Learn more about Ohio University’s Online MBA with a concentration in Project Management.
Transcript
0:00:03.439,0:00:07.759
Good afternoon everyone. Thank you so
0:00:05.440,0:00:10.880
much for watching our video today
0:00:07.759,0:00:11.599
my name is Kimberly and I am the Ohio
0:00:10.880,0:00:14.719
University
0:00:11.599,0:00:16.480
online MBA program specialist and today
0:00:14.719,0:00:19.600
I have a special guest with me
0:00:16.480,0:00:20.560
I’m joined by Dr. Neil Littell who is the
0:00:19.600,0:00:23.920
head of our
0:00:20.560,0:00:26.560
newest concentration project management
0:00:23.920,0:00:28.560
so hi Dr. Littell can you tell us a little
0:00:26.560,0:00:30.400
bit more about you
0:00:28.560,0:00:31.599
yeah sure thank you very much it’s a
0:00:30.400,0:00:35.040
pleasure to be here Kim.
0:00:31.599,0:00:37.920
so uh yeah so I worked in industry for
0:00:35.040,0:00:38.399
about 15 years as a project manager and
0:00:37.920,0:00:41.040
I
0:00:38.399,0:00:42.239
ended up becoming a program manager uh
0:00:41.040,0:00:44.320
working
0:00:42.239,0:00:45.840
at a company launching new products and
0:00:44.320,0:00:48.000
and managing it
0:00:45.840,0:00:49.760
projects and doing some other things it
0:00:48.000,0:00:52.399
was my dream to become a professor so i
0:00:49.760,0:00:54.719
came to ohio university in 2014
0:00:52.399,0:00:55.680
and um yeah so when i got here i i
0:00:54.719,0:00:57.840
realized that
0:00:55.680,0:00:59.600
that I really wanted to develop and grow
0:00:57.840,0:01:00.079
project management programs to share my
0:00:59.600,0:01:01.680
love
0:01:00.079,0:01:03.359
for project management with as many
0:01:01.680,0:01:06.240
people as possible so
0:01:03.359,0:01:07.680
through that that uh that desire i
0:01:06.240,0:01:09.280
created an undergraduate project
0:01:07.680,0:01:12.080
management certificate
0:01:09.280,0:01:14.080
it just sort of grew and grew and now we
0:01:12.080,0:01:15.040
created a graduate level certificate and
0:01:14.080,0:01:17.920
we partnered
0:01:15.040,0:01:19.759
with the MBA to uh to bring that that
0:01:17.920,0:01:20.960
experience to everyone in the MBA
0:01:19.759,0:01:22.799
program
0:01:20.960,0:01:24.720
project management is certainly one of
0:01:22.799,0:01:25.520
those fields that is constantly growing
0:01:24.720,0:01:29.280
i know that
0:01:25.520,0:01:32.159
just seeing job opportunities out there
0:01:29.280,0:01:32.560
there’s a lot of them so why would you
0:01:32.159,0:01:34.720
say
0:01:32.560,0:01:36.960
a student might be interested in project
0:01:34.720,0:01:39.360
management concentration through
0:01:36.960,0:01:40.720
through their MBA that’s a great
0:01:39.360,0:01:42.880
question Kim so
0:01:40.720,0:01:45.040
you know when i think of an MBA i think
0:01:42.880,0:01:47.680
of people who aspire to be
0:01:45.040,0:01:49.280
in the c-suite doing really great and
0:01:47.680,0:01:50.640
really big things and setting the
0:01:49.280,0:01:53.040
strategy for
0:01:50.640,0:01:54.079
their their company right but with
0:01:53.040,0:01:56.799
project management we
0:01:54.079,0:01:58.560
focus on enabling that strategy
0:01:56.799,0:02:00.399
implementing that strategy making that
0:01:58.560,0:02:02.880
strategy a reality and so
0:02:00.399,0:02:03.439
for me the the project management
0:02:02.880,0:02:04.960
emphasis
0:02:03.439,0:02:06.719
and project management skills in and of
0:02:04.960,0:02:09.039
themselves are
0:02:06.719,0:02:10.800
a really great skill set for anyone to
0:02:09.039,0:02:12.720
have especially if you’re
0:02:10.800,0:02:14.560
uh with an MBA because then you’ll be
0:02:12.720,0:02:17.599
