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Are Happy Project Managers a Myth?
Before entering the field of project management, I genuinely had no idea what the field was all about. Someone suggested I’d be a good fit for a project management position where I was working and encouraged me to apply. I promptly researched the Project Management Institute (PMI), found the contact information for a local chapter,…
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Show Some Love to Your PM
Many project managers can face challenges as soon as they start a project. Projects in a Coffee Shop Recently, while stopping for coffee at Tim Hortons, or “Timmy’s” as we affectionately call it here in Canada, I overheard three individuals ahead of me in line discussing their work. Wearing hardhats and safety vests, it was…
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The Paper Planner
It’s that time of year to purchase your 2025 planner! During a recent visit to Staples, I noticed the front of the store filled with a variety of paper planners. You might wonder, “A paper planner? In 2025? Who still buys those?” Many people still use paper planners. I see them in client offices on…
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Barb’s Blurbs: Project Superheroes
I’ve been into superhero shows lately. Some shows feature great heroes, while others are not so great. When I was younger, I only watched what I remember as good superheroes. I grew up with icons like Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, and The Hulk (showing my age here). And for those Marvel fans out there, yes, I…
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Is Project Management Really Worth It?
Is it worthwhile to invest in project management for your company? Absolutely. I’ll share a brief story to illustrate. We had a client who provided compliance training for large corporations. They were rapidly expanding, and needed to migrate current and future clients to a new platform. They brought us in to lead this project due…
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Barb’s Blurbs: A Toy Story
Recently I chatted with a project management colleague from a large corporation that manufactures children’s toys. It’s the kind of company where the job interview might include creating a digital puppet show on the spot. Despite having a large staff with various specific roles, they mentioned that in the past, the company struggled to accomplish…
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PM Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Parachute In
I’m afraid of heights. In my early twenties, two longtime friends invited me to join them jumping out of a plane, and I politely declined. More recently, my daredevil grandfather, while he was in his early 90s, skydived with my brother alongside him. I clearly didn’t inherit the gene that drove my relatives to jump…
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PM Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Get Out of Project Hell – Part 2
My article from a few weeks ago, Get Out of Project Hell generated a lot of comments from my readers. So I decided to write a Get out of Project Hell – Part 2. How Do We Get a Project Back on Track? The questions my readers mostly asked were how to quickly and safely…
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Spinning in Circles
This past weekend, I volunteered at a non-profit event and the person hosting the event told me they felt like this. Constantly spinning and bouncing from one idea to the next, they had a million tasks to manage but couldn’t process them all. Throughout the evening, they began to trust in my ability to help…
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What Are We Doing?
As humans, we don’t always know what we’re doing. Have you ever encountered a Bouncing Betty or Bouncing Bob on a project? You know the type. They jump from one thing to the other. Which leads them to become easily distracted, shifting to another thing without knowing what to do with those tasks either. This…
