Program of Presentations and Workshops

Over 174 Events Delivered to 11,146 Attendees
Since the lessons from history series started in 2002 there have been numerous presentations and workshops delivered.

Program Trackrecord

Workshop Samples

About the Lessons from History Speaking Events The series puts a very different spin on projects and complex business problems of today by applying lessons from history which use relevant historical case studies to examine how projects and emerging technologies of the past solved complex problems. These have been transcribed into a series of presentations and workshops (see below).   Audience for Lessons from History Speaking Events The program delivers seminars for project managers, business executives, and decision makers and has been widely delivered to speak at local PMI chapters, organizations, corporations, and at conferences (see testimonials).   Available Presentations and Workshops All Lessons from History topics come as unique presentations or workshops (customizable to an organization's needs).

Format Length hours Audience Description Presentation  1 up to 500 Standard Presentation 2 up to 200 Extended Workshop  4 up to 50 Half day Workshop 8 up to 50 Full day

Available Speaking Event Topics
This includes a repertoire of engaging topics that help explain today’s world and  provide lessons-from-history. These have been popular with non-profit organizations such as PMI Chapters (for Professional Development Days) and for profit businesses. Download abstracts and short sample presentations to understand the format and the learning objectives of these events.

 

Titanic

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Great Escape 

Project Lessons From the Great Escape (Part I) This presentation analyzes the Great Escape project and the efforts of the Project Escape Committee (PMO), who were able to initiate a project of  inordinate scale, using modern project management methods and the nine knowledge areas of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). You will learn from the successes and mistakes of the project how the nine PMBOK Knowledge Areas came into play within the project planning and execution, where people really put their lives on the line. Download an abstract. Audience: PMs and general business professionals	Project lessons from  Great Escape (Part I)
Project Lessons From the Great Escape (Part II) This presentation analyzes the Great Escape project from a risk perspective, one of the riskiest project ever conceived. You will learn about the types of risks that were encountered, and how well the risks were managed (and not) by the escape committee across the each stage of the project lifecycle, and into the operation. Risk response planning became an integral part of  Roger Bushell's daily activities. Download an abstract.   Audience: PMs and general business professionals	Project lessons from Great Escape (Part II)
Project Lessons From the Great Escape - Workshop The long version of the original Great Escape presentation follows the book closely in a workshop style. This interactive workshop probes in more detail the initiation and execution of the Great Escape project. It examines how Roger Bushell became the Big X (Project Manager) and led the Great Escape project. It looks at his background, experience, and project management techniques. You will learn how Bushell and the project escape committee enabled a project team of over 600 to effectively work together to a common objectives. This is targeted for organizations with Project Management Offices, and a Project Management Practice, looking to provide best practices to these bodies. Exercises focus on the project charter and all nine PMBOK Knowledge Areas. Download an abstract or short sample of the presentation in PDF format.   Audience: PMs and general business professionals	The Great Escape Workshop

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Churchill  

Churchill the Agile PM Most people are very familiar with Winston Churchill but may not be familiar with his “agile” approach to project management and his skills as a PM in the summer of 1940. In June 1940 Winston Churchill was facing defeat. Not only did he have to stave off an imminent enemy invasion but, he had to quickly turn the UK economy around. You will learn how through a governance framework he had to deftly organize the institutions and resources around him to maximum effect. He had to focus slender resources on the immediate threat, unify a disparate economy, and put it onto a war footing to sustain total economic warfare, and direct its output to military use.  All the time he had to manage the situation and events happening around him. Download an abstract or short sample of the presentation in PDF format. Based on articles published in Gantthead.   Audience: PMs and general business professionals	Churchill the Agile PM
Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise Today organizations must sense changing situations and respond to these rapidly. They must understand the impact of business events in real-time, compare these against various scenarios, make sound decisions and take actions to counter competitive threats. This presentation is about reacting to these events proactively so organizations can stay ahead of their competition. It reaches back into history to show how an organization under pressure built an Adaptive Enterprise, using the emerging technologies of the day. You will learn how In June 1940 Winston Churchill was facing defeat and had to focus resources on the immediate threat, and move the overall organization to a highly agile state. Download an abstract or short sample of the presentation in PDF format. Based on a series of articles published in DM Review.  Audience: PMs and IT professionals	Churchill’s Adaptive Enterprise
Churchill’s Supply Chain The Supply Chain is seen as a relatively recent phenomena but Winston Churchill established this as part of his Adaptive Enterprise. The goal was to improve the supply chain and focus on producing essentials that tied to specific demands. Under the influence of Lord Beaverbrook this is the story of how the fighter supply chain was re-engineered in 1940,  by the Ministry of Air Production. Production of fighters was limited to two proven types which were already in quantity production to improve agility and speed up output. Fighter production was simplified by reducing the number of small and disparate components. You will learn how best practices were brought in from the automobile manufacturing industry. Business processes and infrastructure components were connected which allowed the production line to be broken out from large scale factories to much smaller facilities. As a result, of all these initiatives a demand driven fighter supply chain was established that overtook Axis fighter production and supported the RAF to sustain a prolonged air battle. Download an abstract or short sample of the presentation in PDF format.   Based on articles published in Supply and Demand Chain Executives.    Audience: PMs and general business professionals	Churchill’s Supply Chain
Churchill’s Agile Project - Workshop Following the timeline from May to October 1940 this interactive workshop follows the book closely and probes in more detail Churchill's strategy, project, and solution. You will learn how he set clear short and long term goals, created and enacted a communication strategy to support his goals. From a people perspective you will learn how he set up a governance framework to overcome institutional resistance, selected his project team and supported his leaders. Churchill continuously challenged preconceived notions, evaluated emerging technologies, and prioritized various initiatives. You will learn how the project created a solution, and took a broad view of the solution elements. As the solution became available in iterations Churchill used its information to enhance decision making, and metrics to guide and track actions. Download an abstract.or short sample of the .presentation in PDF format.  Based on articles published in Gantthead. Audience: PMs and general business professionals	Churchill's Agile Project

Contact Information

With the Lessons-from-History series we seek out the wisdom of the past to help others avoid repeating mistakes and to capture time-proven techniques. You get more than just the talk. You will walk away with a memorable experience, a story that will stay with you, and will challenge your assumptions long afterwards. For bookings of presentations and workshops for seminars, conferences, and lectures, please email mark.kozak-holl@sympatico.ca