able to take all these big ideas
0:02:14.560,0:02:21.040
and the big strategy that you have and
0:02:17.599,0:02:22.560
make them a reality right so do you
0:02:21.040,0:02:24.800
think that it would be
0:02:22.560,0:02:25.920
beneficial for someone like starting out
0:02:24.800,0:02:28.000
in their career
0:02:25.920,0:02:29.280
mid-level managers or or is it for
0:02:28.000,0:02:31.360
everybody
0:02:29.280,0:02:33.360
i think it’s for everyone you know from
0:02:31.360,0:02:34.319
from working with my my undergraduate
0:02:33.360,0:02:36.480
students
0:02:34.319,0:02:37.680
i think it’s really interesting because
0:02:36.480,0:02:40.239
what i found with them
0:02:37.680,0:02:41.120
is you know project management is really
0:02:40.239,0:02:43.840
a mindset
0:02:41.120,0:02:45.599
and it extends beyond it transcends
0:02:43.840,0:02:47.680
beyond the workplace and so
0:02:45.599,0:02:49.280
i have many students who leverage their
0:02:47.680,0:02:50.720
project management skills just in their
0:02:49.280,0:02:53.040
normal lives and so
0:02:50.720,0:02:54.160
after they they go through the project
0:02:53.040,0:02:55.840
management uh
0:02:54.160,0:02:57.599
classes they realize that hey wait a
0:02:55.840,0:03:00.239
second i can apply some of these
0:02:57.599,0:03:02.640
principles to better organize myself
0:03:00.239,0:03:04.319
to be more effective in everything that
0:03:02.640,0:03:07.440
i do and so really you know
0:03:04.319,0:03:10.480
i i i really like to help people um
0:03:07.440,0:03:11.920
become better and and you know a lot of
0:03:10.480,0:03:12.959
times people just need a little bit of
0:03:11.920,0:03:15.440
help
0:03:12.959,0:03:16.879
getting uh you know across the finish
0:03:15.440,0:03:18.640
line a little bit or
0:03:16.879,0:03:20.080
figuring out you know strategies for not
0:03:18.640,0:03:21.840
procrastinating
0:03:20.080,0:03:23.920
or just being you know being able to
0:03:21.840,0:03:26.799
like okay like set some goals and
0:03:23.920,0:03:27.360
and and attack those goals it sounds
0:03:26.799,0:03:29.120
like
0:03:27.360,0:03:31.200
that’s a great fit i mean we know that
0:03:29.120,0:03:32.720
our business bobcats they are so
0:03:31.200,0:03:33.760
passionate about what they do and
0:03:32.720,0:03:35.920
they’re very
0:03:33.760,0:03:37.440
great business leaders so this sounds
0:03:35.920,0:03:39.599
like it would just take them to the next
0:03:37.440,0:03:42.159
level in terms of project management
0:03:39.599,0:03:43.840
and helping their organizations be a
0:03:42.159,0:03:45.440
little bit more strategic and
0:03:43.840,0:03:47.120
goodness knows everyone needs a little
0:03:45.440,0:03:48.480
bit more project management in their own
0:03:47.120,0:03:51.040
personal lives right
0:03:48.480,0:03:52.159
right so talk to us a little bit about
0:03:51.040,0:03:55.120
the curriculum you know
0:03:52.159,0:03:56.879
we have this very strong MBA core but
0:03:55.120,0:03:58.480
then there’s three courses with this
0:03:56.879,0:03:58.799
project management concentration that
0:03:58.480,0:04:01.840
you
0:03:58.799,0:04:03.840
will be teaching oh yeah excellent so
0:04:01.840,0:04:04.879
there’s three classes uh our project
0:04:03.840,0:04:06.720
management one class
0:04:04.879,0:04:08.400
project management two and our change in
0:04:06.720,0:04:10.640
risk management class so
0:04:08.400,0:04:12.799
project management one is really just
0:04:10.640,0:04:14.879
sort of a skeleton
0:04:12.799,0:04:15.920
back to basic sort of project management
0:04:14.879,0:04:17.199
approach
0:04:15.920,0:04:19.280
high level this is what project
0:04:17.199,0:04:19.600
