8 Essential Skills A Project Manager Must Posses

Many time people mistake that a good technical expert is expected to possess good project management skills. This is not necessarily true. Project manager are like small business owners and they need to know every aspect of management. The general management skills are the foundation of a good project management practice.

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Here in this post we look at eight essential skills that every project manager must possess. Your mastery of them or lack of them is likely to affect the project outcome.

1. Communication Skills

One of the most important skill needed for every project manager is excellent communication skill. Project manager should ensure that project related communications are explicit, clear and complete to the audience. Just one miscommunication has a potential to derail the project.

2. Organizational Skills

Project manager have project documentations. minutes of meetings, project reports etc. They need to organize information well,organize meetings, put together teams and at times also organize media release schedules depending on the project.

3. Planning Skills

In order to stay organized, planning skills are very important. Project manager needs to plan the delivery milestones, plan meetings with clients, management teams etc. Planning skills go hand in hand with organizational skills and is one of the most important skill needed in addition to communication skills.

4. Budgeting Skills

As the project manager needs to manage the project in a given budget, his knowledge of finance and accounting principles are important. Essential skill is the ability to perform cost estimates for the project budgeting. Right from hiring cost, resourcing cost to apex cost, the project manager needs to budget them appropriately so the project does not over run the budget.

5. Conflict Management Skills

There are no projects without problems. Conflict management is resolving problems. It could be conflicts between team members or conflicts for some resource. The project manager should be able to clearly separate out the problems from cause and analyze the problem, the situation causing it etc and implement the best course of action.

6. Negotiation Skills

The negotiation starts at every stage of the project right from the beginning. Negotiation skill is essential as the project manager needs to negotiate various aspect like scope of the project, the schedule, cost, team structure that is needed to deliver the project, milestones and many other things that happen through out the project

7. Influencing Skills

Influencing skills go hand in hand with negotiation skills. Influencing is convincing the other party on the choice that project manager thinks is better than the other. Influencing requires an understanding of the formal and informal structure of all organization involved in the project.

8. Leadership Skills

Not all project managers turn out to be a good leader. But a project manager who has good leadership skills can impart vision, gain consensus for strategic goals, establish direction and inspire and motivate the team. Project manager must exhibit the characteristics of a leadership during different times in the project.

Previous Next Top 10 Best Free Web Conferencing Services Read more: http://tomuse.com/top-10-free-web-conference-services/#ixzz10WGLn1L6

Online meetings and web conferences aren’t just for large corporations anymore. Video conferencing and webinars enable communication between just a few people to literally thousands. If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, it’s imperative that you utilize one such services to help expand your business. Feel free to share your own recommendations, as well as likes and dislikes in the comments.

GoToMeeting can be used to meet and collaborate with others all over the world. You can provide presentations, demonstrations, online training, collaboration on documents and more in real-time for one low flat rate. You’ll have the option to show your entire screen, an application or just a specific document. With GoToMeeting you can invite others to your meetings via phone, email or IM. GoToWebinar, a step up, allows for unlimited webinars with up to 1000 attendees. GoToMeeting Corporate, geared toward organizations, allows multiple organizer accounts with unlimited webinars for up to 1000 attendees.

Free Trial: 30 days of unlimited meetings with up to 15 attendees.
Compatibility: PC and Mac
Costs: $49/month (which equals $588/year) or $468/year (which equals $39/month).

Dimdim lets you display synchronized live presentations, whiteboards and web pages with voice and video. It is browser based, so there is no download required. A single click is all it takes to start a meeting. A free account will let you have up to 20 attendees. Dimdim Pro gives you unlimited meetings and pro features with up to 50 attendees. Plus you can customize your meeting rooms with your own logos. Dimdim Webinar will give you up to 1000 attendees and also gives you the option to make money from your webinars by joining their affiliate program.

