Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change By: William Bridges I liked this book for the most part. The main concept that the book preached is super simple: Ending -> Neutral Zone -> Beginning The book dragged on a bit when Bridges talked through lists of tips, questions, and steps...

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The long days of summer inspire me this week. I love being able to come home after work during the leisurely enjoy a drink, relax, and think. Sometimes I read a book, sometimes I sit in the sun, sometimes I go to the park with my dog, sometimes I work...

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"Take. Me out to the baaaaaaall game. Take. Me out to the crowd." I visited Washington DC this past week and what was the most astonishing thing that I saw? How many fun league baseball games were going on at the National Mall! There must have been over 50!! It...

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When you aren't at home for a days or weeks at a time, the hotel room quickly stops become an escape from the ordinary and instead become a stuffy, uncomfortable room. The mattress, pillow, lights, and shower aren't on the settings you prefer. I travel over 50% of the time for...

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This week I'm inspired by this picture: an overrun forest with a path blocked by a fallen tree. Sometimes you feel like this, in that the obvious route is not the easy one. In your career, there can be many cases you feel like this: market competitor, money, career path....

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A resume needs to be easy to read. It needs to be simple. It needs to be fast to identify who's resume it is. That means the first thing on the page is your own name. It is the one thing that doesn't require an expert to wordsmith it to...

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It's summer! And that means mowing the lawn in a routine weekend activity. I actually enjoy spending the time outside making my backyard pretty, but like any homeowner, there is a constant struggle against.... Oh, the dreaded dandelion. It holds such fond memories as a child of blowing wishes with...

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UNDO UNDO! Unfortunately, not everything has an undo button. If you delete something, sometimes it is gone for good. If you cut something too short, you can't make it longer! I'm inspired this week by a home project that I'm working on that definitely depends on precise measurements: crown molding!...

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Documentation is one of the most essential parts of a good team and yet can also be the most time consuming. You have many opinions, tons of formatting issues, and the endless editing and upkeep of the document. It is a pain when you have better things you could be...

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I feel so inspired by this picture! It reminds me of this lavender mini donut from a food truck I bumped into in Belmar, Denver, CO. It was delicious and fluffy!! I explore a lot of different foods when I travel, and so why not explore at home too! I...

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The Richest Man in Babylon George S. Clason This was a super fast read and in my opinion, is pretty much a masked list of financial saving rules to live by. It wasn't much of a story and not my favorite book. Maybe because I'd consider myself fairly conservative as...

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Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2, my advice for scope management goes beyond defining the scope of the project. It must cover what happens if scope creep happens after the initial planning steps. If you want a project to stay on the track of success that was started, you...

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Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune By: Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. If you care about something, you'll make it happen to every detail Throughout her whole life (until age 104) Huguette love dolls and doll houses. Not...

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Today's advice is about writing it down. There is lots of writing to do during a project, but I think the most happens at the planning stage. When you are evaluating scope early on in the project, you are starting fresh. At this point, your job is not to reel...

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Okay, I'm from a microbrew hub in Boulder and Denver Colorado area so when I travel and am seeking out a beer, I want something other than a Coors that I can get, well, anywhere.When in Iowa I enjoyed the beer below, and in Ohio I tried the holiday seasonal beers of Great Lakes and Southern Tier. It's a...

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Scope creep is one of the most dreaded pitfalls of project management. It can turn any project into a late, expensive, and unhappy situation for all parties. So it's important to communicate and draw the line when you need to. I experienced successful scope management on a recent project -...

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You know the feeling. You're in charge, at the center of the universe, and you're lost. You're project has derailed. You don't know what the next move should be but you can't let your peers know that. There is a science to getting yourself and your team back on track....

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Lost to Time: Unforgettable Stories That History Forgot By: Martin W. Sandler What a fun little book this one was. The 11 short stories made it an easy read to pick up at random times to get a little bit of history. My favorite story was of Alfred Beach, who...

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Are you a micro-manager? Maybe you read my last post and thought, "Is that me?". Maybe it is a good time to reflect and determine if it is. I want to however clear up some confusion about micro-managers versus simply being detail-oriented. Making sure no rock goes unturned and everything is...

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I can't take the "On this bullet you need to change this word to this one instead." micromanaging conversations. Seriously, who can learn to do something better next time if all the feedback you get is at the "capitalization of a letter" level? Don't you want to just tell micromanagers to...

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Do you love the book reviews on this blog? Curious about what I'm reading next and why? Here is what I am up to so far in 2016. Lost to Time: Unforgettable Stories that History Forgot I'm in the middle of this one now and it's a fun read with...

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Coffee is still one of the most common beverages in the US. And it makes a great gift that you can share with friends and family at home. It's a little piece of heaven in my opinion. It is warm, invigorating, and inviting. It wakes you up and tastes delicious. And...

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I travel for business. A lot. I go through the motions of checking in, driving to the airport, parking, going through security, finding my gate, and boarding the plane all the time. I would like to think I've got it down to a tried and true method these days that...

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It's a trick question. There is no one that should stay past 5 o'clock in my opinion. Not small business owners, not "omg it broke and I'll get fired if I don't fix it" and not you. If you can't seem to leave on time, it means you have a...

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Oh meeting minutes, how you are the bane of existence. And yet every time I need you, there you are backing me up. Thank goodness for computers these days with the ability to copy paste, organize incessantly, and search every word. Yet there still must be a few tips to...

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I've been asked a lot lately about "how I know to do that" and "what the best way to start this type of project is". The truth is I know what to look for because I've done it before. I'd consider myself an expert at it. I know what pitfalls...

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David and Goliath by Malcomb Gladwell I really enjoy Gladwell's books because he weaves stories with purpose. In this book he starts with the book's title but goes on to share stories of overcoming challenges in autism, religious views, and fights for human rights. Time and time again Gladwell shows...

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I wish I knew who introduced the idea that team building activities would solve team problems. It just isn't an easy or fast way to build relationships with your coworkers or mend past tussles. What these activities are good for is for new teams that don't know anything about each...

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It's review season! That means it's time to list all of your accomplishments and make yourself look good to your boss so you can get a raise. Then, so you can prepare for the same glowing review next year, you have to review all the times you screwed up so...

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