Professionals And Social Media: Interview With Josh Nankivel

Having a voice as a professional online might become a skill we all have to master, sooner or later. That is why I am starting a series of interviews with professionals that are active in social media to learn from those who do.

We start with Josh Nankivel from PMStudent.com, where he helps new project managers achieve their career goals.

B: What is the topic you write about?

J: “I write about topics that new and aspiring project managers are interested in, with their perspective in mind.  Some of these include project management fundamentals, career topics like resume writing and interviewing, how to gain experience, education, etc.”

Josh and me

B: How did you come up with this topic? (or, why this topic?)

J: “I was a professional trainer for years before getting into project management.  I have always loved teaching people and helping them acheive their goals.  After I became passionate about the discipline of project management, it was a match made in heaven!”

B: What triggered you to start online? Was there a specific cause?

J: “In the beginning…  I started blogging primarily out of a desire to document my own thoughts about Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain project management, and formulate applications to my daily work.  I hadn’t even been reading any blogs, I had just discovered what they were actually. 

I remember thinking, “Hey, this is cool!  I’ve got to check this out!”

I figured that if I wrote my thoughts down on a public blog it would be a good way to hold myself accountable and then I could reference it whenever I wanted to.  I never really thought anyone would end up reading my blog when I started, but I didn’t care back then either.”

B: What are the main questions you are trying to answer?

J: “There are 3 primary questions I try to answer for my audience:

• How do I become a project manager?
• How do I deal with people on projects? (soft skills)
• How do I use process and tools on projects? (hard skills)”

B: Is your current topic different from a while ago?

J: “Yes, my writing has evolved over time to be much more focused.  At first, I just wrote about whatever came to mind, very broad and general project management topics.  As I began to realize who I really wanted to reach out to and help, my focus shifted.  Since then I have created several newsletters and training courses geared specifically towards new and aspiring project managers, and my writing, podcasts, and videos are all focused on that group of people I want to help.”

B: Why are you active online?

J: “The primary reason for me is the opportunity to interact with people who are interested in the same things I am interested in, and at the same time knowing that I am helping a large number of people all around the world with specific problems they have.  I especially love helping people through challenges and those emails I get when someone achieves a major goal or milestone in their project management career.”

B: How did your online activity affect you?

J: “Here are a few key benefits I’ve gained.

• Broadened Perspective – I have been able to interact with people from all over the world and many who disagreed with my approaches and had great approaches of their own.  I have learned so much this way and gained some exposure to project environments outside my own country.
• Relationships – There are so many great people that I have met through my online activity.  It has opened doors for me to build relationships with other people who do similar work online and for volunteer opportunities as well.  My life would look much different today if I had never started blogging.
• Recognition – I won’t lie, it does feel good when lots of people like what you are doing.  It’s crazy to think that now I get books mailed to me all the time by publishers, software licenses from PM tool vendors, etc.  I don’t have time to review them all, but I’m more shocked that anyone values my opinion and presence that much to seek me out.  It’s all good for the ego and has helped me realize that most people undervalue their abilities…anyone could be doing what I’m doing.
• Professional Development – I’m a better project manager, communicator, and teacher because of my activities online.  The process of writing and editing has made my email communication at work much better.  I’m more focused at work and can cut to the meat of issues much more quickly and get them resolved.  I am more proactive than I have ever been, and a better mentor than I have ever been before.

The great thing is, it just keeps getting better!”

B: Is your online “voice” different from your “real” persona?

J: “Not much, if at all.  That is one thing that has changed over the years too.  At first my writing was very academic in style.  Now I basically write and record podcasts, video training, etc. as if I’m sitting next to someone and mentoring them in person.  That is one trick I use, to picture a specific individual who I am communicating with because it makes it much more natural and sincere.

The only caveat is that I don’t communicate my feelings on unrelated topics.  Just like everyone else, I have a lot of opinions about “the human condition” and what goes on in our daily lives.  There have been times where I almost wrote about unrelated topics on my blog, but for the most part I stick to the topic areas that I’m known for.  I wouldn’t want someone to be put off because we disagree on some unrelated topic; I want to help as many people as I can, regardless of where they are from or what their world views are.”

B: What was/is your biggest challenge being active online?

J: “Managing my time.  The amount of people asking me questions via email or inside my pmStudent e-Learning program has exploded over the years, and yet I’m adamant about handling each and every one of these personally and as quickly as possible.  If you send me an email, you will get a response, period.  As far as I know, I’ve responded to every question I’ve ever received.

Over time I’ve learned how to use the questions as the basis for blog posts, videos, podcasts, and my video training courses.  This has helped, and I even think I’m receiving less email – hopefully because I am getting better at answering the common questions up-front.”

Check out his blog at PMStudent.com.