Welcome Steven Rundle, PMP!

Steve is the next installment of the How Did I Get Here? series interviewing project managers on how they became part of the profession.

When did you first decide to become a project manager?

I decided to become a PM after I found out I had been doing project management for dozens of years without knowing that I was managing projects. I worked for a series of telecommunications companies that were moderate to very successful, each with lots of disorganized activities that we just didn’t recognize as projects.

One day my boss told me that I should go to this presentation on project management. The presentation was really an introduction to using the Franklin Covey calendar organizer system. It wasn’t so much about project management as it was about personal time management, but it was a step in the right direction. It led me to research the possibilities of managing projects and I found the Project Management certificate program at the University of Denver.

What was your academic and/or corporate background before you became a project manager?

My background is technical. I had earned an Associate’s degree in electronics in 1978 which started a more than 20-year career in the telecommunications industry. Towards the end of that career, I found out about project management and started taking courses at the University of Denver eventually earning a Certificate of Advanced Study in Project Management.

If you made a transition, did your company support your transition to project manager?

I probably would have had lots of support, but the senior manager that would have supported me got laid off at the same time I did! That is another story.

Which credential do you have?

PMP

How has having your credential helped (or hurt?) your career?

The credential has helped because a lot of people and organizations recognize it, and it will quite likely continue to help as time goes on because more organizations are seeing the value the credential represents. So I have to say that the knowledge I gained earning the credential has helped even more, in both my personal and professional life, because that knowledge is what makes the credential valuable.

What advice would you give an aspiring project manager?

As a PMP, advancing the knowledge of project management is a requirement. I still meet people who say oh, I manage projects and anyone can do that, but when I look at their projects, most of the time I see a mess. They usually have the subject of the project handled, but the project itself is kind of out of control because they never learned that activities can be molded into a project framework and managed. That there are tools, techniques, processes, procedures and knowledge areas to help them be successful. I call them accidental project managers, their projects are accidents waiting to happen. I was an accidental project manager and I know it is an uphill battle.

Here is the lesson I learned; in project management, experience counts for a lot but learn how to do it first. You will save yourself and your organization a lot of grief. How do I know this? By the time I had learned the right way to manage projects the company I worked for had massive layoffs and I was gone. The layoffs were caused in part by over-spending on poorly managed projects and pursuing failed projects past the point where they should have been stopped.

Thinking that I manage my projects just fine and I don’t need anyone to tell me how to do it is okay. Just consider this, maybe you are doing everything right but who is learning from you? What if you just haven’t yet run into that one thing you don’t know? Who are you going to turn to? That is the advantage of being a part of the larger project management community.

Any final advice?

However innovative your industry and advanced your techniques always bring to mind the basics and make them a part of your good habits. Find a PMI Chapter close to where you are and go to the meetings. You will meet people who get it, you will be inspired, and you will be inspiring. Do the best good you can with what you have.

Bio for Steven Rundle, PMP

Steve is currently employed at the University College University of Denver as Project Manager for Recruiting Events, Recruiting, and Enrollment Management Coordinator. He earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Project Management from University College in 2002, in December of 2002 passed PMI’s Project Management Professional exam, and completed his Bachelor of Arts in Science and Technology at the University of Denver in the fall of 2010. Future plans include additional study at the University of Denver.

Before University College, Steve had 24 years involvement at Nextel (now Sprint) with maintenance and repair activities, technical projects including construction of cellular telephone sites, material warehouse management, and other special projects in Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Utah.

Steve is a member of the Project Management Institute and the Mile Hi Chapter since May of 2001 and served on the 2004 – 2005 Board of Directors as VP of Administration. He is an enthusiastic photographer and quietly volunteers in his community.

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