Free Trial: 30 days
Compatibility: Presenters – Windows, Mack; Attendees – Windows, Mac, Linux
Cost: Dimdim Pro – $228/year (which equals $19/month) or $25/month; Dimdim Webinar – $75/month; Dimdim Enterprise – call for quote

MyMeeting123 offers both live web meetings and conference calling for users. They offer multiple plans to fit your needs, a 14-day money back guarantee, they don’t require a contract, and you can cancel at any time and obtain refunds on unused minutes. Web meeting features include the ability to record meetings, file sharing, whiteboards, annotation tools, scheduling, desktop sharing, privacy control, and the ability to assign roles to participants. Conference call features include call history, multiple concurrent conference call sessions, local and toll-free access, name announcements, invitation handling, and the ability for the host to permit conference calls to begin without his/her presence.

Free Trial: 14 days of unlimited meetings restricted to the plan you choose
Compatibility: PC and Mac
Costs: $17.95/month ($215.40/year) for 200/350 mins (local/toll-free number) or $53.95/month ($647.40/year) for 500/1500 minutes.

MegaMeeting is browser based (no download required) and offers online conferencing with true VoIP audio, text chat and no long term contracts. There are four different packages to choose from. MegaMeeting Personal is designed for small businesses that don’t require any of the advanced features like desktop and computer sharing. It simply combines video and webcam software for video conferencing and allows up to 10 attendees. MegaMeeting Enterprise Private Branding lets you brand your meetings with your own logos and colors. It includes application and document sharing among participants and video conferencing. MegaMeeting Enterprise is not hosted and runs on your own dedicated servers. You can provide web and video conferences for an unlimited amount of attendees. MegaMeeting Professional offers web and video conferencing for up to 16 attendees.

Free Trial: 30 days
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux
Cost: Personal – $49/month (5 attendees) or $79/month (10 attendees); Professional – Ranges from $45/month (3 attendees) to $499/month (100 attendees); Enterprise Private Branding – $16,995 (one-time fee) or $250/month; Enterprise – $16,995 (on-time fee). Financing is available for those who may need it.

WebEx gives you unlimited online meetings for as low as $59.00/month plus, you’ll even get one month free. It incorporates real-time desktop sharing with instant record and play video or VoIP conferencing and allows up to 25 attendees. You can deliver presentations, show documents or demonstrate any application. WebEx also lets you transfer control of the meeting from yourself to someone else. For a limited time you’re able to get 1 month free with either a monthly or prepaid annual plan – so act fast!

Free Trial: 14 days
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris
Cost: Monthly plan – $69/month; Annual plan – $708/year (which equals $59/month and includes 1 host – price varies per number of meeting hosts you need).

Fuze Meeting offers online meetings in HD (High Definition); simply login and upload your content in order to start a meeting. Sharing is 100% browser based (no download required) and in real-time. With Fuze Meeting you get their “patent-pending synchronization – no lag time between presenter and viewer”. Their advanced “business-grade IM” lets you access all of your IM contacts on one application; you can sync your contacts from Yahoo, Google Talk, AIM, MSN, Skype and more. You can also add annotations to your presentations. They even offer mobile meetings via the iPhone or BlackBerry.

Free Trial: 30-day free trial with access for up to 15 attendees
Compatibility: Mac, PC, Linux
Cost: $29/month; $279/year (which equals $23.25/month); pay as you go $.19/min/per web attendee and $.06/min/per audio attendee

WebConCentral offers three options for sharing in real-time: you can share one program and also share other applications as you open them; you can just share one program and keep everything else private; or you can share your entire desktop. You can either share or pass the presenter responsibilities to one of your attendees. You can also customize your webinar sign-up form to suit your preference and then send thank you notes after the webinar is over. When sharing files you’re able to save them on the site and then send your attendees a URL instead of an attachment (which can often cause problems).

