Here's a neat, short video that shows attendees sharing feedback on the 2009 Resource Planning Summit.  I was impressed with what these conference attendees had to say. Usually I am not interested in what conference attendees going have to say. I figure they were bribed with ice cream or something stronger. But there was something about their thoughtfulness that humbled me. There's no fancy footage here, but these folks are sincere, and I was genuinely, stupidly moved. I heard how resource planning can revolutionize the entire product development life cycle, not to mention project management.

Apparently everybody -- that's right, everybody -- who attended last year's Resource Planning Summit said they would come back. That doesn't happen at most conferences. At least not the ones I've been attending

Hi! This is Marti. In just a few months, I'll be going to the 2^nd Annual Resource Planning Summit in La Jolla, California, September 19-21. So what is the Resource Planning Summit?  It's a thought leadership event dedicated to gathering and distributing the freshest thinking about the most important part of portfolio management---the management of its essential resources. It is also a leadership training forum because when the leaders fail, the products are doomed. I plan to submit posts that are intriguing, curious, contradictory and informative, and I hope to learn from you and other followers.

While reading the summary of last year's conference, I came across Joe Barkai's four habits of successful companies. Barkai is practice director for IDC Manufacturing Insights' Product Life-Cycle Strategies research service, and very good at what he does. Successful companies:

• Provide accurate and reliable resource forecasting across all projects. Resources get committed early to a project.
• Predict and manage risks. Identify overcommitments before they create project delays.
• Increase agility. Respond to shortages and changes in a timely fashion.
• Improve accuracy. Align actuals against forecast, improve forecast quality; and increase cultural trust in forecasts and decisions.

As you gain ground in one area, others improve as well. What about your organization? I was intrigued when he said that the early identification of overcommitments reduces project delays. Is there a code of silence that keeps project managers from speaking up when they know things are going south?