Category Archives: IT Manager Institute

Receive 25 PDU’s for PMP Re-certification

educationTo maintain PMP status (PMI’s Project Management Professional certification), you are required to obtain 60 professional development units (PDU’s) every three years.

One of my students just told me he received 25 PDU’s after he requested PDU credit for attending the IT Manager Institute Self Study.

Here is what he received from PMI:
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Activity Title: IT Business Manager Training and Certification 
For Credential: PMP
PDUs Approved:
— Technical: 5:00
— Leadership: 10.00
— Strategic/Business: 10.00
Total: 25.00
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Prior to submitting his PDU request to PMI for approval, he asked me for information describing the IT Manager Institute. Below is what I sent him:

IT Manager Institute Program Overview

The IT Manager Institute provides practical processes, tools and templates to help IT managers of the world achieve more success. The program includes straightforward “how to” approaches and insights to manage IT organizations at any level more effectively. The Institute is a 25-hour program delivered in classroom, live webinar and in an online self-study program. It also includes a 5-part exam to qualify managers for IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC) status plus bonus resources valued at over $1,000.   

 

Agenda
Session 1 – IT Manager Foundation   3 hours
Learn about the Triple Threat to IT Success™, key traits of a successful IT manager, and about the work behavior dynamics of IT employees that both help and hinder their efforts. This foundation material will help you understand “why” things happen as you learn best practices in how to manage technology resources effectively.

Session 2 – IT Assessment  3 hours
The key to success is knowing what to do and what you can do. Follow a proven formula to determine the needs and issues of your business client plus your IT organization’s capability and capacity to support the client. Only then can you develop an appropriate IT strategy. We will share an IT assessment process and tools developed to conduct over 40 company acquisition assessments and a case study will make it all very real.

Session 3 – IT Strategy  2 hours
Don’t wait to be asked, , , develop your IT strategy now and gain senior management’s respect. This step is key in aligning your IT focus with business need and objectives. We even give you tools to help you prioritize your work. Follow the steps in Sessions 2 and 3 and your IT organization is guaranteed to be in sync with your company’s needs.

Session 4 – IT Project Management  3 hours
Delivering projects successfully is the key to credibility. Use simple techniques and tools to manage projects effectively and you will separate your organization from others. Included are tools and templates that help you manage successful projects as well as project portfolio resources to communicate project status and value derived from your organization’s efforts.

Session 5 – IT Organization  1.5 hours
Build an appropriate team to support the business and start by conducting a skills inventory that defines both the skills you need on your team and what you have. Understanding this allows you to focus on the gaps to start achieving more success quicker and more reliably.

Session 6 – IT Staff Motivation & Development  1.5 hours
Learn to motivate your staff like never before, , , and with little or no money. Motivating employees doesn’t require lots of money but it does require an understanding of what motivates IT employees and how to go about it. You may not realize it but teamwork is not a natural thing or easy for most IT employees. Learn why and use a few proven techniques to start building a world class support team. A motivated staff can do powerful things and they will “walk through fire” for their manager.

Session 7 – IT Processes  1 hour
Sound processes can make all the difference in your IT organization’s productivity and success. In fact, there are key change management processes that are required to help your team deliver IT support successfully. Use our proven IT support processes to simplify your life and to boost your team’s productivity and success.

Session 8 – IT Policies and Procedures  1 hour
You may not like policies and procedures, but they can save you and your company lots of pain and reduce risk. Learn to develop simple policies that work for your company plus we will give you dozens of policies and procedures you can modify for your own use.

Session 9 – IT Budgeting  3 hours
Budgeting must become a skill of every IT manager because the key to the hearts of senior executives is the financial side of the business. A quick accounting primer gives you the basics of what you need to understand about senior management’s perspective and the tools they use to monitor a company’s financial performance. Then you will learn to use simple tools and techniques to streamline your budgeting process and develop budgets you can be highly confident in achieving. Budgeting is going to be much faster and easier with insider knowledge and tools from an experienced manager.

Session 10 – IT Asset Management  1 hour
Tracking the technology resources of your company is an important part of managing your IT support business. Get organized and keep it simple. These straightforward processes and tools will help you focus this part of your business in an effective way.

Session 11 – Technology Cost Saving Strategies  1 hour
Every company has significant cost saving opportunities, , , and your IT organization offers real leverage across the company you should take advantage of. Learn where the leverage points are and go after cost savings that more than pay for your IT Manager Institute class.

Session 12 – IT Measurements  2 hours
Key measurements can help you better understand your IT support business and improve your support focus. Learn to track and report meaningful data. Simple tools will help you show IT value and the successes you are achieving in such a simple way you will wonder why you haven’t been doing this already.

Session 13 – IT Communication  2 hours
Communicating effectively is more about knowing what to communicate and how to present it than anything else. It is one of the key skills that can literally boost your career. What’s difficult is that most IT managers aren’t strong communicators nor do they see the need to be. Use our simple techniques to improve your communication skills to start developing stronger relationships with your clients.

5-part IT Business Manager Certification (ITBMC) exam. Score 80% or better on all 5 parts to receive ITBMC certification.

