Everyday Project Management

Four years ago I read the book called Chi Walking - www.chiwalking.com. I have tried the technique without really grasping the concepts.   In April of this year, I suffered a painful shin splint from walking.   I had a series of keynotes and needed to fix the problem pronto so I wouldn’t be limping on stage.   It took three weeks to heal it and multiple trips to a masseuse, chiropractor and acupuncturist.

For long term risk management on my mobility, I wanted to learn a more effective way of walking.   I remembered the Chi Walking book and found a class on their website in July that would fit into my schedule.

Katherine Dreyer has put together a phenomenal training program.   I’m not that athletically inclined so learning new skills that involve my body doesn’t come naturally to me.   In ten hours, Katherine managed to teach 12 of us the skills to start on a path to a safer, healthier way of walking.   Katherine and her husband Danny have made their life focus to understand the bio-mechanics of walking and running and to effectively teach it to others.   The Chi Living team has also assembled a fantastic train the trainer program and have licensed teachers all over the world.

The Chi Walking technique focuses on engaging your core muscles to move you forward.  This way you don’t suffer over use injuries in your feet, calves, knees, quads, or hips.  So you can stick with a walking program for more miles and many years.  The additional benefit you also trim down your middle - something that just seems to keep spreading as you age.   You learn to use gravity to help you instead of hurt you.   And the technique in and of itself is a meditative practice as you have to focus on your core - a focus point in most martial arts practices - including Tai Chi.   You turn the simple act of walking into a calming, anti-aging exercise.

What I really liked about the Dreyer’s Chi moving techniques is they allow for you to be a beginner and move into this gradually.  I have worked with a variety of personal trainers in my life.   Most left me feeling like I was just not cut out for their level of physical endurance performance requirements.   With Katherine’s style and philosophy - you gradually work your way into this in a focused, gentle, and consistent way.  You start where you are, no judgment.  Even if you perceive you have physical limitations - the techniques can be adopted gradually over time and actually have you get past those.

Considering I walk several hours a day to move myself from points a to b to c, I am very thankful the Dreyers created a technique that would enable me to maintain life long mobility.   Here is the my summary mind map of the class.

Cooking school boot camp ended yesterday.   And I’m still in Italy.   I head home on Sunday.   I figured it might be nice to have some unscheduled time after the culinary immersion to just hang out in Italy.   I didn’t leave the room until 1.   Went to a little Tratorria a block from the hotel.   And had a lovely 84 year old gent sing us an Italian love song.   Boy do I like a country where I am treated like one of the treasures from God instead of in the US where I’m treated as if I have some type of self-discipline disorder for not being a perfect size 8. In Ominvore’s Dilemma, Michael Polen says the US has a nationwide eating disorder.  After being here - where these folks eat and eat and eat - all natural, locally raised foods, prepared with no additives,  I completely agree with Mr. Polen.   We aren’t getting fatter and fatter in the US because we don’t have any self-discipline.   We are getting fatter and fatter because we are purchasing crap products with too many preservatives and additives that help the food manufacturers increase the shelf life and shelf stability of their products, but that are literally killing us.   Spending five hours a day in the company of great people, enjoying great food and great conversation is the way to live - not running from one meeting to another gulping down whatever food you can quickly get.   The US doesn’t just have a national eating disorder, they have a national living disorder.

What is odd is in the US I am pretty much invisible - a standard middle age, rotund short woman of average looks.  It’s very strange - I am very well known in my field.   Pictures of me appear in all our publications.  Many people claim they know me.  Yet when they see me in person at meetings, they ignore me - like I don’t exist - until I go up and introduce myself.   Then it’s as if - oh my god, this PM “big wig” is standing here in front of me.   When five minutes earlier, they just blew me off.   Yes we have a problem in the US of what we think “successful” people should look like.

But because of way I look, people actually treat me nicer here.   I am reading the book Heat by Bill Buford.   In his book, he mentions a restaurant in a town just south of here called Zibello and a restaurant there called La Buca.  We had our tour guide Melanie make us a reservation there for tonight.  We were warned the woman who runs the place Mariane was a force of nature sometimes prone to storms, but the food was GREAT.  

