PMI Atlanta is pleased to announce June's Volunteer of the Month – congratulations, Donya Sabaghi!!!

For the past several years Donya has served on the Industry Forums Committee for the PMI Atlanta Chapter. She has served as the Operations Manager for the Agile Forum where she zealously and seamlessly organized two years of successful events. She has been a steadfast and invaluable volunteer who helped with the forum during several job transitions, and as a result, one of her roles were actually found through the forum. Her previous success has led to her taking on the new challenge of Program Manager for the Agile forum. Undoubtedly, with such a laser like focus on engagement, she'll continue leading the Agile Forum to be successful and efficacious for the PMI Atlanta Chapter.

Moving forward, Donya looks to help as many project managers as possible learn more about and better understand Agile methodologies. She's a current Scrum Master with a passion for learning and "CANI", Constant And Never-Ending Improvement. So much so that she's currently studying and pursuing the PMI-ACP certification. A true consummate professional striving to grow and gain more knowledge so she can then provide valuable knowledge transfer to the members of our PMI Atlanta Chapter, how outstanding and altruistic is that.

Although Donya loves leading all things project management in the corporate world, in her leisure time she enjoys leading an active and healthy lifestyle. She achieves this by hiking, working out and her new hobby of choice, bike riding. In addition to being active she's also a bit of a "foodie", she loves food and enjoys cooking and trying out new cultural dishes. Donya's vast knowledge, passion for learning, knowledge transfer and éclat of volunteering with PMI Atlanta are all the qualities and then some that comprise this month’s “Exemplary" VOM".

by Mike Ososki, PMP, Public Relations Committee

Not bad for an introvert. From Accountant to Engineer to Project Manager, and presenting to us as a Motivational Public Speaker, Mr. John Stenbeck encouraged the room full of PMI folks that we, too, can be leaders. As John proclaims, “If I can do this, so can you!”

Mr. Stenbeck’s credentials are impressive: PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, CSP, Founder of GR8PM, teacher, Agile practitioner, best-selling author of 3 books, Keynote speaker with 50+ dates/year, a big name client list, plus guesting on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and Oprah Winfrey, all combine well for a highly credible first impression. He also had one of the coveted “Manage This” coffee cups.

In Monday’s Dinner Meeting, John cited F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real), acquired before age 10 (the “age of reason”), as a primary culprit inhibiting us from being all we can be. He encouraged everyone to step into that kind of fear, to grow and get through it, and to persistently challenge ourselves to keep stepping out. Success is deeply personal, and magic begins where comfort ends.

John’s two biggest heroes are his dad and Jim Rohn. Mr. Rohn virtually invented the modern category of personal and professional development. One of his students was Anthony Robbins. And his dad, a very successful businessman, asserted, “If you’re afraid of it, do it twice!” Aristotle shares relevant wisdom, too: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

The recommended goal is not perfection, but rather a statistically significant shift, thereby significantly enhancing the probability and likelihood of success. As a business analogy to your project management, the oft-cited Southwest Airlines is an excellent example how to align frameworks and improve processes. After a Gap Analysis, they determined to reduce on-ground turn-around time and to improve being on-time. Then the magic happened: Less cost + more sales = higher profit.

Written by Lasondria Hill

PMI Atlanta’s July Healthcare Forum attendees were treated to a unique presentation, focused not just on project management but on the value delivered by the project. The speaker for the session was Jeff Ely, Process Improvement Manager at Philips, who provided compelling examples of how project managers can add value to their projects.

Jeff is responsible for deploying Lean methodology across Philips’ Alpharetta-based Customer Care Solutions Center. During his 26 years with Philips, he has been a Field Service Engineer servicing MRI, CT, and Nuclear Medicine scanners, as well as a CT Remote Service Engineer and Modality Performance Manager.

Jeff began his presentation by asking attendees, “How do you define value?” Jeff explained that Lean defines value as something that:

• Transforms the product or service.
• Customers are willing to “pay” for.
• Must be done correctly the first time.