APM Board meeting

On 10th July, we held the third board meeting of 2012, for me it was the second board meeting of my 1-year tenure. Most board members are elected because they represent a particular aspect of the APM membership body or have a specific expertise – I am there because I stood up for an opportunity at the right time and had what they were looking for. It’s an opportunity that I am very excited about.

With board meetings every two months I want to contribute and learn as much as possible – as there is a lot that goes into a board meeting. Board members will have delved into a particular aspect of the APMs operations between board meetings and will update and advise the rest of the board. I would say that the board has about five centuries’ worth of cumulative project management experience. Against that, my five years of project experience means that I have to bring something else to the table – so I have volunteered to write the blog.

The board members come from all walks of the project management profession – and are a good representation of the profession in industry and services. Their experience is not just confined to project management – they have programme, portfolio and general management experience, as well, and, as such, are well suited to looking out for the APM’s interests. Participating in meetings is an education in communication styles and content.

We are very excited that the APM Conference was so successful on 27th June. Over 300 people attended a day at 8 Northumberland Avenue full of learning opportunities with the theme ‘the Art of the Possible’ which feeds into the APM vision of “All Projects succeed”.  A combination of an impressive, warm and welcoming venue, and some incredible speakers made it a memorable day. Personally, I found it a good way to catch up with APM contacts who I have met at a variety of events that I have attended over the last year. I also enjoyed making some new contacts and getting to understand new aspects of the APM, such as the People SIG.

One of the topics on the agenda was a brief from Paul Goodge as Corporate Members Advisory Group (CMAG) APM Board Champion. The CMAG meets quarterly and during the last quarter CMAG has been assessing its role within the APM and has come to the conclusion that the time has come for it to mature to an even more active role. Whereas now Corporate Members receive various benefits, there were several suggestions as how to improve the interaction and derive more benefit for Corporate Members, whilst allowing the APM to grow as the Association for Project Management – an association for the trade and the organisations within it, as opposed to restricting ourselves just to project managers.

The APM Executive contributes strongly to the board meetings – reporting that which has happened during the last period and helping to anchor the board’s real world experience and advise in the reality of the APM. This meeting we met Glyn Fisher who has recently joined the APM Executive and will be taking charge of Customer and Operational Services. It’s great to meet new faces and we look forward to Glyn’s contributions to the board meetings.