Carey practiced her Italian all afternoon making sure she had the basics down so we would do nothing to cause bad weather with Mariane.   However, when we got there, we
were welcomed with open arms.   Mariane, just loved us.   She showed us her “cantina” - with all her salami’s, cheeses, proscuitto’s, and wine barrels.   She had her son-in-law wait on us since he spoke very good English.   We were treated like royalty.   Maybe she doesn’t like the skinny US reporters who visit her?   She was very nice to us.

The big adventure with going to La Buca was just getting there.   We had not ventured out in the car since we got here.  And getting here was a very disorienting experience.   We left for La Buca right as it was getting dark, and it was raining.   We made it there without getting lost - and had an hour to drive around.   So for another adventure we decided to gas up the car.   At the station, we couldn’t figure out if the car took diesel or regular.   After much discussion with the gas station attendant Fabio and his friend Stefano, I decided to google the make and model of the car on my Iphone - both guys looked at each other and said Google - SI, Google and were nodding their heads up and down.   Very funny - yes the answer was on google - it took diesel.

One last day in Italy before we head back to the States.   I think I might find some type of cooking school in residence back here where I can come live for a couple of months.   Who would not want to be where you are just totally loved for who you are - instead of being dismissed by the general population since you don’t live up to some ideal of what others think you should be?    I love the Italians.

I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t like truffles until I came to Culinary boot camp in Italy.   Which I guess is a good thing - god knows I don’t need anymore expensive habits.  However, I did have a very good time discovering just how much I did not like truffles.   We started out the second day of cooking school with an adventure to go hunting for truffles with Francesco and his truffle sniffing dog Leah.   This required an hour drive to the countryside.   And a half mile walk to their fenced in tree farm.  Truffles grow around the base of the trees and they can harvest them from September to February.   Only people who have passed a truffle exam can go get truffles and this was Francesco’s family’s private truffle tree farm.

After truffle hunting, was luuuunnnnnccccchhhhh at a local restaurant.  EVERYTHING we were served had truffles in it.  Lunch is no small event here - it lasted over two hours.   I think I learned more how to socialize over long meals in this class than how to cook italian food.

We got back to Academia Barilla in time to start cooking lesson number two - this was at 5 PM.  We proceeded to start preparations for a five course meal - which included, what else - TRUFFLES.   It appeared that some of my classmates were not faring so well from the rich lunch of cream laden truffle trifels.   So, I deviated from their menu and pulled out my ginger root.  YES, I traveled to Italy with my own ginger root.   (See post several down on my recovery kit for the swine flu).    It was a round of ginger root and chamomille tea for all.   Our teacher chef, Nicola, didn’t seem too excited that I had hijacked one of the burners and a pan for my concoction, but when he learned that it would help him get over the latest bug his two year old brought home from nursery school, he appreciated my efforts.   I turned my classmates onto the ultimate cureall of the ancient world - ginger.   Oddly enough, I could not find ginger root at the local grocery store.

Dinner was a very cool pasta ravioli like thing (I can’t for the life of me remember the name) that had an egg dropped in the middle, guinea hen in truffle sauce (we got to use a blow torch on that fowl),  polenta with a truffle cream sauce (yuck), and some almond biscotti for dessert.   I’m sure there were a couple of other courses in there - but they obviously weren’t that memorable or I would’ve remembered them.   I might have remembered if we ate before ten PM.  This dinner was another two hour affair.  By the second day of cooking school, I was getting to know my classmates VERY WELL.   Luckily - I really like these folks.    It was starting to feel like Culinary boot camp - second day - Truffle Hazing.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

Scot Nichols - the Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Learning Concepts , and I do a weekly radio show that is broadcast over short wave radio worldwide at frequency 11885 every Saturday and Sunday. You can also hear it streaming over the weekend at www.wrmi.net. You can hear past shows Power Learning radio shows at http://podcast.cheetahradio.com/podcast/.

This week’s show - show 29 - is on how to create your own rules for learning. As part of that show to illustrate how to discover your own rules for learning, Scot and I explored our own unique rules for learning.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

I am considering using cooking to help people develop project management as a habit. I’ve often wondered if you become a good cook because you’re good at project management or if you become a good project manager because you’re good at cooking?

