Week 1. The Project Managers training blog by Paul Bradley SPOCE MD

The first in our series of blogs welcomes SPOCE clients and delegates to take a look at Paul Bradley, SPOCE MDs training blog. As part of his efforts to raise funds in aid of Sense, a national charity for the disabled. Training for the London Marathon is a project in itself and Paul applies his project expertise to his favourite hobby and shows how project management training can be applied to any area of life, not just in our careers.

3rd July 2020 - Marathon day minus 13 weeks

Planning and Resourcing

I covered more miles this week than I ever have. 18 miles running and 28 miles cycling. I need to get used to this as I'll be increasing this distance over the coming 10 weeks before I taper off. I would write about the training plan, but I don't actually have one in place yet. Quite an admission from a project management trainer, because whatever the project, the plan is the backbone that enables you to manage; to demonstrate progress; and to predict completion and achievement.

I do however have a good idea about the resources needed for this project. Of course, I don't have any detail as to how much of each resource I'll need because I don't have the plan yet. But I do know that the biggest resource I will need is time. Time is a consumable resource, meaning that once it's used, it's gone. This I know only too well, as already feel that I am a little behind with time.

Another key resource is equipment. I like this resource as it gives me a great excuse to buy new trainers! However, while equipment would usually be considered a reusable resource, the trainers will be consumables. I'll know how many I will get through when I have the plan.

Then there's me. The human resource required to do the work and make it happen. By nature I am a structured person. I need to be - I've been teaching project management frameworks for 25 years. I do need a structure to keep my training schedule on track. Just like all projects, it's difficult to make up for lost time when training for a marathon. It increases the risks of injury.

So, what's my next job? I'm off to make an plan. I need to put together a schedule that includes dates, times, distances, routes, nutrition, equipment, etc. I'll have this in place by the 12 week point to help keep my progress in order.

Help the cause and get free APM training

In addition to Paul's London Marathon he will also be using his skills as a project management trainer to raise funds. For the next 2 months APM PFQ and APM PMQ (live ONLIVE virtual classroom or On Demand) will be absolutely FREE! All we ask is that you make the required charitable donation in exchange to Paul's JustGiving page. Find out more by visiting our funding page in aid of Sense charity. 

About Paul Bradley

Paul Bradley is a leading authority on project management methods and techniques. With over 25 years in the industry, Paul's knowledge and experience is respected by clients, accreditation bodies and training organisations globally. Paul has been the Managing Director of SPOCE since 2005, and is an accredited trainer for PRINCE2®, APM and AgilePM®.

He is a regular presenter at seminars, providing information on project implementation drawn from his expertise as an accredited Axelos P3M3® Consultant. He has had two books published to enhance the training and use of PRINCE2®. His training and consultancy expertise is in great demand across a variety of project approaches and due to this, he has been asked to contribute to many official publications and research forums.