Free Trial: 30 days with personal training
Compatibility: Windows
Cost: Medium – $59/month (up to 35 attendees); Large – $79/month (up to 50 attendees); Ultra – $99/month (up to 100 attendees and 2 meeting rooms)

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro offers numerous features and lets you do things like provide online training, manage events and meetings, and provide on-demand presentations and courses. With a Pro software license you can host meetings with hundreds of participants, brand your meeting rooms, and customize the program to match your organization. You can even ensure privacy by controlling access to your meetings on an advanced level. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is browser based (no download required) and uses Adobe Flash Player runtime.

Free Trial: 30 days with up to 5 attendees
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux
Cost: Software license – call for quote; Annual subscription – call for quote. Service plans: $375/month (5 attendees); $750/month (10 attendees); pay-per-use plan $.32/min/per user.

InterCall offers one click access for sharing documents and creating customizable online meetings. InterCall seamlessly integrates with Outlook & Lotus Notes plus provides interactive attendee tools. There’s no plugins or downloads required for attendees to join and meeting rooms do not require reservations. However, presenter will need to download the InterCall Unified Meeting application in order to conduct a meeting. Other features include full screen mode, PowerPoint compatibility, application sharing, document sharing plus chat and IM capabilities. You can also use their surveys, quizzes and polls in order to receive feedback from your attendees. During meetings, participants can provide feedback by using the integrated emoticons.

Free Trial: 30 days
Compatibility: Windows, Mac (Light version only)
Cost: Call for quote.

iLinc lets you integrate your web conferencing data with CRM to help increase your revenue. You can display and collaborate on documents, applications, websites, and more. Other features include application and desktop sharing, annotation tools, chat and polls. iLinc for Meetings is a web based video conferencing tool with multi-person videos, participation tools, sharing, an interactive whiteboard, and content uploading. iLinc for Learning lets you provide online classes and includes participation tools, sharing, LMS functionality, groups, an interactive whiteboard, multi-person video, and web sync. iLinc for Webinars can be used for larger web events and lets you enable registration, follow-up with attendees, customize your online room, and survey and assist your audience. iLinc for Support features remote desktop sharing, SSL & AES, support session recording, and caller queue management.

Free Trial: 14 days
Compatibility: Windows, Mac
Cost: Ranges from $49/month (15 attendees) to $99/month (1000 attendees).

Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a real-time online meeting space for your organization that must be hosted on your own server. Attendees will need to have it installed on their computer. They can then deliver presentations, brainstorm ideas, edit files, collaborate via the whiteboard and much more. There’s integrated audio, video and media along with application sharing and audience feedback tools.

Free Trial: 30 days
Compatibility: Windows
Cost: Standard user license option – $4.58/month/per user; Professional user license option – $15.42/month/per user. If you’d like to purchase the software you will need to call for a quote.

Yugma can be used for team meetings, webinars, sales demos, training, tutoring, brainstorming and much more. With a free account you can share your desktop with up to 20 attendees. With a pro account you get real-time collaboration with a whiteboard, annotation tools, mouse and keyboard sharing, the ability to instantly change presenters, and more. You can have up to 500 attendees. There’s also Yugma for Skype which allows web conferencing via Skype; there is a download required.

Free Trial: 15-day Yugma Pro trial with a Yugma Free account.
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Linux
Cost: Enterprise – call for quote. Pro 20 (1 host and 20 attendees) – $14.95/month or $149.50 yearly; Pro 50 (1 host and 50 attendees) – $44.95/month or $449.50 yearly; Pro 100 (1 host and 100 attendees) – $89.95/month or $899.50 yearly; Pro 500 (1 host and 50 attendees) – $179.95/month or $1799.50 yearly. Webinar – $19.95/month or $199.50 yearly.

Read more: http://tomuse.com/top-10-free-web-conference-services/#ixzz10WGXFflJ

8 Free Web Conferencing Tools

We had earlier covered how telepresence helps to save cost. Similarly, virtual meetings too can save money and support environment by eliminating travel. Online presentations, meetings are now normal and pretty much every organization makes use of some form of virtual meeting on the internet. WebEx is one of the pioneer in Web Conference technology and now it is part of Cisco. There are others like GoToMeeting, IBM Sametime etc that offer compelling features. But these services are expensive and small companies, group of people can not afford such higher premium price.