There are five phases to every project - initiation, planning, execution, control and closeout. Every meal or dish you create is itself a project - you get an idea for what you want to make (you initiate it), you have to figure out the ingredients and equipment, go procure anything you need to prepare the meal, and figure out when and where you’re going to make it (this is planning), then you have to prepare the meal (this is project execution), then you have to make sure it tastes like you wanted it to (project control), then you assess how you can make it better the next time (project close out).

I have found time and time again, that the more successful people are with the smaller projects of their life, the more likely they will be successful with the larger projects of life. So it just makes sense to teach people how to be more successful with the smaller projects of their life - like cooking.

For the first attempt to teach project management with cooking, I am going to revisit a concept I posted several days ago on flu remedies, my recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup.

Project Initiation is the first phase of the Chicken Noodle Soup Project.

In initiating the Chicken Soup Project, I wanted to do a bit of research as to just why Chicken Noodle Soup has been a cold and flu cureall for centuries. I had my trusty intern - Erica research this. Here is what she found:

We have all heard that when we are ill, a bowl of chicken noodle soup is a comforting remedy. Chicken noodle soup has a long history of relieving symptoms associated with various illnesses. During the 12th century, healers began recommending ‘the broth of fowl’ to their patients. Also around this time, Rabbi Mosche ben Maimonides, an Egyptian Jewish physician and philosopher, wrote about the many benefits of chicken noodle soup. He used chicken soup to treat a variety of illnesses including respiratory problems like the common cold.

Present day researchers have set out to determine whether or not chicken noodle soup actually does have medicinal uses. One pulmonary specialist, Irwin Ziment, M.D., who is also a professor at the UCLA School for Medicine, found that chicken soup contains contains an amino acid that is similar to a drug called acetylcysteine that is prescribed for respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis. This amino acid is released from the chicken when it is cooked and heated. Another pulmonary specialist who has spent time studying the benefits of chicken noodle soup is Stephen Rennard, M.D. He is the chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Rennard found that chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties. Colds and respiratory illnesses are many times caused by inflammation from neutrophils (inflammatory white blood cells) that travel to the bronchial tubes. Rennard used a chicken noodle soup recipe from his wife’s grandmother to show that neutrophils were less likely to accumulate when chicken soup was added.

Chicken noodle soup is also a useful cold remedy because it contains bacteria and virus fighting ingredients including garlic and onions. Garlic is a natural antibiotic for which the body does not develop resistance. Onions contain an anti-oxidant called quercetin that also acts as an anti-inflammatory.

Even though chicken noodle soup is not a cure for a common cold, it has been proven to alleviate many symptoms that come along with a cold. It keeps you hydrated, can clear your nasal passageways, and acts as an anti-inflammatory.

To read more about the research conducted by Rennard, you can read the entire study at http://www.chestjournal.org/content/118/4/1150.full

To learn more about the health benefits of chicken noodle soup, you can go to the following websites:

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/12/14/does_chicken_soup_have_healing_powers_004.htm

http://chetday.com/coldfluremedy.htm

After I had my curiousity sufficiently satisfied that Chicken Noodle Soup was a good thing to make and a good recipe to share with others, I got about planning how I would make it.

Project Planning - to make the chicken noodle soup I had to do a number of preparations - like I would for any other project.

Make sure I had all the ingredients:

Whole Chicken
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 quarts of water
2 tsp iodized salt
2 tbs whole peppercorns
2 tbs butter
1 bunch of celery
1 large onion
5 cloves of garlic
1 cup dry whole wheat egg noodles

Use the correct tools to reduce risk and improve the quality of the final product

1 roasting pan
2 pot holders
Oven pre-heated to 450 degrees
Apron
Cooking safety glasses
4 quart stock pot
Clean cutting board and sharp carving knife

Set my schedule and budget. Usually I make chicken noodle soup from the leftovers from a roast chicken meal so the cost of the extra ingredients are minimal. The most important thing though is the schedule as to develop the most savory broth. I usually let the chicken carcass simmer on very low heat overnight. So making chicken noodle soup definitely is a “project.”

