Michelle LaBrosse Blogs

You have always been highly intellectual and technically savvy, and you may or may not have donned a pocket protector or two in your day.  Today, flaunt your talents, and celebrate Embrace Your Geekness Day, the Cheetah Way.

We invite you to discover your inherent strengths and challenges as a Geek by taking Cheetah’s 5 PDU PM Strength Builder course. Use promo code GeeksRock2010 to receive $30 off.

Achieve ultimate Geek status when you take Cheetah’s 20 PDU Virtual Project Teams. Use promo code VirtualGeeks2010 to receive $90 off.

You can also embrace the geek in you by taking any Cheetah Certificate Program to improve your PM skills.  Use promo code CertifiedGeek2010 to receive 10% off any of these courses.

Don’t wait! The promotion ends on July 23^rd.  Embrace your Geekness today!

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Discover why the Federal Government is Embracing PM Geekness, as well, with your free download: Federal Government Mandate for PMP®.

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Uncross your wires with the Cheetah Negotiations for Career Building course, and take advantage of our one-day special offer and pay only $99* today for this $625 course (a $526 savings) when you use promo code TinCans2010.

In this 10 PDU course you will learn to be clear in your communication so that you can fully exploit your talents and potential and get what you want FAST.  This course includes a negotiation styles assessment that will help you understand your negotiating strengths and challenges.

We are donating 25% of all proceeds of today’s sale to the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to promoting advancement through the application, development, and promotion of project management.

This deal is only valid for the first 100 registrations, so don’t wait- save today!

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Dr. Laurie Marker at the Cheetah Learning booth

“The Cheetah Conservation Fund’s mission is to work with all stakeholders within the cheetah’s ecosystem to develop best practices in research, education and ecology and create a sustainable model from which all other species, including people, will benefit.”

We had our third, and final (for this year!), Run Ror the Cheetah event in Phoenix, AZ this last weekend. This event topped off our Cheetah run adventures very nicely with yet another group of wonderful volunteers and runners. We were invited to a bag stuffing party with the volunteer group the evening before the race, and were offered tasty food and delicious wine that had been specially created to provide funds for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF).  Together, we successfully stuffed 750 gift bags for the runners.

Even though we stuffed 750 gifts bags- more people showed up on race day than expected. This delayed race time- but lifted spirits.

We were especially excited to discover that Dr. Laurie Marker, who founded the CCF in 1990, would be attending the Phoenix event. Dr. Marker has won numerous awards in the past for her expansive humanitarian and conservationist efforts. This year Dr. Marker was awarded the prestigious 2010 Tyler Environmental Prize because of her excellent conservationist leadership abilities and the real progress that she is making through environmental restoration.

CCF's Livestock Guarding Dog program has been saving Cheetahs in Namibia since 1994

It was interesting to learn that the Cheetah Conservation Fund focuses on many different aspects related to the Cheetah’s survival, such as the Bushblok Project which aims at removing an invasive bush that is destroying the Cheetahs habitat, while at the same time creating jobs for the Namibian people. CCF also protects Cheetahs by placing Livestock Guarding Dogs to help farmers keep Cheetahs away from their livestock without having to resort to guns.

Meeting Dr. Marker was very inspirational. Her conviction and passion for this cause brought people of all ages together to support an animal that lives halfway around the world in Africa.   Dr. Marker made that cause, and that passion, real and relevant for every volunteer and runner that was present.

A Cheetah enthusiast. She is making a difference.

I’d also like to give a big THANK YOU to Claudia for organizing this event, and a thanks to the entire group of volunteers for making the Run for the Cheetah- Phoenix, such a memorable experience. Find out how you too can help at the Cheetah Conservation Fund website.

“The earth is not ours; it is a treasure we hold in trust for future generations.”

Thanks for reading,

Kristen

"Did you know... "

This weekend, Cheetah Learning participated in the second part of the three-piece series of the Cheetah Conservation Fund sponsorship (Including a run in Portland, Chicago, and Phoenix) – The Run for the Cheetah, Chicago style.

This had been my first time to visit Chicago, and while we experienced some of the tourist’s “must-dos”, such as a boat tour down the Chicago River and into Lake Michigan (I would like to give a shout out to our fantastic tour guide, Mallory- you rocked!), and indulged in mouth watering Chicago Pizza (Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta would be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a perfect world…), the highlight of our trip by far was the Run for the Cheetah event that we participated in this past Sunday.