Fortunately there are couple of Free (or much cheaper) alternatives to easy web conferencing tools that are equally packed with features. Here we list some of them. All of these work on multiple platforms like Windows, Mac and Linux.

Mikogo (Absolutely Free!)

This one is just amazing, Mikogo is an easy-to-use cross-platform desktop sharing tool, ideal for free web conferencing, online meetings or remote support. And it’s FREE for both commercial and private use. The fact is, We weren’t even aware of! Until someone from Mikogo team added a comment below! Everything looks amazing but Linux support is missing altogether. Mac is mostly supported. So, Mikogo works good on Windows. We feel that it may soon support Linux and that would be a thing to wait! Anyways, Thanks to Mikogo for the all free meeting suit, free web conferencing tool, it really helps. Website is very neat, features are plenty without limitation and that’s the reason why it is listed in the first place!

Features:

1. Desktop Sharing (for Mac/Windows)
2. Multiple Meeting Participants(for Mac/Windows)
3. Switch Presenter(for Mac/Windows)
4. Remote Keyboard and Mouse Control(for Mac/Windows)
5. Meeting Scheduler(for Windows)
6. Meeting Recording and Playback (for Windows)
7. Whiteboard (for Windows)
8. Transfer Files(for Mac/Windows)
9. Application Selection(for Windows)
10. Back Monitor(for Windows)
11. Pointer(for Mac/Windows)
12. Copy/Paste/Email Meeting Info(for Mac/Windows)
13. Pause Transmission(for Mac/Windows)
14. Voice Conferencing Service(for Mac/Windows)

Vyew (Free with Limited features)

Vyew is a new and powerful platform for real-time and always on interaction between people and content. It is a great way to do free web conferencing and lets you have unlimited meetings, SSL Secure login, 10 real time participants and more.

Features:

1. Browser based, No download is needed. It works on Windows, Mac as well as Linux.
2. Hundreds of Active/Archived Meetings per User
3. Flexible, PowerPoint-like Authoring
4. All meeting content is auto-saved in real-time, always available to authorized users.
5. Publish your meetings via direct URL or embedded in a webpage/email.
6. Customizable interface with colors and your logo.
7. Built-in Voice over IP )VoIP, Webcam and Free teleconferencing that use standard phones within the USA to call into a conference call system.
8. and much more…

Vyew is always free, but additional capacities and features exist for low monthly fees. Here is the pricing details.

DimDim (Free with Limited features)

DimDim delivers synchronized live presentations, whiteboards and web pages while sharing your voice and video over the Internet - with no download. It is a good Free We Conferencing solution for team of up to 20 with features like,

1. Browser based, It works on Windows, Mac as well as Linux.
2. Share and Present documents
3. Share Computer Screens, WebPages
4. Share microphones (up to 4 people for Free)
5. Share whiteboards
6. Built-in VoIP support and more…

DimDim is capable and unofficially known as an alternative to WebEx that can really save money on Pro accounts.

Yugma (Free with Limited features)

Yugma offers free, pro and enterprise service for desktop sharing, web conferencing, online meetings, and web collaboration for Mac, Windows, and Linux users. Yugma has solutions for individuals, organizations, and small or large businesses. Yugma is perfect for web conferencing, online meetings, webinars, web meetings, web collaboration, desktop sharing, sales presentations, online training, and remote support. Yugma for Skype is also available and provides instant desktop sharing and interactive collaboration tools for Skype users. Yugma is free web conferencing solution with limited features.