Project Execution - here are the steps I take to make Chicken Noodle soup:

1. Roast the chicken - clean and dry one whole chicken, sprinkle it with pepper and place it in the roasting dish. Put roasting dish in the pre-heated 450 degree F oven. Cook at that temperature for 15 minutes then turn temp down to 350 degrees F. This sears the skin keeping the interior meat moist. The chicken is done when you can easily pull the drumstick off the chicken.

2. Remove most of the meat off the chicken carcass. Either serve the meat for dinner, or cover and put into the refrigerator - you will use it later for the soup. Toss the chicken carcass and the roasted skin into the 4 quart stock pot. Fill enough water to cover the chicken carcass.

3. Put the whole peppercorns, the salt and three whole stalks of celery into the stock pot with the chicken carcass. Cover and put on low heat overnight or for at least 5 hours.

4. In the morning or after 5 hours or so, strain the chicken broth, Keep the liquid and discard the bones, peppercorns and celery stalks.

5. Put in the refrigerator until you return home from work or after 5 or 6 hours. The chilling allows the fat to rise to the surface where it’s easier to skim off to make a lighter soup.

6. Chop the celery and onion into small 1/4 inch pieces. Saute in 2 tbs butter until the onions are translucent.

7. Put in the chicken broth. Crush the cloves of garlic and add them in the chicken broth.

8. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the noodles. Cook until the noodles are done.

9. Dice up the remaining chicken to 1/2 inch bite size pieces. (this is the chicken you pulled off the chicken before making the broth that you refrigerated). Put at least 1 cup of it into the soup.

Project Control

Salt to Taste - everyone’s taste for salt varies so it’s better to let people spice up their soup on their own. Tabasco sauce in the soup is also good.

A big part of cooking (and project management) is quality control. It starts with getting high quality ingredients, having the caliber of tools that help you create better results and using techniques that provide a higher quality outcome. The more you do both project management and cooking, the higher quality output you create. And when you combine the two, in the spirit of creating a high quality product, you get better at both.

Project Closeout

At the end of a meal, I review how I did and if I should do anything different the next time. One time, I put yams in my chicken noodle soup - they were an over powering presence. I have found the same with carrots. This is why I just stick with onions, celery, garlic and noodles.

For this go round with my chicken noodle soup - I was just showing my intern how to make it and we were testing out the idea of creating a video around this as well. I learned, that usually I make chicken noodle soup more as just part of making a roasted chicken dinner and doing it as a demonstration project - I ended up with a LOT of left over chicken. I am going to use it to make chicken salad for lunch tomorrow.

The soup came out GREAT - we served it with whole wheat saltines.

Carey Earle has captured the top trends facing us in business now. She was a guest on our Capitalize on The Recession radio show today. On that show, we explored how these trends can be used by project managers to capitalize on the recession. Here are the top ten trends we explored on the show: Economic Slim-Fast, Whole life living and healing, Entertainment as escapism, Back to the basics, Novel perks, DIY, The Full Monty, Generation G, Redefining Community, and ECO-Buzz.

See more on Carey’s Top Ten Current Trends.

Listen to the Capitalize on the Recession Radio Show to see how Project Managers can capitalize on the recession using these trends.

by Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

Where is the good news on the recession? Lets look two people doing well and what is it they are doing:

My brother - he is a salesman for a technology company that sells products into a wide variety of technolgoy companies. He is one of their top performing sales guys because he knows how to use the products and he knows the customers. There is absolutely nothing slick about this guy - he is just a technogeek. But what is unique about him- he is quite willing to get on a plane and travel all over the country to teach his customers how to use the high end tech equipment they purchase. They let a couple of sales guys go who just weren’t performing as well as him - but he got their territory. Why is he doing well - he is creating a lot more value for his customers than other people who were doing the same job. This guy is steady eddy - his main commitment is to doing a good job for his customers. He hasn’t kept jumping jobs to go after more and more money. He became the best at what he does to create exceptional value for his customers.

