Everyday Project Management

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

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers - he points out the key to success for any professional is spending at least ten thousand hours honing their craft.   Many people feel success is about “luck.”   Now this is a “feeling” - not a thought, not backed up by anything concrete.   Success is far and away about dedication and this “drive to completion” that successful people have is an embedded part of who they are.   The question that Malcolm Gladwell poses - is this level of dedication something that each of us can attain, or do we have some factors of “luck” that create a better situation for one person than another?

In Kyle’s situation - Kyle and his family created their own luck.   Kyle is the star basketball player for this small town, Haines, Alaska - being named the statewide MVP his sophomore year by bringing in the only state championship title in basketball the town has ever had.  In Gladwell’s Outlier’s book, he points out that most athletes are born in January. Kyle’s birthday is in November. He wasn’t born into a famous athletic family, didn’t live in a school district that was known for it’s sports prowess, didn’t have any of the precursors to “success” outlined in Gladwell’s book. Kyle’s “luck” is from consistent hard work and a drive to succeed that is palpable throughout his life (he is the Valedictorian of his high school class as well). Kyle just signed on with the division 2 basketball program at University of Alaska, Anchorage.  In 2008, UAA was ranked #4 in Division 2, had a winning season of 18 wins and 6 losses and made it to the final four of the NCAA tournament. Another good score for Kyle Fossman.

As Gladwell points out in his book Outliers, for young people to be successful in sports, they have to get more time on the court.   Kyle’s family went to extraordinary measures to insure that happened.   They spent thousands of hours coaching his high school team, found all types of opportunities for him around the country to play in leagues during the off season.  And all summer long, you can see Kyle running “Cemetary Hill” near his home in Haines, wearing a weight harness so he gets a more rigorous workout.   When 75% of the population from age 17 - 24 is unfit for military service, this shows a dedication that not many young people will undertake these days.

My deepest congratulations to the Fossman family and to Kyle - this success is not about luck.  It’s a testament to their hard work, dedication, and drive to completion.

Well, it is now the fourth day of cooking school, and I am just getting around to writing in the blog about the first day of school.  They keep us busy here from early morning to late at night.   Mostly in EATING.   Yes I am learning quite a bit about Italian cooking - which I am coming to find out is as much about selecting the correct ingredients and enjoying a fine meal as it is about cooking.   The Italians are very passionate about their food.  More than five hours every day is devoted to meals.   This explains why I am having to play late night catch up on the blog.

Oddly enough with all this attention on eating, my pants are getting looser, while many of my classmates are having the opposite problem.   WOW what does that say about my eating habits at home?   A big part of the Italian cooking class is also learning how to consume wine with every meal and not get too inebriated.   I unfortunately am allergic to alcohol.  So while most of my classmates are getting a good number of calories from the wine, I am just doing the tasting meals.  Which is lots of little portions.   And lots of time in between.  Slow eating, over a couple of hours, small quantities of food and LOTS of walking in between time.  That explains it all.

Overall the experience with Academia Barilla in Parma has been fantastic.  My classmates are primarily woman - most over 40.  Two brought their husbands.  The rest came with friends or solo.   It’s a group of woman who love to cook and have a great time.   The laughter has been non-stop.   What I love even more about it - I am NOT IN CHARGE.   If there is a problem, it is someone else’s to solve.  (I did have to get one of my classmate’s computers to work on the internet - but as a volunteer it didn’t matter if I succeeded at that or not).

We spent the first day in a lecture where we learned about the quality certifications on the foods produced in Parma and how to distinguish the real thing from the fakes produced all over the world.  Very insightful education.   Sounds like the food industry has the same problems the Project Management industry has with people presenting knock offs as just as good as the real thing (non-certified PMs vs. PMPs).   Then we went to their incredible kitchen classroom.   We were in groups of four working on the recipes for a five course meal.  For every two groups, we had a dedicated chef to help us.   One of the woman in our group was trained at Cordon Bleu (what she was doing in this class for untrained folks was beyond me).   I learned “knife” skills the first day. by our in group “expert.”   The Academia Barilla chef, Nicola, seemed fine with my knife skills but taught me some  techniques if I wanted to try something new.   I preferred his approach.   After almost 40 years of cooking,  I wasn’t doing everything wrong with the knife.  I learned more about group interaction styles and what approaches work well in a team and what don’t more than I learned about knife skills from our group’s self proclaimed expert.