Features:

1. Yugma Free allows 20 attendees host a meeting (premium versions support up to 500 attendees)
2. Desktop Sharing
3. Free Teleconferencing
4. Public and Private Chat
5. Customizable Widget
6. Works on Windows, Mac and Linux
7. Skype Integration
8. and more…

Adobe ConnectNow (Free with Limited features)

Adobe ConnectNow, one of the Acrobat.com services, is a great way to share ideas, discuss details, and complete work together — all online. Reduce travel costs, save time, and increase productivity with a web conferencing solution that’s easy to access and simple to use. Use screen sharing, chat, notes, audio, and video to conduct meetings online that can be as interactive and productive as in-person meetings. Adobe ConnectNow is free web conferencing solution with limited features.

Features:

1. Screen sharing
2. Whiteboards
3. Remote control
4. Integrated audio choices
5. Meeting URL
6. Video conferencing and more…

YuuGuu (Free with Limited features)

Yuuguu offers cross network instant messaging, instant screen sharing, real time collaboration, free web conferencing and remote support. YuuGuu Free is good for starters with Screen Sharing support up to 5 participants and features like;

1. Integrated chat and real time collaboration
2. Screen sharing in real time
3. High Quality Global Audio Conferencing

YuuGuu has premium paid versions too that support more features.

OpenMeetings (Free)

OpenMeetings, an Open Source Free Web Conferencing tool that is worth trying. It supports a lot of features…

Features:

1. Video/Audio
2. See Desktop of any participant
3. Whiteboard with drawing, write & edit, dragNDrop, Resizing, Images (DragNDrop from Library), Symbols
4. Safe/export Drawings from whiteboard and load it next time, edit and resave
5. Document Importing
6. Send invitation and direct links into a conference room
7. LDAP-Connector
8. Remote SOAP-Gateway for Single Sign On, integration and remote administration
9. Moderating System, User-/Organisation-/Moderating- System
10. Private and Public (Organisation only) Conference-Rooms

WebHuddle (Free)

WebHuddle (free web conferencing tool) makes it easy to meet with the people you need to, when you need to — all it takes is a web-enabled PC and something to say. Using WebHuddle, you have options and flexibility. Meetings can be conducted either in conjunction with an enterprise’s existing teleconferencing service, or utilizing WebHuddle’s optional voice over IP. WebHuddle also offers recording capabilities — presentations can easily be recorded for playback over any web browser for those who missed the live meeting. WebHuddle is Open Source.

6 free remote desktop sharing and screen sharing solutions

Working in IT for 5 years, I’ve learned that desktop sharing/screen sharing software applications make life a lot easier for both the users and for the Administrators. It’s not only a great way to supply technical support to users, but it’s also a fabulous way to share data and collaborate with others remotely quickly and easily.

I’ve been using remote desktop sharing software for a while now and it’s worked wonders for our team. Multiple people in different locations around the country can work on a presentation or a project plan simultaneously from their desktop computers! Here’s a list of a couple of my favorite screen sharing software over the last few years:

Probably my favorite because of it’s ease of use and the fact that you can use it to remotely access your PC or MAC also! Yuuguu is completely free and allows you to instantly share your screen with anyone. Works well through firewalls also and on MACs.

CroosLoop is also very easy to use, but requires that each party install the CrossLoop software onto their computers. Uses 128-bit encryption and allows for file-sharing also.

Another popular service for remote desktop sharing. Easily access remote PC’s by installing a client software onto each machine. Good for remote PC trouble-shooting, etc.

A good free tool for online collaboration, desktop sharing, and remote PC access. No registration required, no logins, very easy to use. Uses SSH to make connections to other PC’s.

SkyFex allows remote watching and remote control in real time. Does not require additional software installation and works transparently through NAT and Firewalls. Only for IE though.

TeamViewer has a couple of features, such as remote control of PCs, screen sharing, file transfer, chat ability, and is secure. Have to install the TeamViewer software for it to work.

A free software that lets others watch your screen in real time. No need to install any software, which is a plus. Works with Windows, Mac and Linux.

You can use all of the applications for all kind of activities, such as boardroom presentations, group lectures, remote PowerPoint presentations, computer helpdesk, whiteboard for telephone conferences, etc.

If you know of one that I missed or think is better, post a comment! Enjoy!