My friend Randy who is an Electrician. Randy is a poster child for “who moved my cheese.” Eighteen months ago when the higher paying lucrative commercial electrical work was decreasing, he started going after the longer duration, lower paying government contracts. Those contracts have expanded as his firm has completed their project work on time and in budget. His business is booming. I work with numerous contractors on my various building projects - most have really missed the concept of getting the job done for what you actually bid in the time you said you would. And they wonder why they can’t find work. The ones who deliver consistent exceptional value like Randy are busy.

The new rules favor those who create value for others, FAST. Doing what you said you were going to do, at the price you said you were going to do it for, in the time you said it was going to take you - yes this is what people will still pay for these days. And guess what this is considered - doing good PROJECT MANAGEMENT.

Here are two mind maps that show the old rules and the new rules. There are opportunities a plenty for people willing to create value for others, FAST. But you have to be prepared to play by a new set of rules. These rules are really not new for many of us though who refused to play by the old rules - I suspect those of us who have been playing by the new rules for years are the ones who are actually doing well in this recession. I did a podcast on this for Cheetah Learning’s February Know How Network Column called When Passion Meets Recession.

by Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

I love working with younger people because their brains work so fast and are so nimble.   My older brain sees patterns over years of seeing the same patterns - and the question I have is am I really seeing the patterns that exist, or am I seeing the patterns I think should exist because of years of neural network formation that is creating that observation?   By hanging out with young people - like my sidekick Kristen on this blog, I get to experience seeing new patterns of the world through their younger brains and younger eyes.   And I egotistically think they get the benefit of my wisdom garnered through more years of experience (this may or may not be true - my years of experience may also handicap me in some regards).  

When I created Cheetah’s Accelerated Exam Prep system 9 years ago, I recognized that as we age, we can create new, enhanced abilities of mental processing, but it takes a focused and concentrated effort.   I get reminded of this daily by hanging out with the young adults in my life.   Here are some things you can do to improve your mental processing capabilities at any age:

1. Feed and Care for Your Mind - this means the foods  AND the information you are ingesting.  For foods, moderation is the key.   Proteins and complex carbohydrates are the best.   Sugar and caffeine are the worst.   A little bit (very little bit) of caffeine can get the creative juices flowing, but the amount that most people consume these days will impact abilities of both short and long term retention.   Your brain needs a little bit of sugar for optimal functioning - but the type of sugar is key.  The sugars in complex carbohydrates and lower glycemic fruits and vegetables are the best.  With information, variety is the key.   If you get all your information from a few sources, you aren’t doing your brain any favors.  Get your information from a wide variety of sources and teach your brain to grasp the bias inherent in whoever is creating and delivering the information.   Become a detached observer of the information you are consuming.  If you find yourself getting emotionally involved in what you are hearing, reading, or seeing, you are reinforcing neural networks that will keep you stuck in conditioned responses to information.   You are literally creating physiological responses that over time become habits.   These habits can impact your decision making abilities as you age.   Remaining a non-reactive, detached observer that takes a more investigative view on what you’re reading,  hearing and seeing keeps those neural networks forming and performing instead of storming and norming.  

2. Stay Curious - look at the world with beginners eyes.   Yes as you age, you may want to take the easy route and do things the way you have always done them.   When you get stuck into this type of patterned response, you tend to get the results that you have always achieved.   This works when the world keeps working the way it always has.   But one of the fun things about life on this planet, is just when we think we have everything figured out, all the rules change.   By staying curious, you get to try out new ways of reaching for your goals.   The benefit of doing this is that as you age, you actually develop skills and capabilities that you didn’t have when you were younger.  For example, if when you were younger math was a challenge, you might find it a lot easier to learn math when you’re older.   This leads to our next tip….

3. Learn something new - like radically new.  If you were very bookish when you were younger, work on learning new sports.   The kinestetic kick will get your neural networks firing.   And you might be amazed at your uptake time.   If you struggled with math - try your hand at learning math.   You might be pleasantly surprised how easy it is with an older, more world seasoned mind.    Every year I work on learning a new type of technology, a new sport, a new game, a new skill that might have once even scared me.   

