So You Think You Want to be a Project Manager

So You Think You Want to be a Project Manager?

I ran across an online discussion recently that posed the question: What would make you quit your job as a project manager? What would make someone not want to be a project manager? As I considered this, it didn’t take long for things to come to mind. I got to thinking about my students’ and …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Project Management Lessons Learned During Jury Duty

Project Management Lessons Learned During Jury Duty

Part 2—Communicate Complete Project Scope  In Part 1 of this jury duty blog I discussed how, when called to serve for jury duty, I had no idea that so much of my time would be spent waiting for something to happen. I compared this wait time to what many of our business stakeholders experience waiting …

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, PMI-PBA, CSM

Elizabeth Larson, PMP, CBAP, CSM is a consultant and advisor for Watermark Learning/PMA. She has over 35 years of experience in project management and business analysis. Elizabeth has co-authored four books and chapters published in five additional books, as well as articles that appear regularly in BA Times, Project Times, and Modern Analyst. Elizabeth was a lead author/expert reviewer on all editions of the BABOK® Guide, as well as the several of the PMI standards. Elizabeth also enjoys giving presentations, and her speaking history includes repeat keynotes and presentations for national and international conferences on five continents. Elizabeth enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, theater, and spending time with her 7 grandkids.

Staying Fresh - Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions

Staying Fresh – Three Keys to Growth in Everyday Interactions

 August makes me think of lots of things: hot summer days, lemonade stands, and one of the most popular topics in the media this time of year, the summer slide. I’m not talking about the summer slide like the one you’d see at a swimming pool. I’m talking about the “slide” of students who fall …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Preach What You Practice

Preach What You Practice

 An acquaintance was talking a few days ago about a company function at which a functional group had been brought together for purposes of learning, bonding, and growing as professionals, presumably to benefit themselves and the organization. But when someone asked the CEO a question during the Q and A section of her presentation to …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

The Real Positives and Negatives of Working Virtually

The Real Positives and Negatives of Working Virtually

Developing our new course, Getting Real Results from Virtual Teams, has me poring through resources and reflecting on my own experiences of working virtually. There are, of course, many types of virtual work environments and circumstances, just as there are many reasons why workers work remotely. There are also many passionate advocates and critics of …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

The Under Promise-Over Deliver Trap

The Under Promise-Over Deliver Trap

“We are scheduled to arrive 17 minutes early,” announced the pilot before takeoff on a recent flight. “Excellent,” I said to myself.  Then I got to wondering if it really was. In fact, I wasn’t sure quite what to make of it.  Does that mean we’re going to be early or does it mean we …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 2

The frustration of multitaskers was the topic of my last blog, in which I reminded readers of two things most of us already know: 1) Our brains really don’t allow us to mentally think about two things at once, and 2) Most of us are not able to sustain our attention on something for more than …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1

Virtual Meeting Challenges: Stop Fighting the Multitaskers, Part 1

During the Q and A following my recent webinar, Offsite and On Board, most questions pertained to challenges around people multitasking during conference calls and online meetings. Evidence of people multitasking during virtual meetings includes the tap-tap-tap of keyboarding, silence when asking for input from someone, and the steady drip of “Could you repeat that …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

Back To Basics with 007

Back To Basics with 007

James Bond’s Troubled Project Recovery I wasn’t consulted about the inclusion of the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, on the list of contenders for an Academy Award for Best Picture, but if I had been I would have been most enthusiastically supportive. It’s a troubled project recovery adventure like none I’ve ever managed!  This Bond …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete

What’s Done is Done, Not Just Complete

Last month, I was driving through a major highway construction project when my passenger commented how excited she was because she’d heard that the project was nearing completion and would be finished before year-end.  I took a quick gander at the site and responded that I was sure whatever source she’d heard that from must …

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP, PMI-PBA, BRMP

Andrea Brockmeier, PMP, CSM, PMI-PBA, BRMP is the Director of Project Management for Watermark Learning. Andrea is an experienced trainer, facilitator, speaker, and project manager, with over 25 years of business experience. Andrea oversees certification and skills development curriculum in project management, business analysis, and leadership. She has been a speaker at IIBA® and PMI® conferences and is an active volunteer. She enjoys practicing what she teaches and has a steady stream of projects that she manages. Andrea is highly committed to partnering with her clients through projects, consulting, and training, and seeks to make every engagement enjoyable as well as valuable.