10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with Google

Google is amazing (please thank me for this amazing revelation). There are some things you probably didn’t know Google can do. Take your time and read the information below. You’ll likely learn a few tips and tricks that will make you appreciate Google even more.

10. Find a beautiful wallpaper for your desktop resolution with Google images

Here’s how you do it:

1. Go to Advanced Image Search
2. Next to “Exact size” click on “Use my desktop resolution”. Then, next to “Content types” select “Photo content.”
3. Enter some words. If you want to find cows, enter beautiful cows Let’s see the results:

Notice that many of the images in the results are from wallpaper sites. Google Images makes it very convenient to go through these types of sites and browse them like a gallery instead of going to each gallery site separately.

9. Create unlimited disposable email addresses with Gmail

Take the following example:

That’s right, you can add one or more dots ANYWHERE between your username and send messages to that ‘new’ email. All of those messages will arrive to your old (without dots) email. Hard to explain without a picture. But somehow Google did find a way to do it…

Sometimes you may receive a message sent to an address that looks like yours but has a different number or arrangement of periods. While we know it might be unnerving if you think someone else’s mail is being routed to your account, don’t worry: both of these addresses are yours.

Gmail doesn’t recognize dots as characters within usernames, you can add or remove the dots from a Gmail address without changing the actual destination address; they’ll all go to your inbox, and only yours. In short:

• homerjsimpson@gmail.com = hom.er.j.sim.ps.on@gmail.com
• homerjsimpson@gmail.com = HOMERJSIMPSON@gmail.com
• homerjsimpson@gmail.com = Homer.J.Simpson@gmail.com

All these addresses belong to the same person. You can see this if you try to sign in with your username, but adding or removing a dot from it. You’ll still go to your account.

Yep, this is an explanation from Google itself. Now that you understand this, let’s keep going.

8. Search videos durations using Google Video

I’ve noticed there’s not a single video site that allows you to search videos by duration. Let’s say I want to learn Spanish and I want comprehensive videos for that (longer than 20 minutes.) To search, I go to Google Advanced Video Search page and select “Long” next to “Duration”. Here’s what happens:

Now all that’s left is to get some free time and watch those…

7. Want to find an iPad alternative using Google Search?

Sure, you can write ‘iPad alternative’ in Google but that won’t give you the best results. Instead, try this:

Using “better than product” where product=any product will give you not only alternatives but better alternatives to a particular product. Very cool.

6. Detect any unknown language with Google Language Detector

I have a big problem:

What’s the solution? Google language detector.

Another good way to detect and also translate is to use Google Translate and the “Detect Language” option:

5. See what the Dutch haven been searching for recently using Google Insights

Google is the most popular search engine in almost any country in the world. Google Insights (like the name suggests) gives you ‘insights’ of what people have been searching for around the world. For example, Netherlands:

Hyves is a Dutch portal and social network. Weer seems to be a weather portal.

4. When did Google become more popular than Microsoft? Google Trends has the answer

Google Trends helps you discover the trends on various topics and see what people have been searching for over time. In this case, you can see when people started searching for Google more than Microsoft in early 2005.

3. Hate opening PDF files? Google Docs is the solution

So you’ve been searching on Google for a particular topic and found a PDF file:

Instead of opening the file in Adobe Reader (which is a painful process), you can click on “Quick View” and open the file in Google Docs! It takes seconds to open and it’s way more flexible. If you choose later, you can always save the file as PDF by choosing the export option in Google Docs.

2. Scan and Read your RSS feeds like email messages in Google Reader

You probably know how easy it is to open and read email messages in Gmail thanks to the list view. Well, you can do the same in Google Reader:

The default view in Google Reader is ‘expanded’ which makes the items pretty difficult to scan and read. If you change the view from expanded to ‘list’, then it becomes WAY easier to SCAN items and pick what you like.

1. Google can tell you the answer to life and the universe

I wish it was so simple

Written by Darren, the owner of Find People for Free – FinderMind ,