Available Workshops

Currently there are three workshops and all are customizable to an organization's needs. We will work with you in modifying a workshop to meet your particular environment and needs.

 For upcoming workshops

Managing
Stakeholders Workshop

Managing Projects in a Hostile Environment
The workshop explores the difficulties encountered in the initiation and execution of a project in a hostile environment, where everyone is trying to close your project down. In today’s highly competitive world high project failure rates have brought projects under more scrutiny and attention from executives and senior management. No project is completely safe from being challenged or closed down.

 
The workshop juxtaposes the Great Escape case study and modern projects by looking at common problems like the challenges of initiating a project without sponsors, and getting it enough support to get it through early the stage gates. It also looks at how the project team was able to organize itself and mitigate the risks it faced. Ideas and solutions were tested continuously and refined in a determined atmosphere where everything was thought possible.

The workshop is targeted at 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: Project managers and general business professionals

Managing
Hostility
Workshop 

Managing Projects in a Sea of Change
The workshop explores the challenges encountered in the initiation and execution of a project in an environment of continuous change. Change can adversely impact your organization at different levels. A chaotic environment is difficult to predict and to run projects in.

The workshop juxtaposes the Churchill case study and modern projects and and provides an insight in how to deal with volatility and change, and keep an organization on track with its projects.

The workshop is targeted at organizations with Project Management Offices, and a Project Management Practice, looking to provide best practices to these bodies. The workshop highlights how the concepts of agile project management were used to find a resolution to seemingly unsolvable problems in a very short time frame. Exercises focus on assessing the situation and decision making.Download an abstract. 
Based on articles published in Gantthead.

Audience: Project managers and general business professionals

Managing
Change
Workshop

LFH Workshops
These workshops use historical case studies taken from the series and are designed to make the learning experience as interesting and engaging as possible. In the words of a recent workshop participant: "It is learning in a different way, in fact, you forget it is a learning exercise because you get so engaged in the story."

Workshop Formats

The format is similar for all workshops and involves setting the background to the historical case study. It then typically follows a timeline through the project stages that invariably look at the requirements, design, build, test, and implementation. Time is spent in analyzing problems faced by projects, and their resolution. 
 
Once the context of the historical project is known "what if scenarios" can be played out, that is these are used to reflect the potential effect under different assumptions. For example, had a principal character made a different decision, or taken an alternative course of action, what could have been the potential outcomes. This becomes a very real discussion when faced with what if scenarios like those related to Captain Smith on board Titanic.

Workshops to Meet Present and Future Needs
Through exercises the workshop analyzes how the historical project solved complex problems of the day, which provide insights into solving some of today’s more challenging business problems. Clarity can be brought to how issues or risks were managed.

Workshop Benefits
Entertaining and full of intriguing historical details, the workshops help participants see the impact of historical decisions and compare these to the ones that they make every day. This helps explain the story and drives home some simple lessons.

One of the most exciting aspects of the workshop is when participants start to relate clear parallels to their own organization and projects. Taking lessons from the historical project can start a feisty discussion on how today's projects are tackled within an organization. For example, in a recent workshop (Project Lessons from the Great Escape) the discussion was sparked by how Roger Bushell had set up the project charter, and was compared to how well projects were initiated or not within the organization.

Workshop Facility Requirements
The workshop is usually located offsite, or at least away from the daily work environment of the participants. The room typically requires a microphone, projector, screen, and four flipcharts. The facilitator brings a laptop and provides handout materials 2 weeks ahead of the workshop.

Workshop Schedule
The 8 hour day breaks out into four modules, where each consists of:  

Workshop Fees
These vary based on length of workshop, whether the organization is non-profit or not, whether the workshop is part of an overall conference or event, and length of travel involved.