One of the other woman taught me how she chops up rosemary - never really had given much thought to how I chopped up rosemary or that it even needed to be chopped.  But then she explained all the different ways she used chopped rosemary with cooking her own beef as well.  We became good friends fast - a fellow cattle woman.   Now we’re exchanging stories on installing windmills.  Maybe we woman who love to cook and are willing to travel to Italy to learn more, have more in common than we realize.   And since I am not the teacher in this group - I am allowed to have favorites.  Mary Jimmy is one of my favorites - she is an emergency room nurse.  If I ever find myself in need of an emergency room nurse near the Jack Daniels distillery in Tennessee, I will be in good hands at her hospital.  I think we need to write the definitive guide to cooking an entire cow.

I’ve made lots of other friends in class as well.   An elegant woman who on a wing and a prayer made a dramatic life change to follow her heart and start her life over in San Diego - she was as beautiful as she was gutsy.   Another was  a recently widowed full of life woman from LA.  And then there was the truffle loving  veterinarian who took copius notes.  I became fast friends with “Mom and Dad” - a recently liberated couple who sold their chain of hotels.  And by the end of the week was discussing entreprenurial opportunities with this spit fire mom-preneur from Georgia who was on the trip with her Mom.   I also got to know  two wonderful employees from Sur La Table (good move sending those two to this class).  When we reconnect with each other back in the states - at least we know we can all cook.

I’ll write more tomorrow - it’s almost 1 AM and we’re taking a boat to some island to try out various olive oils tomorrow.

By Kristen LaBrosse, CAPM

The real value of project management is not just a general consensus among professionals within the project management industry, but has been proven in a quantifiable study.

Everyone who is experienced in the Project Management industry knows the value of a PMP certification. You can sense it in the increased communication and efficiency of the project team, feel it in improved productivity in the day-in-day-out tasks, and see it in the cost savings strategies implemented and in the improved bottom line figures. But what is the real value to organizations of using a Project Management Professional and implementing PM industry standards to their projects?

In pursuit of answering this very question, PMI commissioned a three-year study on the “Value of Project Management” that looked at over 60 case studies from projects in various industries and around the globe in order to ascertain benchmarks for companies to calculate the ROI when they implement industry standard project management programs. 

A quote by Edwin J. Anders, PHD, director of Academic and Education Programs & Services at PMI, encapsulates the importance of this study very well:

“The Value of Project Management research findings have attracted special interest at our fifth biennial research conference.  This is the most definitive research ever commissioned to study the value of the implementation of project management.  The findings are expected to quantify that project, program, and portfolio managers are making significant contributions to organizations by implementing standardized project management programs to deliver projects and programs on time and within budget.  Full report findings will be published and released in October.”

This video provides an overview of the Value of Project Management study. The report not only describes the value add that Project Management Professionals provide, but also the negative effects of the lack of investment in PM development. The takeaway of his study has been deemed worthy for review by both Project Managers and Executive leaders alike in order to improve Project Management investment decision-making.

Part of this reports talks about the need for focus on continuously adding value within organizations. Companies who stop focusing on value, or think that they may be “done” with investing in PM development, have the history of actually destroying value within their organization. A continuous focus on actively providing value is crucial in order to maintain a viable company, let along a thriving one.

So what can you take away from reviewing this Value of Project Management Report? Perhaps a different view of how your own organization conducts projects, and a better idea of why an increased focus on investing in the professional development of Project Managers can add quantifiable value and results. 

Thanks for reading,

Kristen 

Kristen LaBrosse, CAPM 

I recently sat down with Sarah, a 26-year-old professional who works as an Administrative Assistant at a Financial Firm in San Diego, to ask her about her recent promotion to a Project Manager. Sarah was ready for a change in her career, and saw the opportunity for growth within her company in the project management field, so she decided to take Cheetah’s Exam Prep for the CAPM®
 Online Program to help reach her goals.  After the 3-weeks course, Sarah sat for the CAPM exam, passed, and received a promotion and a pay raise one week later.

In an interview with Sarah, I discovered why she decided to obtain her CAPM, and how she benefited from this certification instantaneously.

Q: Prior to obtaining your CAPM certification, what was your job title?

A: I had been an Administrative Assistant for 2 years.

Q: Post CAPM certification, what is your job title, and did your salary change?

