Everyday Project Management

In honor of this past Sunday’s 14^th Annual International Forgiveness Day, Cheetah Learning would like to ask you: How has forgiveness improved your life?

Sometimes the choice to forgive is obvious, such as when your puppy Rex just used tomorrow morning’s board meeting presentation as a chew toy. But in life, the choice isn’t always as obvious.

Challenge yourself to forgive someone, either at work, on your project team, or in your personal life.  It isn’t as hard as you may think, because forgiveness is more about you than it is about anyone else. If you have the power to forgive yourself and others, you can improve your communication skills, sense of accountability, and progress in life.

So throw a dog a bone, and forgive someone today.

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”
-Gandhi

Check it out!

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!

Check it out!

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

Square Foot Garden May 10, 2010

This project fulfilled several requirements (i.e. it is what is known as a “robust” solution). The first requirement was to create a beautiful vegetable garden that would increase the property value. The second requirement was to increase the occupants’ capability of being self-sustaining. The third requirement was to shore up the hill to stop the effects of gravity on the pool and the other landscaping up the hill.

Project Planning & Execution

Site Selection - This project required that we build a retaining wall FIRST and then build the square foot garden beds on the top of the newly flattened surface. We choose the site right off the pool to take advantage of the existing fencing AND to help stop the gradual slippage of the pool and the surrounding decking down the hill. This site also is in full sun the entire day.

Site Prep - My cousin - Bill LaBrosse and his friend (Tom Butcher) (both masons) built the retaining wall. I know why these guys stay so thin - that is a lot of manual labor building the wall and back filling it by hand with the six ton of gravel. They spent three weeks living at the house for four days at a time working on this project 15 hours a day.

Building the Beds - This took two truck loads of material - peat moss, manure and vermiculite. We are putting in several thousand worms to have direct in dirt composting and to help with soil aeration. The worms as part of their digestion process excrete waste that is high in nitrogen and phosporus. The goal is to do minimal intervention in the soil throughout the years. The raised beds eliminate soil compaction.

Planting Prep - the vegetable selection was based on the availability to harvest, shelf life of the vegetables and resale possibilities. We selected shallots as they have a 120 day growing season, capture a pretty high market value when packaged correctly, and have a shelf life of 8 months. We also planted other root vegetables that have a long shelf life - carrots, beets, sweet potatoes. We planted pumpkins and winter squashes as well that have a long shelf life.

Protection - we selected the fencing to match the pool fencing to ensure the garden maintained the beauty of the property. The height of the retaining wall will keep out the most invasive predators in the area - the deer. We are installing wire mess along the bottom foot of the fence to keep out the rabbits and other small critters.

Project Monitoring and Control

The weather was the biggest detriment to our schedule. The guys were only rained out of working a half day. Luckily the most rain was on the three days of the week they weren’t working. Our first load of manure was real “shit,” excuse the pun. It was loaded with plastic fencing and lots of hay. We used that to patch up places in the lawn. We went to packaged manure because we really do not want weeds in this garden and with the worm plan, we are going to have very good soil for years to come. We figured the expense to get the dirt the right composition from the get go will pay off in increased yields and less maintenance for years to come.

We had a weight problem with the beds (the dirt was separating the wood) so Bill and Tom used an old deck they had just pulled up on another part of the property to make a deck between the beds. They then back filled the rest with larger gravel. It gave the garden a beautifully finished look.

Project Closeout

Will report back on the garden yield at the end of the season. All in all, this project was very satisfying as it is beautiful and will prevent any more settling of the pool decking and the other landscaping.

We have six new calves joining our full blood herd of Belgium Blue Cattle. Four cows were pregnant and two had twins - which is a WOW. The two mama’s producing twins had over 140 pounds of babies. All the cows gave birth naturally which is a very big accomplishment for this breed where most other herds the births are done cesarean. At the BBO ranch, we are all very proud of our new mama’s. For all of these girls it is their second or third live birth.

Baby Pictures of our New Calves

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP

While Kristen and Miquette have been busy traversing the country running to save Cheetahs, Monica, Jean, Barb and I have been sponsoring PMI meetings, doing keynotes, running conference sessions, and generally having a great time with our project management compatriots around the world. In between meetings, I have been perfecting my pasta making skills. On this latest trip to the East Coast, we undertook a recipe that became an epic journey to create.

