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Barb’s Blurbs: To The Moon Together
It’s been said that in 1962, when President John F. Kennedy visited NASA headquarters, he asked a janitor what he was doing. The janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” Whether or not this story is true, the message behind it is that every role matters, and each of our individual contributions…
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Barb’s Blurbs: The Pot Roast Principle
As the holidays approach, planners quietly get to work. We think through the meals, the gatherings, the decorations, and yes, even the cleanup we know is coming. We don’t always want to take it on, but our family and friends expect it. Without someone stepping in, nothing gets done until we do it. For me,…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Screen Freeze
Picture this. I’m in the middle of giving a presentation to a virtual crowd when suddenly every single person on my screen freezes. What did I do? At first, I wanted to laugh as a few people were frozen in some interesting moments. One looked like they were mid-nose pick. Another appeared to be taking…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Seven Ball Failure
This past weekend I did something completely spontaneous: I played pool. This wasn’t part of the plan. I was at a live music event, and during the break between bands we spotted a pool table just sitting there empty. So of course, we decided to play. I hadn’t played in years, but I learned the…
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Barb’s Blurbs: The Time Suck
Last week, I spent almost three full days setting up a new online shared site. Three days. For just one site. What a time suck. By the end of day two I was questioning my career path, and whether I should just run away and chase my childhood dream of becoming a professional sailor. Don’t…
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Come Up For Air
I once knew a demolition project manager whose job was to bring buildings down safely in the middle of busy cities. This is not the kind of work where you can afford to hit snooze. You have to be sharp. He used to admit that he would become so absorbed in planning details that he…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Cookies and Mice
Have you ever given a mouse a cookie? You probably have not. Well, neither have I. But if you did, you’d quickly find that one small gesture can spiral into a series of unexpected requests, along with some messiness. Sound familiar? It’s a lot like our project initiatives, where one decision leads to another and…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: Random Acts of Kindness
In 1931, Albert Einstein wrote an essay titled The World As I See It, in which he reflected, “A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of others, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same…
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Barb’s Blurbs: Installation Gone Bad
My neighbour recently had their roof replaced, but it didn’t go quite as planned. Mostly because…well…there wasn’t really a plan. Or any communication. It all began with collecting quotes. Contractors came and went, each offering a different price. Some estimates were low because they only covered the basics, while others included every possible item they…
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Tips, Tricks and Tidbits: 70,000 Thoughts
Did you know the average person has between 10,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day? I think it’s safe to say that those of us leading projects sit on the higher end of that scale, closer to 70,000 thoughts per day. Between deadlines, talkative stakeholders, and the occasional “Did I send that email?” or “Where are…