A: One week after I obtained my CAPM certification I landed a job as a Project Manager and receive a 20% salary increase. 

Q: “Do you think that obtaining your CAPM has given you a hand up in your career?”

A: “Absolutely- my company is coming around to the formal PM processes, so being CAPM certified shows that I’m taking the initiative to hop on that band wagon and willing and ready for that change. Also, I didn’t have much PM experience and am trying to get my foot in the door, so taking this test showed my imitative and that I am a self-starter. It’s an great resume builder and you learn all the fancy PM jargon to boot.”

Q: What are your long-term career goals? Do you think obtaining your CAPM was a good stepping-stone in achieving these goals? And if so, how, and if not, why?

A: My dream job in 5 years is to be a successful contractor running larger than life projects.  My dream job in 10 years is to be a contractor running larger than life INTERNATIONAL projects.  I have to start somewhere- and the CAPM seemed the most logical. 

Q: What steps would you recommend other Administrative assistance take if they wished to pursue a career in PM? 

A: Put yourself out there! Tell your boss and your teams that you want to get into PM and that you want to start taking on projects and shadowing them on larger projects.  I am so grateful that so many people at my company were more that willing to give me projects and mentor me along the way.  I’d tell them to show the initiative by taking classes, reading the books, joining PMI and going after the CAPM.

 

Thank you Sarah for sharing your success story with us.  

If you are interesting in finding out more about the CAPM certification, please contact me at kristen.labrosse@cheetahlearning.com, and check out our  PM Fundamentals Certifcate Program where you can learn the basics of Project Management and obtain your CAPM certification, and get 5% off when you use promotional code CAPMsmart09. 

 

Thanks for Reading,

Kristen

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

Okay I must admit, broccoli is not my favorite vegetable, but my gosh does it grow well in my alaskan square foot garden. My daughter encouraged me to enter one of the heads into the Southeast Alaska State Fair. So, the morning of the competition, I took knife to plant, and beheaded it. Yes, whacked it there on the spot. Then with lovely broccoli bouquet in hand, went to the exhibit hall at the state fair grounds and entered it into the competition. They even supplied the lovely vase. I’m not sure what division it was in or why it won best in division - but here it is in all it’s glory. The first of the bounty from my first alaskan square foot garden.

Was it the automatic watering system, the extensive wind protection, the uncharacteristically warm summer, the thousands of worms from Uncle Jim’s worm farm, the seaweed I mixed in with the vermeculite, composite, manure planting mix? It certainly wasn’t my attention as I was not even here all summer. I am more inclined to think it might be the lack of other competitors. No one else entered broccoli. I’m not sure if this town has many broccoli fans as the main reason I grew broccoli was because it was one of the few starts left at the nursery. Late to the party and what happens - I WIN!!!!!!! YEAH. I am so proud of my head of broccoli. I might even start to like this vegetable.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

I had the lovely fortune to have the flu in late february. Several family members and I caught it after attending a cousin’s wedding in Philadelphia. Even the ones who had the “flu shot.” Since no medical personnel thought it was necessary to see what type of flu it was, it was just the “flu.” But it was the exact same symptoms as this latest ’swine” flu - complete with the 5th day relapse after feeling fine on the 4th day.

I had recently finished reading a book called “Anti-Cancer” and did some of the same remedies suggested in that book plus several others I knew about. So here is how you can minimize the severity of the flu:

1. Medical Professionals tell you to drink plenty of fluids - but the type of fluids make a huge difference.

A. Avoid sugar - according to the Anti-Cancer book - sugar feeds cancer cells. I figured it might help feed the flu virus as well. I am not a medical professional or a researcher but I figured it couldn’t hurt me to avoid sugar and it didn’t.

B. Drink a LOT of ginger root tea. I slice up fresh ginger root and boil it in water. I made a large pot of this and drank at least a cup every hour. I mixed it with decaffeinated green tea. Ginger root is a natural anti-inflammatory. Since the flu virus causes inflammation as your immune system does battle with the virus - this is very good for helping your body cope with the flu.

2. Stay positive - watch funny movies. DO NOT WATCH THE NEWS. Stay away from the work stress too. If the flu could kill you what will the work stress matter anyhow. Your job with the flu bug is to survive to go back to work.