management is about project management
0:04:19.280,0:04:21.199
too
0:04:19.600,0:04:22.960
i think of as strategic project
0:04:21.199,0:04:25.440
management so really
0:04:22.960,0:04:26.080
taking the the core project management
0:04:25.440,0:04:28.320
that you learn
0:04:26.080,0:04:29.759
in project management one and really
0:04:28.320,0:04:31.680
applying the strategy
0:04:29.759,0:04:33.680
to that core and then we have a change
0:04:31.680,0:04:36.080
in risk management class and so
0:04:33.680,0:04:37.199
so change and risk management are really
0:04:36.080,0:04:40.160
helping address
0:04:37.199,0:04:41.840
the high level strategy for making sure
0:04:40.160,0:04:43.919
that your projects are implemented
0:04:41.840,0:04:45.520
in the ways that that you want them to
0:04:43.919,0:04:46.639
be implemented when i was a project
0:04:45.520,0:04:48.720
manager it was always
0:04:46.639,0:04:50.400
really challenging with my projects
0:04:48.720,0:04:52.160
especially the it projects if i was
0:04:50.400,0:04:54.000
trying to implement a new way of doing
0:04:52.160,0:04:55.360
something or a new technology
0:04:54.000,0:04:57.360
and you have all these people that are
0:04:55.360,0:04:58.639
using the the current technology or the
0:04:57.360,0:05:00.320
current method and a lot of times
0:04:58.639,0:05:00.800
they’re like well why would i want to do
0:05:00.320,0:05:02.639
that
0:05:00.800,0:05:03.840
and so so the change management
0:05:02.639,0:05:06.639
component
0:05:03.840,0:05:06.960
addresses that and Kim i i should point
0:05:06.639,0:05:09.360
out
0:05:06.960,0:05:10.000
one of the things that that i did with
0:05:09.360,0:05:13.600
my
0:05:10.000,0:05:15.840
my uh those three classes is i i built a
0:05:13.600,0:05:16.960
primer in project management so even if
0:05:15.840,0:05:19.759
you can’t take them
0:05:16.960,0:05:21.759
in that order you can still jump in at
0:05:19.759,0:05:22.880
any time you can complete the primer and
0:05:21.759,0:05:24.800
it’ll set you up
0:05:22.880,0:05:26.560
for taking any of the classes in any
0:05:24.800,0:05:27.520
order because you want to be as flexible
0:05:26.560,0:05:30.240
as possible
0:05:27.520,0:05:31.759
that’s awesome that i mean we talk about
0:05:30.240,0:05:34.080
flexibility a lot about
0:05:31.759,0:05:35.199
being an online student in general so i
0:05:34.080,0:05:38.720
love that
0:05:35.199,0:05:40.479
do you find that um your coursework is
0:05:38.720,0:05:43.840
going to be like practical
0:05:40.479,0:05:45.840
or is it very academic based so
0:05:43.840,0:05:47.280
for me everything is about adding value
0:05:45.840,0:05:47.840
if it doesn’t add value i don’t want to
0:05:47.280,0:05:50.960
do it
0:05:47.840,0:05:54.240
so a lot of our our stuff is
0:05:50.960,0:05:55.199
is really applied in terms of taking a
0:05:54.240,0:05:57.120
case study
0:05:55.199,0:05:58.720
dissecting the case study discussing and
0:05:57.120,0:05:59.199
evaluating it and asking questions like
0:05:58.720,0:06:01.039
so
0:05:59.199,0:06:02.400
what should the project manager do next
0:06:01.039,0:06:04.319
and why
0:06:02.400,0:06:06.080
and so the other you know so so those
0:06:04.319,0:06:08.080
are those are really the kind of the
0:06:06.080,0:06:09.360
kind of the the deep discussions that
0:06:08.080,0:06:12.080
that we like to have
0:06:09.360,0:06:12.880
of course the lexicon for uh project
0:06:12.080,0:06:14.319
management
0:06:12.880,0:06:15.840
as published by the project management
0:06:14.319,0:06:17.680
institute is there as well for people
0:06:15.840,0:06:19.840
who want to go even further
0:06:17.680,0:06:20.960
