Keeping track of paperwork in a sprawling organization requires focus and tools. Docupace offers these suggestions on their blog.

Source: 3 simple ways to drive compliance, visibility and oversight

A couple of years ago I made a significant move in my career. I transitioned from youth ministry to a career in project management. While there are differences, I’ve learned that there are stark similarities in the two paths. One of those similarities is that Professional Development is a must have ongoing commitment. A minister can tire with constant pressure to produce while working with people to get the job done… guess what? It’s the same or more so with Project Managers!

My journey has allowed me to achieve PMP Certification with Project Management Institute. I also am privileged to be a member of PMI’s Central Indiana Chapter. I’m on the team that has acquired speakers for our upcoming Professional Development Day, and I can’t wait for it! It’s the largest leadership gathering in Indiana focused on Project Management.

It is a full day of exciting Key Notes and informative break out sessions. Those who attend will enjoy interaction with vendors, career development, networking opportunities, and Project Management education.

I’m gonna be there… look me up if you are too!

I usually note my PMP credentials after my name, especially in professional settings. I haven’t met many project managers who don’t know what it means. Admittedly, it’s pretty entertaining to hear suggestions from the unfamiliar on what it could possibly mean. The PMP is one of several gold standard certifications that the globally recognized Project Management Institute provides to project managers who meet stringent requirements. PMI.org documents offer a number of reasons for acquiring certification. This is all reason enough to join PMI, but I have a few other reasons.

My affiliation with PMI as well as the education I gained in preparing for the PMP Exam has equipped me with amazing tools of the trade. Thus far in my career, I haven’t had the opportunity to use some of the tools I gained, but having them has opened my mind and my view of successful project management. I use a certain tool set currently and I am confident that I have a strong foundation for whatever project management opportunities may come my way. PMI isn’t a distant governing body, the organization provides additional tools, contemporary news in project management, and has resources for just about any question one can ask about managing a project. The global aspect is assuring as well in our growing global economy.

I believe the most powerful benefit I have received is also joining my local chapter for PMI. I’m a member of and volunteer for the 1,400 member PMI Central Indiana Chapter. In addition to the power of PMI the chapter offers a way to put “boots on the ground” if you will. I enjoy working with a host of other volunteers for the chapter under the guidance of the board of directors. Amazing opportunities are offered to network with other professionals and to gain education in the field of project management. Members gain training and Professional Development Units when participating (required for maintain certification). Some of the activities of the chapter include:

1. A monthly dinner meeting with a professional speaker and networking activities.
2. An annual Professional Development Day offering speakers and workshops throughout the day.
3. Monthly in-depth workshops and professional training sessions.
4. Opportunities to serve our communities through social service.
5. Networking and many willing to help others with career advice.

It took a lot of commitment, but I don’t regret becoming PMP certified – in the least. I also benefit greatly from our local chapter. If you have interest in connecting with project management professionals in Central Indiana, find PMICIC on Facebook or Twitter or visit our Website.

To help smooth a transition to a paperless office, firm leaders should be ready to counteract common misperceptions and offer proactive strategies. Here’s how.

Source: Realizing the Promise of the Paperless Office, At Last | Financial Planning

Not having an investing background, when I came to my current position I found the learning curve to be quite steep.  I serve as the project manager for an outstanding firm in my home town. My projects are either dependent on technology or are aimed at improving our technology. While I am tech savvy, I learn about what I don’t know a lot of the time. Working with the fantastic folks in our Technology Department has taught me a lot and answered a few of my long standing questions about tech people and helped me sing a different tune about it.

What do those people do all day, anyway?

The easy answer is that they are our tech support. That means they keep computer stuff running, fix stuff when it’s broken, and continually explore and seek to improve our technology. That can be actual computer hardware or software, which continually evolves and constantly has issues that must be resolved. Also I don’t think most people know that my techy friends are often Cyber Warriors, fending off attacks on our sites – from capable people around the world with nothing better to do with their time. When the need arises, it’s not optional.