Lobster, Leeks, Beet Juice Reduction over Homemade Pasta

This project started with Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook. For a week, this recipe for lobster with leeks and a beet juice reduction sat staring at me on my kitchen table from Mr. Keller’s book. It was a daunting recipe - it required steeping the lobsters, pulling all the meat out of a partially cooked lobster (no easy feat), and finishing it off by poaching it in this emulsified butter mixture. It required reducing a beet concoction to a thick syrup, blanching leeks, and a bunch of other steps we decided to skip. We also decided to skip the step to make an oven fried variety of potato chip as the starch and replace it with homemade pasta. I knew making this recipe would be a substantial effort.

Project Planning

The Pasta - I have become quite the homemade pasta snob. Only the best and most fresh ingredients. This started quite by accident when I learned in Italy that pasta just required eggs and flour. As I noted in a previous post, inspired by the 100 mile challenge TV show, I have begun milling my own flour. I found a source for durham wheat berries - the type of wheat used in pasta. I now have enough durham wheat berries to make pasta for the next decade. Also, about three months ago, my right hand man, Kent, found free chickens on Craig’s list. These chickens produce a dozen or so eggs every day. I have an abundance of very fresh eggs. However, my chickens are in Nevada, right now, I am in Connecticut. My initial supply of durham wheat berries are also in Nevada. Since I frequent the east coast for the biz - I now have a ten years supply of durham wheat berries here and a source for fresh local eggs. To make the homemade pasta for tonight’s dinner, I had to start procuring the ingredients a week ago. Homemade pasta is now a several time a week staple at my dinners (with my travel schedule, I have become the traveling pasta maker - sometimes I have to use standard eggs and semolina flour - the bane of living out of a suitcase). So the pasta was really nothing special about this dinner, but it totally made this dish.

The Sauce

This was the biggest pain in the neck pasta accompaniment I have ever made. Monica and I decided early on to take license with the Keller recipe - it was still quite a complex endeavor.

Ingredients

Blanched Leeks
2 - leeks
1 tbs butter

Beet Juice Reduction
1 cup beet juice
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
3 tbs butter

Poached Lobster Meat
3 - 2 lb hard shell female lobsters
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup half and half

Project Execution

Lobsters - this recipe called for steeping the lobsters just so they were partially cooked and then removing the meat. We are NEVER doing this again. Pre-cooked lobster meat, crab meat, halibut, sword fish, or shrimp can easily be substituted. This also called for making this butter emulsification. After hour two in the kitchen, we bagged that idea and just melted the butter, tossed in the partially cooked lobster meat and tossed in a bit of half and half - it was FANTASTIC.

Leeks - clean very good, slice thin, toss in boiling water for a minute, strain and then put in ice. When ready to use on the pasta, take a bit of the lobster butter and cream in a small fry pan. Toss in the leeks and heat.

Beet Juice Reduction - we were very worried about this as it was a stretch for us to consider this a good combo with the lobster. It was very easy to make (quite a different story with procuring the actual beet juice - we went to three health food stores before finding it). Mix all the ingredients in a sauce pan and reduce until a thick syrup. Then add the butter and let it melt into the sauce.

Plating the food - put a tablespoon or two of the beet juice reduction on the plate. Then put the pasta. Next put a tablespoon or two of the leeks, and cover with the lobster butter cream mixture.

Project Control

Most of this is timing. The meat removal of the lobster was the longest time requirement. We waited until the lobster was poaching in the butter and cream mixture before tossing the pasta in the boiling water. While one of us was removing the meat from the lobster, the other was making the homemade pasta.

Project Closeout

No need to start with fresh lobster. You can get the lobster meat pre-cooked and this would be fantastic with any white fish, crab, or shrimp.

The ingredients were fantastic together. The beet juice reduction gave the dish a nice touch without being overpowering. The lobster taste was the prominent feature with the other ingredients nice fresh accents. Maybe starting with the lobster live was worth it from a taste perspective. I am going to try this next with halibut.

"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

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

Cheetah Tip to Keep You Tops, Feb. 14, 2010. Celebrate how much love there is in your life today. Start with yourself. Identify all the things you love about being you. Then move out from there. Name what you love about the people around you, the community you live in, your career, your country, your planet. Feel the love and feel your whole self lighten up. Happy Valentine’s day.

Cheetah Tip to Keep You Tops Feb. 13, 2010 On the day before Valentine’s day, a good saying to remember is Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. If you’re in a relationship, hoping to be in a relationship with someone, or just want to let someone else know that you care about them, put a little thought into how you’re going to show that on Valentine’s day. Effort does count here.

Cheetah Tip to Keep You Tops, Feb. 12, 2010 - As you go through life, you will lose people who meant a lot to you (good friends move, relationships break up, people pass away, etc). It’s just inevitable. One way to learn from the loss (and to help you cope with it) is to figure out what you liked best about that person and make it a part of you.