"...That there are only about 12,000 Cheetah's Alive Today?"

My coworker, Miquette, and I arrived at the race early to set up our Cheetah Learning stand-up signs and to register for the 5k race. As we set up our signs, we realized that the windy city would not be gentle on us – our large “stand-up” signs refused to… stand-up. We put our MacGyver hats on, and after using some skillfully tied balloon strings, which were strategically anchored to anything that was static- we managed to have semi upright signs that only swayed slightly in the gusts of wind. Chicago has rightfully earned its name, “The Windy City”.

The Chicago group of Cheetah Runners was a massive conglomerate of gusto, exuberance, and Cheetah face paint. From small children to… not so small “children” ;-), everyone was there to have a good time, and to support a very good cause.

"... That Cheetah's can run over 60 mph?"

"...And that YOU can help get them off of the Endangered Species List?"

There were signs posted throughout the race that displayed facts about the Cheetah, and reminded us of why the run was so important.  My takeaway from this event is an ever growing conviction that a few people can make a significant and important difference in this world when motivation is combined with action.

Thank you Kris and Jayne for organizing this event, thanks to the entire group of volunteers and sponsors of the Run for the Cheetah- Chicago, for making this event ROCK! Find out how you too can help at the Cheetah Conservation Fund website, and come visit us at the Cheetah Run in Phoenix.

Thanks for reading,

Kristen

This past weekend Cheetah Learning went to Portland,   Oregon to support our fellow Cheetah’s- and we’re not talking about the fast paced career savvy folks that take our Cheetah Learning courses and move on to conquer the word.

We’re talking about another type of Cheetah, the kind that runs at speeds of 70 mph, the most specialized member of the cat family, and the kind that are now endangered due to a population decline of at least 30% in the past 18 years.

Why have Cheetah’s become endangered? The reason that the Cheetah population has lowered so drastically is threefold:

• Human encroachment
• Shortage of prey sources due to human hunting
• Increased deaths of cheetah cubs due to predation by lions, hyenas, and other carnivores that are

What is being done to reverse population decline?

• Education for live stock farmers about how to reduce cheetah/livestock interaction
• Teaching farmers how to avoid conflict by monitoring breeding schedules.
• Teaching farmers to use dogs to protect livestock rather than guns.
• Promoting stronger enforcement anti-poaching laws and habitat restoration

How can you help? Visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund site to see how you can help.

In an effort to help reverse the cheetah population decline, Cheetah Learning sponsored the Portland Run for the Cheetah, and will be sponsoring the Chicago (April 11^th) and the Phoenix (April 25^th) Run for the Cheetah events.

Our experience at the Portland Cheetah Run was very exciting. We arrived at the run at 6am sharp to a pitch-black field and a downpour of rain. We found our very cheery Cheetah Run host’s in rain jackets and sipping warm java, and ready to help us set up our booth.

I ran in the 8k run, which helped to warm me up and get me energized on that chilly morning. The run took us by a river, and twice around the Portland International Raceway, and brought us back along the river to a finish line full of cheering cheetah supporters.

As the morning went on, the clouds became less ominous and there was soon just a small drizzle. We couldn’t have asked for a better crowd there, from enthused Cheetah activist to little tykes in cheetah jump suites, the mood was cheerful and upbeat throughout the morning.

We look forward to the next event – Chicago here we come!

Projects come in all sizes and forms, but sometimes a project experience can be a complete nightmare. How can we prevent reruns of horror movie projects?  One of the best ways to avoid PM Horror is to learn from others past mistakes, so that we can pull from a collective lessons learned and increase our chances of having a successful project and avoiding common (or not so common) pitfalls that can lead to project disaster.

To help celebrate Alfred Hitchcock Day, which is this Friday, March 12th, we at Cheetah Learning are taking a collection of PM Horror Stories. If you have a PM Horror story that you would like to share, please go to our PM Horror page to find out how you can participate. Just by entering your story, you will automatically receive 5% off all Cheetah courses or Certificate Programs.  You will also be entered to win free PDU courses. We will post the stories (only the stories of the people who AGREE to share on this blog) here on www.everydaypm.com to increase the project management communities collective lessons learned.

Cheetah Learning would like to wish you a PM Horror Free Day!

Thanks for reading,

Kristen