4. Control your emotional states.   Numerous studies are showing that even mild depression can accelerated mental decline.   Excessive stress over time can lead to depression.   You don’t need to run off to your doctor for the latest prescription in anti-depressant drugs (if you do have a serious medical condition by all means see your doctor).   This is what you can do to stave off mild depression - daily exercise - at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day can keep the blues at bay.   If you find yourself getting down, get up and move.   The more you move, the more you’ll be on your groove.  Avoid alcohol, and refined sugar.  Yes they might make you feel good for a short period of time immediately after you ingest them, but they will cause a longer term crash.   Eat smaller more frequent meals of high protein, complex carbohydrates.  And evaluate your life philosophy - yes we do all get to pick our life philosophy.   The one that I like best is one that looks at all of life’s events as learning experiences that help me become better, stronger and happier.   If you get into a tiff with someone, forgive yourself and them fast,  make up and move on.   When you carry the emotional weight of anger and grudges towards others or past events, it’s harder to interact in the present for what is really there and create a more uplifting future for yourself. The more you can control and choose your emotional states, the more power you have to increase your mental processing capabilities.

5. Give it a Rest - your brain needs time to rest and relax.   I learned a technique last year called “purple breaks.”  Joy Baldridge who’s dad started an accelerated reading company almost 50 years ago created this technique.   When your eyes are in complete darkness they release some type of chemical into your brain that gives it time to unwind.   What a purple break is, is a 10 to 20 minute break you take lying down with an eye mask covering your eyes.  Just let it go - if you get an idea that comes into your mind, watch as it comes and goes.   While relaxing, if you have a hard time letting ideas go, focus on your breathing for a short period of time.   Sometimes when I’m incredibly amped up, I’ll listen to an audio program of binaural beats that push my brain into a more relaxed brain state (you can get these at www.bwgen.com).   Also, take time to get the optimal amount of sleep for you - this will vary with the season and with your age.   Be wary of folks who give you prescriptions for how many hours of sleep you need - get enough sleep for you - you know what this is.

2009 - The Year of the Ox

The Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Ox is one of the 12-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This is a GREAT year for the year of the Ox.   The Ox represents calm, hard work, resolve and tenacity.   While the mass media continues to spread doom and gloom news about the dire straights of our economy, I will  celebrate and live the year of the Ox.   Like most other folks on the planet who have lived at least four decades,  I have experienced numerous adverse situations.   It is through my desire to work hard and persevere that I developed my strengths that have helped me be successful today and will carry me through tomorrow.

To help Cheetah Learning students learn how to become as strong as an Ox this year, they can start off the Chinese New Year by:

A.  Taking a  survey to find out how we each uniquely use and develop our strengths. For people who take our survey, they can take a free 1 PDU class on doing risk assessments to reduce the risks that reduce their strength.

B.  Listening to a podcast that explores how we can become as strong as an ox by building up our unique strengths in difficult times.

C.  Downloading our  free “Worryometer” tool to help handle the worries of life.

D.  Getting a discount for our 30 hour Online Project Risk Management course.  Contact Rita Soto for more information.

The official name for my New Year’s resolution of becoming energy self-sufficient is now Project Energy Independence. My energy improvement activities are well under way with replacing hot water tanks with tankless hot water heaters and swapping out high wattage light bulbs and appliances with low wattage ones. The next phase of my energy independence project is to assess the opportunities I have at each site for creating my own power. Here is what I’ve found so far:

Nevada - great opportunities for solar. The only constraint is space and money to purchase solar panels. For both properties there I can meet all the electrical power needs with solar panels. On one property, there is sufficient space to put up several wind mills and consider installing a geothermal heat pump system as well. I created a free Solar Energy Smart Start Guide based on what I learned evaluating solar opportunities in Nevada - you can get it at www.cheetahpower.net.

Connecticut - good location to do a geothermal heat pump application. Favorable legislative climate for creating my own power from solar - so I’m looking at putting up both solar shingles and some ground mounted solar panels.

Alaska - I have numerous energy generating opportunities on the land up there. I might be able to power the entire town with the wind out on my point. I was looking at a potential hydro power application using rain catchment - it would only produce about 1/3 the electricity for a small home - but it may not cost that much to implement. And I have some great geothermal heat pump opportunities as well.

If you would like to see the details of what I have been evaluating - visit www.cheetahpower.net