3. Get lots of sleep - if you have small children or pets - get someone else to watch them - this is very important. When I had the flu, I was on a trip back east so my pets were under someone else’s care out west and the children were on their own trip for school. I was supposed to travel to meet the kids on their trip but the doctor implored me to just stay put for at least two weeks to make sure I got over it. The night time cold and flu over the counter medicines do well to ease the coughing symptoms so you can sleep.

4. Eat chicken noodle soup. Yup there is something that is released when they are making the chicken broth from the bones of the chicken that is anti-viral. I make my own - it is very simple. You first roast the chicken. Then you take most of the meat off and refrigerate, and toss the carcass in a large pot of water. Put in several tablespoons of whole pepppercorns and a couple stalks of celery. Let it simmer all day (you’re home and sleeping anyhow). Strain out all the ingredients. Chop up the refrigerated meat, put in a whole chopped onion and a the top half of a stalk of celery coarsly chopped. Put in about a cup of whole wheat pasta noodles and salt to taste. Eat this several times a day.

5. Eat a fresh berry salad. Fresh berries are also recommended to prevent cancer so I figured these couldn’t hurt either. I mix up strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and toss in some chopped walnuts and sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon. The cinnamon helps to regulate your blood sugar so you don’t feed those nasty flu viruses.

6. Go out for a short brisk walk in the fresh air (and stay away from other people). This might seem counter intuitive as all you want to do is sleep. But in the anti-cancer book he showed how a low level of exercise boosts your immune system. If it’s cold out, bundle up. And only walk for 15 to 20 minutes.

7. Take a hot bath - at least once a day. Put epsom salt in it as well. I had a friend who was trained as a medical professional in India and he recommended sitting in hot water to all his patients when they presented with a virus as it was his experience that elevating your temperature more helped kill the virus faster. This is what a fever is doing anyhow. I’m not sure if that works, but it does make you feel more relaxed.

The flu is not to be taken lightly - no matter what the strain. Even the “normal” flu kills over 35,000 people every year in the US alone. I made the mistake the 4th day of thinking I was all over it and could gut out an aggressive work day. It set me back another two weeks. If you have a fever and a dry hacking cough - it might be the flu. It gets worse. You then get a headache that feels like your head is in a vice. Then on about the third day your eyes start to water like you’ve been chopping onions. As it moves into your lungs, you cough like you’ve smoked three packs of cigarettes a day for decades. And all you want to do is sleep. I was all alone when I had the flu on a trip back east. I was thankful for that as usually I have pets and children to care for. I was only supposed to be there for a week - I ended up just staying put for three weeks. I started to feel completely back to normal about a month after I first came down with the flu.

I had the good fortune of being alone and not having to take care of anyone but myself. If you live with other people and they come down with the flu - STAY AWAY FROM THEM. It’s not hard for people to take care of themselves with this. And the solitude is good for their recovery. You can drop off the essentials they need but the less you can be around someone who has the flu, the less likely you will be to catch it.

by Kristen LaBrosse, CAPM

How do you celebrate Earth Day? To celebrate Earth Day, my roommate and I volunteered at the Citizens Climate Lobby booth at the annual Earth Fair held at Balboa Park in San Diego.

I became interested in the Citizens Climate Lobby last summer while I was a mentor for an intern at Cheetah Learning. One of my tasks included helping her write weekly articles that pertained to environmental issues, such as global warming, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other horrifying and interesting realities that many people do not think about on a day to day basis.

During a summer of mentoring and being exposed to the calamities that were happening to the planet, I was simultaneously exposed to a group who was hell-bent on doing something about it: The Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL). A woman in my Toastmasters group heard me give a speech about the environment one evening, and invited me to a CCL meeting. I agreed to go and was immediately impressed by the breadth and dedication of the group.

CCL operates by training volunteers to speak with confidence to their local and national elected officials in order to get important environmental issues on the Congressional radar. Members of CCL can make a difference by meeting with Congress members, launching letter-writing campaigns (to Congress or letters to the editor), and create editorials that promote various issues regarding climate sustainability. If you are interested in starting your own CCL group in your community, click here.

I have become even more intrigued in how I can capitalize on becoming green for not only altruistic reasons, but financial reason as well, through the knowledge that I have gained as a co-researcher and writer the Cheetah Power Newsletter, which encourages individuals to “Take Power of Your Power” (that is, take power of your power usages and supply), and to use alternative energy in a way that makes sense both financially and environmentally.