BONUS IT Resources valued over $1,000

        15 books written on specific IT manager subjects

        IT Manager ToolKit with over 100 IT Manager tools and templates

        Executive Reports

        Samples of 20 Minute IT Manager training

 

Details of the IT Manager Institute Self Study are at:  http://itmanagerinstitute.com/training/self-study-program/

Advanced IT Manager Institute

In September we held the second Advanced IT Manager Institute in 2016 and the first to be held in the US. This program is limited to Institute Graduates only. The program included managers from the US, Nigeria, and Australia.

advanced-institute_sep2016

The Advanced Institute program allows much more discussion and interaction on key issues facing IT managers of the world today. Future programs will be offered online.

76th IT Manager Institute

We held the 76th IT Manager Institute at Graymere Country Club in Columbia, TN. Another great class.

institute_76_sep-2016

MDE is 16 years old

MDE LOGOOur company turned 16 this week, , , hard to believe. So many things have been accomplished and so much we still have left to do.

We have come a long way in 16 short years.

Here is a quick summary;

  • Developed the IT Manager Institute and delivered 75 Institutes in 11 countries
    • US
    • Canada
    • Aruba
    • Curacao
    • Nigeria
    • South Africa
    • Ghana
    • Tanzania
    • Slovenia
    • UAE
    • Bahrain
  • Published 15 books and written over 700 IT management articles
  • Published IT Manager ToolKit
  • Developed IT Business Manager Program (ITBMC) with Belmont University
  • Published IT Manager Institute SELF STUDY
  • Developed IT Due Diligence and Assimiltion Program
  • Created ITLever BLOG
  • Created Practical Management Tips for IT Leaders BLOG on CIO.com
  • Started Practical IT Manager Training Series (online training)
  • Co-developed the 20 Minute ITManager e-Learning training series – over 170 20-minute training sessions

Several projects are underway and will be announced soon including:

  • IT Manager Institute Membership Program
  • 1-on-1 Coaching Program
  • Enhanced level of online training

Take a look at our web site at http://itmanagerinstitute.com

IT Manager Institute #74 and #75 in Dubai and Accra

A few weeks ago I delivered our first IT Manager Institute in Ghana. The program was hosted by The University of Ghana with 21 IT managers attending. It was a great class and we look forward to returning, possibly this November.

Accra class-1

IT Manager Institute #75 – Accra, GHANA – June 2016

The 74th IT Manager Institute was my 18th trip to Dubai, a venue I like very much although the trip to get there never gets any shorter. We had a great class followed by a 2-day special event for IT Manager Institute graduates only.

Institute74_Dubai

IT Manager Institute #74 – Dubai, UAE – May 2016

I’ve been fortunate to work with hundreds of IT managers and Executives in the IT Manager Institute training program since 2003, , , and look forward to meeting many more in future programs.

IT Manager Institute headed to Dubai and Accra

We have two new IT Manager Institute classes coming up:
– Dubai (May 22-24, 2016)
– Accra, Ghana (June 13-17, 2016)

Take a look at the short video for information.

2016 IT Manager Institute training schedule

Hello and Happy New Year. 2016 will be my 14th year delivering the IT Manager Institute to managers all over the world via classroom and self study. We also have open slots to deliver the program in the US and Canada when you confirm 6 or more students. Classroom events can be delivered in 3, 4 or 5 days as desired. Contact me at info@mde.net if you are interested in hosting a class for your company or community in the US or Canada.

This year, we will deliver our open classroom programs in 3-day events. The days will certainly be full in order to cover all the material, but this gives you an opportunity to save in registration fees, time and travel expenses.

Plus, we will deliver two Advanced Institute classes following two of our standard IT Manager Institute programs in Dubai (May 25-26) and the US (September 16-17). These programs are for Institute Graduates ONLY.

CLICK HERE for more information or to download a brochure.

 

Five IT Manager Institute programs held in 2015

Five more IT Manager Institutes delivered in 2015 (3 in Dubai, UAE and 2 in the US). I was fortunate to meet some super IT managers from many parts of the world including:

Countries_2015Here are class photos.

IT Manager Institute #72 – Dubai, UAE – October 2015

IT Manager Institute #71 – Columbia, TN – September 2015

IT Manager Institute-70IT Manager Institute #70 – Dubai, UAE – May 2015

Institute69-4IT Manager Institute #69 – Dubai, UAE – March 2015

Institute_68IT Manager Institute #68 – Columbia, TN – February 2015

IT Manager Institute – 2015 Training Schedule

mike_promo2014 was a solid year with 9 more IT Manager Institute programs. We expect 2015 will also be a great year. Below is the current schedule for 2015 classes.

_Training schedule

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn more at http://itmanagerinstitute.com/training/schedule

Four more IT Manager Institute classes held

I was quite busy in the fall with four more IT Manager Institute classes. Each class was exceptional, , , memories I’ll have for a lifetime.

Here are class photos:

Institute #67 – Manama, Bahrain – November 2014
Institute67_Class

Institute #66 – Dubai, UAE – October 2014
Institute-Dubai_Oct2014

Institute #65 – Tanner Health Systems – Carrollton, GA – October 2014
Institute-Tanner_Sep2014

Institute #64 – Columbia, TN – September 2014
Institute_64-ColumbiaTN-3

Next classes are planned for Columbia, TN on February 2-6, 2015 and Dubai, UAE on March 8-12, 2015, , , hope to meet you at a future program.

Check out our 2015 training schedule at:
http://itmanagerinstitute.com/training/schedule