well spent as executives are essential in setting direction, aligning projects to corporate goals, implementing effective governance, and providing the needed resources. In other words, being effective leaders. This keynote explores the actions executives need to take to have the greatest impact on project success.

Todd C. Williams, President of eCameron, Inc. has been chosen to talk on this subject at the 2011 Project Management Institute’s Global Congress—North America being held October 22-25, 2011 in Dallas, TX.  This year’s North American congress is a three-day professional development event hosted by Project Management Institute (PMI). It provides an opportunity for professionals across all industries to exchange ideas on today’s project challenges and emerging trends. Read the entire press release here.