Written by: Mike Ososki, PMP

Presentation Overview 

Beth Raebeck Hall has been moving and shaking music, entertainment, and leadership-related activities for decades. As an educator, producer, publisher, founder, and board member, she has been involved with publicity, PR, and a variety of creative content.

A stalwart practitioner, Ms. Raebeck Hall is well-qualified to present on servant leadership. One concise description of the aim of this concept is to “enrich individual lives, build better organizations, and create a more just and caring world.” Robert Greenleaf’s book, The Servant as Leader, is an excellent resource. It begins first with a natural feeling of wanting to serve, then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.

Beth contrasted traditional leadership, where “the main focus is to improve the business position of the organization in the market,” to the servant model that “ensures that followers are growing in all areas—professional, knowledge, autonomy, health and physical development.”

Servant leaders listen first and speak second. They strive to take in the full 360 view of ALL people, internal and external. Beware of being hindered by fear (don’t devolve into miasma) and pride (don’t be self-important or arrogant). Be humble, but remain passionate. Everyone has treasures and gifts

Takeaways

• Servant leader characteristics include being a great listener with empathy and healing skills.
• They are self-aware and gifted stewards with excellent foresight.
• They can conceptualize and persuade, with commitment to growth and building community.

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Entertainment Forum on Thursday, December 16th at 6pm

About PMI

Atlanta Chapter serves the Project Management Community in Metro Atlanta, and we're an active resource to corporations, community and government agencies throughout north Georgia. With over 5,000 members, PMI Atlanta is among the top 5 chapters in the world. Our professional expertise span across industries; we’re the professionals building healthcare information technology systems, the engineers developing smarter public transportation, and the planners growing our communities more efficiently.

Written by Kay Abikoye, PMP

Presentation Overview

On August 25, 2021, the PMI Atlanta Governance Forum hosted speaker MC Moore, Team Agile Coach at Agile Thought. Mr. Moore delivered a presentation centered around effective agile project management and agile governance while navigating ambiguous business landscapes in organizations.

Referencing his experience working with various global organizations such as IHG, SunTrust, and Home Depot, Mr. Moore conveyed the guiding principles for agile governance along with recommendations for adoption into existing organizational processes. The concept of “outcomes are better than deliverables” fit into the ideals of governance within an agile context and while managing agile transformations.

Another element of agile governance discussed within Mr. Moore’s presentation included understanding the strategic objectives of the organization and conveying them to subject matter experts on every project. Agile teams focus on delivering better business outcomes by undergoing a mindset shift from documents and work products to discussion. Mr. Moore emphasized that organizational leadership must focus on team’s practices and shared positive intent which will lead to successful project delivery. Input from subject matter experts during agile transformations provide an opportunity for metric development and a true understanding of agile principles.

Takeaways

• Agile project management is a flexible and iterative approach
• It’s not about the plan, but the outcome
• Mindset shift from documents to discussion
• Team input during agile transformations lead to successful project delivery and adoption of agile methodologies

Link to Presentation

Link to Presentation

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Governance forum on October 27, 2021.

Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar

Written by Deborah Dillard Johnson, MBA, MPH, PMP

Presentation Overview

Carl Pritchard, founder of Pritchard Management Associates, presented “Moving on to Plan C and other contingencies”. With many real-life examples and a pinch of humor, Carl outlined a strategy for risk response planning beyond Plan B.

While Plan A, is characterized by Prevention and Plan B, by Active Acceptance or Mitigation, Plans C and beyond are reactive. These are the incidents that result in a loss of human lives, public image or are outside of acceptable tolerances. Plans C and beyond are instances of extreme crisis, or when the planned primary risk response does not work and a work-around is necessary.

Recognizing that the problem cannot be fixed, workaround strategies ease the impact by altering the outcome, changing the perception to something more acceptable, divorcing the situation altogether, or salvaging what is left.

Takeaways

• You’re not going to be judged by what caused the crisis but by how you respond.
• To handle risk well requires complete transparency.
• Address fears of internal stakeholders head-on. Be clear and honest re: what happened and the strategy of what will happen moving forward.

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta AEC forum on September 14th, 2021.

Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar

Written by Mike Ososki, PMP

Presentation Overview 

On Thursday, June  17, 2021, Dana Hylton Calabro, Director of Data Services, Atlanta Ballet was the Keynote Speaker for the Entertainment Forum.  Dana says her presentation title could also have been “Using What You Got and Figuring What Else is Out There.” Judging by her Atlanta Ballet story during the pandemic, this is what she did—and is continuing to do well!

Events virtual and streaming via Zoom, hybrid and live in-person with reduced capacity. Sounds familiar? Ye olde pivot prevailed through Dana and Atlanta Ballet’s forced transition in this direction. Powered by (12) new Zoom accounts, additional hardware and multiple spreadsheets, they worked it out so people could purchase and enjoy a goodly variety of online experiences. This includes classes, performances, donations, and even boutique products. Later, thank goodness, outdoor performances were also added, because the dancers missed YOU. The magic happens when their ballet family is with them. Plans are happening now to reunite in the theater.

In the season like no other, they learned to dance in masks, work behind Plexiglass, and rehearse via Zoom. While remaining socially distant, they found a silver lining: performing works created by fellow dancers.
See more at the Atlanta Ballet’s YouTube channel ... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvA-nG1uY8vbffJC9eCspQA

Takeaways

• Work with what you have, and grow your resources.
• Adorable little kid ballet dancers make it all worthwhile.
• Spreadsheets are invaluable.

Next Event

Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Entertainment Forum on Thursday, September 16th, 2021

About PMI

Atlanta Chapter serves the Project Management Community in Metro Atlanta, and we're an active resource to corporations, community and government agencies throughout north Georgia. With over 5,000 members, PMI Atlanta is among the top 5 chapters in the world. Our professional expertise span across industries; we’re the professionals building healthcare information technology systems, the engineers developing smarter public transportation, and the planners growing our communities more efficiently.