Five Impacts of the Pandemic that Will Change How Employees Show Up for Work

By | November 16th, 2020|Agility and Resilience, Career Development, The Human Side of Project Management|

A s if preparing for tomorrow weren’t enough of an accelerant to shake things up, Covid-19 made its unannounced entrance turning the world of work upside down. Organizations that had expected their digitization efforts to withstand marketplace volatility or economic downtowns found themselves in a vulnerable state of shock while workers were forced into a [...]

How Project Managers Can Maintain Their Competitive Edge During the Crisis

By | October 18th, 2020|Career Development, Project Management Sparks|

The harrowing effects of the pandemic and self-imposed shelter-in-place (SIP) orders have caused unemployment numbers to soar reaching a staggering 14.7 percent. Over 23.1 million Americans are unemployed -- the highest rate of unemployment since The Great Depression in 1948 -- and that number continues to relentlessly soar with dubious efforts to determine when the [...]

Five Ways to Cope with Stress and Overcome Virtual Solitude

By | August 16th, 2020|Agility and Resilience, Project Management Sparks, The Human Side of Project Management|

E ven with stay-at-home orders and mandatory lockdowns in place, to say that these past couple of months has been uneventful is certainly a huge understatement. Shifting to a fully remote workforce has gained you an hour or two of time at both the top and bottom of the day only to rob you of [...]

How Businesses Can Transform Workplace Culture and Influence Social Structures

By | June 22nd, 2020|Career Development, The Human Side of Project Management|

In the wake of the Black Lives Matters movement and ongoing socioeconomic injustices, it’s critical that businesses take it upon themselves to play a larger, more hands-on role in educating employees about racial injustices in the workplace. It’s no longer enough for leaders to assume employee on-boarding checklists or annual training courses provide full disclosure [...]

Shouldering the Weight of the Pandemic

By | May 18th, 2020|The Human Side of Project Management|

The novelty coronavirus that is devastating the world, dividing nations and separating families is the same one that is strengthening communities, creating a culture of compassion and human kindness, and building resilience. These times of uncertainty and despair challenge our readiness to respond, but it doesn’t break our collective spirit of hope, empathy and courage.  [...]

Nine Reasons Why You Should Become a Virtual Mentor

By | March 28th, 2020|Career Development, Project Management Sparks, The Human Side of Project Management|

W hile lockdown has kept you from traveling the world, enjoying a meal inside your favorite restaurant, and spending quality face-to-face time with family and friends, it doesn’t have to stop you from doing good and being a great person. With the daily commute cut from your schedule and office drive-bys coming to a screeching [...]

A Smarter Way to Commute

By | February 10th, 2020|Agility and Resilience, Career Development, Project Management Sparks, Time Management|

W e live in a highly interconnected and mobile world where telecom and tech media companies are pushing into the era of 5G. This technology breakthrough enables businesses to expand their digital reach and consumers to better utilize their smartphone and mobile devices in any given location. Access to 5G provides a number of capabilities [...]

The Year of the Rat: What Project Managers Can Learn from Their Trusty Friend

By | January 29th, 2020|Agility and Resilience, Project Management Sparks|

C lever, canny and sly, rats are cunning little creatures that live among us and aren’t afraid to leave their mark. Commonly known for being optimistic and highly intelligible, rats will rarely pass up a free meal, a cozy place to rest or a great opportunity. Oftentimes, these critters are quick on their feet in [...]

Five Career Tips for Project Managers to Weather Any Storm

By | November 17th, 2019|Career Development, Project Management Sparks, The Human Side of Project Management|

J ust as the weather fluctuates and the seasons come and go, so does the economic climate for project managers. While the growing demand for project managers remains at an all-time high and project managers are seemingly able to withstand some of the most pressured circumstances and environments, the unlikely event that there are unforeseen [...]

Rakuten Optimism 2019: Digital Marketing Trends that Should Be Top of Mind for Every Marketer

By | October 28th, 2019|Digital Marketing|

Optimism is Rakuten’s largest annual event drawing a crowd of 2,500 marketers in San Francisco to discuss digital technology trends, brand building ambitions and customer experience. This one day event took place in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and featured a crowd-pleasing lineup of world-class speakers including Marie Kondo, Daymond John, Gopi Kallayil, Jennifer Fleiss [...]

Inside-Out to Outside-In: Taking Your Marketing Strategy to the Next Level

By | June 23rd, 2019|Agility and Resilience, Digital Marketing, Project Management Sparks|

The ubiquity of digital media outlets has made reaching customers more accessible for businesses. With the press of a button, companies can post a blog, make a social media announcement, cue up the nurture campaigns and run a series of paid ads to their budget’s content. However many attention-grabbing headlines, news articles and social media [...]

End of Year Review and What I’ll Bring with Me into the New Year

By | December 28th, 2018|Agility and Resilience, Career Development, Closing Out, Project Management Sparks|

Y ou made it through the high and low seasons, elbowed your way through the crowds to get those last minute holiday gifts and polished off the crumbs from any uneaten cookies for Santa, and now you’re ready to count down to the new year. While I am usually one of the first to raise [...]

How to Strategically Use Marketing Project Managers in Your Organization

By | October 12th, 2018|Business Process Improvement, Change Management, Project Management Sparks, Project Planning|

I n the developing age of digital marketing and transformation, the role of a marketing project manager is oftentimes misunderstood and underutilized across organizations. Very few companies understand the value of this multidisciplinary role and how to fully utilize their expertise and function within marketing departments. As such, few companies invite the opportunity to explore [...]