Project Management
Project Management:
Your Key to Self-Sufficiency
By Michelle LaBrosse
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
I'd like to add another line:
And Project Management from row to row
Summer is the time for gardening, and this summer, gardening has had a resurgence. Call it eco-awareness or getting back to our roots (pun intended), gardening is more than a hobby; it's the most basic form of self-sufficiency. It also allows me to combine two passions: project management and being in the great outdoors.
That's why I started the Square Foot Garden Project in Alaska with my friends and family. The concept behind the Square Foot Garden is that anyone, anywhere can enjoy one. You don't have to have a green thumb to grow your own food; you just need a project plan and the ability to roll up your sleeves.
As I was working on the garden, I got to thinking about self-sufficiency, and I realized that Project Management has helped me to be self-sufficient throughout my life — no matter what projects I tackled.
Think about it when you have to meet a tough challenge. What always works? Taking the time to plan. Thinking. Gathering your thoughts. Setting goals and objectives. Assessing the risks. Building the right team. These are just a few of the things that you do as a good project manager.
So, ask yourself, what is keeping you from the level of self-sufficiency that you would like? Is it debt? Is it energy costs? Healthcare? Whatever it is, you can write a project plan that will help you make a change. And don't think that small changes don't matter. They do.
Here are just a few ideas to get you started. Choose a project that you have passion for, write your project plan and go!
1) Plant your own Square Foot Garden. My friend recommended a great book to me called All New Square Foot Gardening. This book really inspired me to write my project plan and get moving.
2) Get a bike and ride it whenever possible to run errands. Remember the thrill of riding your bike as a kid. Now, bikes are no longer kid stuff. If you live in an area where you can ride your bike into town, what better way to lessen your own dependence on your car and oil?
3) Make your own gifts and cards from recycled materials. I have a friend who did this for an entire year. She bought no gifts, wrapping paper or cards and made gifts with only recycled materials in her house. She got very creative with it, and we all looked forward to seeing what her gift would be at a birthday party or holiday gathering.
4) Choose a "Do It Yourself" area to learn about: plumbing, basic car maintenance, handy man or woman basics. A basic visit from the plumber can easily set you back $100 or more. If you've ever wanted to be handier, this could be a great area of focus for you.
5) Entertain the old fashioned way. Are your kids dependent on their Wii's or PlayStations for entertainment? Do you default to DVDs on a rainy day? How about bringing out some old-fashioned entertainment plans: charades, Scrabble, cards, board games? Make your family or friends part of the planning team and take turns on whose night it is to choose some low-tech entertainment. No electricity or Internet connection required.
Complete a Cheetah Action Project and Get 60 PDUs
Whether you decide to plant a garden or build a new deck, Cheetah Action Project was designed to bring the phases of Project Management to life. You choose the project and we supply the Project Management know-how that you need to get it done successfully.
Need inspiration? Click here to see some of the projects our students have completed in Cheetah style.
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Your Self-Sufficient Summer
Get started now, and let this be the summer that you became just a little more self-sufficient, and tune up your Project Management skills while accomplishing something worthwhile. Get it done!
Chief Cheetah Podcast Is Yours for the Downloading
Want to hear what Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, and Chief Cheetah has to say about Self Sufficiency? Download our podcast at http://podcast.cheetahlearning.com/podcastgen/ and hear the words straight from the Cheetah's mouth.
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About the Know How Network and Cheetah Learning
Copyright (c) 2009, Cheetah Learning. The Know How Network monthly column is written by Michelle LaBrosse and distributed to hundreds of media outlets around the world. Visit www.cheetahlearning.com for more information. You can also get your career in gear with CheetahWare, free Project Management tools from Cheetah Learning.
About the Author
Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is founder and Chief Cheetah of Cheetah Learning and author of Cheetah Negotiations and Cheetah Project Management. The Project Management Institute selected Michelle as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the World and one of only two women from the training and education industry.
Cheetah Learning is a virtual company and has 100 employees, contractors, and licensees worldwide. Michelle has run her company virtually for the past 20 years, growing it 100-fold in the past 20 years. She credits her success to using Cheetah's Project Management method to better manage people and technology, and has made it fast, easy and fun for more than 30,000 people to learn and do Project Management.