So, how do you celebrate Earth Day? Wear green? Ride your bike? Start a sustainable energy lobbyist group? Take a shorter shower? Research your energy rights and options? Whatever you choose to do, remember that no effort is too small.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Earth Day.

Kristen

GREAT POST Kristen!!!!!!!   When thinking about being “earth friendly” do what makes sense in multiple realms.  When I started Cheetah Learning, I didn’t like how when you went to conventional training, you got these huge binders filled with the instructor’s power point presentation.   First off, presenting a presentation off power point slides is not teaching and not much learning happens, second off, it’s a tremendous waste of paper and binders to hand out those presentations that were extremely low on content.   I set up the courses at Cheetah learning so people left with the actual skills they needed to accomplish their goals - whether it be to pass the PMP exam or to launch and run a successful project.   No binder full of paper ever helped anyone do either of those two things.   And surprise, surprise, surprise, my solutions were earth friendly too.   Most if not all the time, the right solution is the earth friendly solution as well.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

by Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

My blog sidekick, Kristen LaBrosse, CAPM opened my eyes to the fact that the Generation Y folks really are the Y-Not generation.  Why not just go for it young and get all the education and credentials you can to be as successful as you can as soon as possible.   She is meeting all types of generation Y types who live by this credo.   So I decided to give them an extra boost and created a certificate program for people just starting their careers to give them a boost into higher levels of management faster.   I was lucky when I started my career - I was an Air Force ROTC graduate and the Air Force tossed me right into a management position overseeing multimillion dollar testing programs.  I got to deal with people at high levels of industry from around the world in a unique position - as their customer.   I learned VERY fast how to move in those circles, the lingo, the look, the tools.    By the age of 25, I had enough guts and know how to set out on my own and hit a block buster success with my first business.    Yes, I had subsequent failures as I spread my wings into areas where I did not yet know how to fly - but once I learned the solid foundation of project management, I was able to easily soar with my business pursuits.    Had I known at the age of 25 what I know now, I would’ve prevented the sputtering stalls I had in my mid-30’s.   I want to give the Gen Y folks the tools to surpass my success story and that is why I created the PM Fundamentals Certificate Program that helps people just starting in their career the tools to have very fast and enduring success.   It’s a five part course that teaches you how to leverage your innate strengths, how to get your projects done fast, teaches you how to pass the certified associate in project management (CAPM) certification exam so you have a credential that shows you have the requisite knowledge for PM, and then you learn how to use your PM skills to get your foot in the door and move up the career ladder fast.   I put together the program I wish I had in my 20’s.   And best of all, it passed the Kristen test.   She liked it.  (believe me she would let me know if she thought it was lame).

What is in a name? Would your rather take medical advice from just any Joe Shmoe, or would a DOCTOR Joe Shmoe have a little more influence on you?

In our society, a title does matter, because not only does it represent a certification and a knowledgebase, but also a dedication to a profession that is quantifiable and meaningful.

So what do the letters PMP after a name mean to you? To many employers who are actively seeking to hire, these letters can mean the difference between a second look at a resume and a shuffle to the bottom of the stack. PMP Certification, which if offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), provides a clear message to potential employers of competence and a foundation of knowledge that is crucial to be a successful project manager. Due to the extensive requirements established in obtaining and maintaining this certification, the letters PMP signify much more than just a test. Prospective PMP’s have to have a certain amount of education/work experience in order to sit for the exam, and after they have received their PMP, they must take Continued Certification Requirements in order to maintain their PMP status.

So, now that you know the benefits of having a PMP, you may be more inclined to consider obtaining this certification if you have not already done so. But what if I told you that some companies today not only prefer their Project Managers to have their PMP, but REQUIRE it? This is the reality for many organizations. Requiring PMP certification makes sense for many companies who want the assurance that their employees share the PMBOK knowledge base and are committed to staying current with their project management skills.

While I have not found a list that reveals the exact number of employers who are requiring the PMP credential (if you know of such a list existing, please share!), and cannot quantify the trend throughout the years, there is a general consensus among the Project Management community, both job seeker and employers, that the PMP is becoming the new standard. So if you have your PMP credential and are maintaining it, publicize it! If you are working towards your credential, well done, your efforts will be well worth the payback.

Thanks for reading,

Kristen LaBrosse, CAPM