Archive for July, 2008

Feeling the pinch? Would a Kick help?

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

It’s no secret that many individuals and business are feeling the economic strain of a weak US economy. As a result, companies have begun to reexamine their business processes with a critical eye on efficiency. In a world of deflating property values, a weak dollar and $4 per gallon gas (yes, Europe, we know you think that’s next to free), companies are definitely counting the pennies.

When a company’s financial resources decrease, other tangible and intangible resources seem to dwindle as well. The workforce may become smaller. Employees might be more isolated than usual. The company may be too focused on stopping the monetary bleeding to plan for the future. (more…)

When will your project end? Place your bets.

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

For decades, polling has been the typical manner of predicting an election’s outcome before it takes place. This year, there is a new player: futures markets.

If you visit Intrade.com today, you’ll be confronted with an opportunity to buy election futures for either Barack Obama or John McCain. To buy a share of Obama, who is currently ahead in the polls, you’d have to pay $6.51, while investing in McCain would only set you back $3.16. Either way, if you picked the winner, you would get a $10 payout. Every day, these prices are updated to reflect the bettors’ views of the race. You can also bet on a slew of other issues, such as whether the US economy will go into a recession in 2008 or whether California voters will pass a ban on same-sex marriage this fall. (more…)

Introducing the Project KickStart blog

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Greetings to everyone interested in project planning, project management and management in general. This includes professional project managers and individuals who like to approach the world with a plan; it also includes long-time Project KickStart customers and those who have never heard of our software.

Today, we are pleased to launch our blog, which we hope will be fresh, interesting, and a forum for helpful and insightful conversation.