and and maybe do some stuff with without
0:06:19.840,0:06:23.280
getting a PMP
0:06:20.960,0:06:24.000
or a different uh certification we can
0:06:23.280,0:06:25.680
help with that
0:06:24.000,0:06:27.680
as well maybe and maybe it’s a little
0:06:25.680,0:06:28.960
bit beyond the skill of the certificate
0:06:27.680,0:06:30.720
but we could we could talk about that
0:06:28.960,0:06:34.000
when when the time comes
0:06:30.720,0:06:35.919
um but yeah so so really it is more of
0:06:34.000,0:06:37.840
an applied approach to
0:06:35.919,0:06:39.120
project management and it’s about
0:06:37.840,0:06:41.759
building a tool set
0:06:39.120,0:06:42.639
you know so that when you so a good
0:06:41.759,0:06:44.479
project manager
0:06:42.639,0:06:46.240
understands all the tools a great
0:06:44.479,0:06:48.000
project manager knows which tool to grab
0:06:46.240,0:06:50.319
and what situation and so that’s really
0:06:48.000,0:06:51.520
what we’re trying to do is give people
0:06:50.319,0:06:53.520
the tools
0:06:51.520,0:06:56.240
and the context for using the right
0:06:53.520,0:06:58.240
tools and not using every tool
0:06:56.240,0:06:59.759
because that’s just as bad as grabbing
0:06:58.240,0:07:02.160
the wrong tool
0:06:59.759,0:07:03.520
for sure that that’s perfect i think
0:07:02.160,0:07:05.199
that a lot of students and
0:07:03.520,0:07:07.680
just people in general would really
0:07:05.199,0:07:09.840
benefit from not only understanding
0:07:07.680,0:07:10.720
you know the background behind it but
0:07:09.840,0:07:13.919
when
0:07:10.720,0:07:14.639
as you said yeah right so do you have
0:07:13.919,0:07:16.400
any like
0:07:14.639,0:07:18.400
last minute words for someone who might
0:07:16.400,0:07:20.080
be considering the project management
0:07:18.400,0:07:22.080
concentration versus another
0:07:20.080,0:07:23.599
concentration
0:07:22.080,0:07:25.120
follow your heart i mean if you think
0:07:23.599,0:07:26.880
about think about where you want to be
0:07:25.120,0:07:30.400
in the future and how to get there
0:07:26.880,0:07:30.960
and think about um you know a strategy
0:07:30.400,0:07:34.240
that’s not
0:07:30.960,0:07:37.120
executed is it’s it’s just paper
0:07:34.240,0:07:38.240
right and so so so think about what
0:07:37.120,0:07:39.680
where you want to be
0:07:38.240,0:07:42.000
and what you want to do with your life
0:07:39.680,0:07:42.319
and figure out if project management is
0:07:42.000,0:07:44.800
uh
0:07:42.319,0:07:45.599
is is the direction that you want to go
0:07:44.800,0:07:47.599
and if
0:07:45.599,0:07:49.440
if anyone has questions about that i’m
0:07:47.599,0:07:50.639
very happy to work with anyone
0:07:49.440,0:07:52.720
who would like to discuss project
0:07:50.639,0:07:54.319
management even more i love talking
0:07:52.720,0:07:55.280
about project management as you can tell
0:07:54.319,0:07:57.680
so
0:07:55.280,0:07:58.720
here we are awesome well thank you so
0:07:57.680,0:08:01.280
much so our
0:07:58.720,0:08:01.840
project management concentration we
0:08:01.280,0:08:05.199
start
0:08:01.840,0:08:07.199
cohorts um every three you know every
0:08:05.199,0:08:08.800
year so spring summer and fall so make
0:08:07.199,0:08:10.080
sure that you get in touch with your
0:08:08.800,0:08:11.599
enrollment advisor
0:08:10.080,0:08:13.280
if you have any further questions and if
0:08:11.599,0:08:15.039
you have very deep questions
0:08:13.280,0:08:17.360
we can also put you in touch with Dr.
0:08:15.039,0:08:19.759
Littell so thank you all so much for
0:08:17.360,0:08:21.360
joining us for this very quick video and
0:08:19.759,0:08:26.240
we’ll see you soon
0:08:21.360,0:08:28.319
great bye.