Our team problem-solves a lot during their days. Our dealings as a financial firm rely on several highly specialized technology vendors. In addition, our office functions depend on software you see in most offices and homes.  In my experience, the hardware and software vendors tend to promise very high, and deliver really low and slow. Our tech team spends a lot of time balancing working with vendor issues as well as helping the over 200 offices in our field throughout the country in addition to supporting our growing in-house office staff. It can be a lot like the kid’s game, Whack a Mole. Knock down one and two more jump up.

Can’t they be more prepared?

I admit it, I have thought it over the years. Not saying everyone is always ready, but the nature of tech support is that every situation is new. It has to be thought through, figured out, mitigated, and then tested – and almost every scenario is different. So, I’ve learned to just let that question go.

Why don’t they help me immediately?

I have to say, I’m impatient and want what I want when I want it. I would go further to say I need what I need when I need it. I hate being relegated to turning in a request ticket or “shoot us an email” or those stupid chat sessions.  But until my partnership and interactions with our tech team, I didn’t realize that 100 emails can land in one of our folk’s inbox easily in a morning. The phone sometimes rings off the hook with the same type of issues. Each issue usually takes a long time to solve. Sometimes what is asked of my geeky friends seems pretty reasonable – and sometimes it just isn’t. If your tech folks don’t answer quickly, it’s possible they are goofing off, but I would bet that in our “lean” world – that there just aren’t enough horses pulling the cart. So yelling at them is sortive like yelling at the grocery store clerk about the prices. They didn’t set’em and they can’t change’em…. if you need to yell, yell at whoever can do something about it.

The truth of the matter is that my friends in technology are neither appreciated highly – or screamed at as much – until something doesn’t work. It’s a lot like the electricity. People don’t think about it much, until it fails – and then it really becomes the focus.

Needless to say, I’ve changed my tune when it comes to my friends in technology support roles. I’d like to hear other people’s thoughts about this topic.

I spent the majority of my early career as a youth and family minister – and loved it. There comes a time to make a change. I wanted to make the change in a positive fashion that would be beneficial to all those I interact with. That being said, my world together with my upbringing and background simply did not intersect in the investment sphere. In the last couple of years I have transitioned from a role in ministry to a career in project management. My encounters with investing have had mostly to do with premature withdrawals to help survive life’s transitions. Interestingly enough, I was blessed to be hired as the first project manager for an outstanding Investment Firm.

My understanding of the labyrinth created by the investments world has grown, but it has so far to go. Helping people navigate this circle is incredibly important, vital, and yet so very complex.

Even though my understanding has been stretched beyond anything I thought I could tolerate, I truthfully write that I thoroughly enjoy going to work every day. There are a number of reasons for this – including the opportunities and the challenges of leading in a world that is heavily managed with technology while expanding data management and security – all things I love learning about. I’m also blessed to work with an awesome staff that are some of the most conscientious and hard workers I have ever met. We are led by our leaders and we are leading in a circle that is sometimes suspect and must be carefully documented – yet we have a motivating purpose. I get to help make a difference, in a world that needs a difference made, and that is really meaningful to me.

Just when I thought I couldn’t find more meaning in my work, I was able to participate in a recent conference with the financial advisers our firm supports. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was really a neat experience for me. I was able to put faces with names from emails and voices from phone calls. Our firms specializes, invests heavily, and even demands that everyone connected with it act in the best interest of the investment clients we serve. I got to meet fantastic people from all over the U.S. who make this happen.

My beliefs about financial advisers have shifted from suspicion of the “sales” thing to a much better understanding of how important the role is. I have a lot more to learn. In our day, how we invest really affects our lives and I would encourage everyone to consider finding a suitable financial adviser.

Our ultimate Linkedin cheat sheet will help you quickly create the perfect Linkedin profile, maximise your online visibility, build your contact list or get contacted about a new job. Whether you’re looking for slight improvements or starting from the beginning we’ve got you covered!

Source: The ultimate Linkedin cheat sheet

Lou Russell hits the elusive target of effectively communicating and managing projects which should trump scheduling tools. Scheduling tools are useful when you understand and manage all the assumptions, but time spent managing the software doesn’t put you one step closer to having the job done.

Thanks to Melissa Westmoreland for provoking this post:  I understand your frustration.  There are some very cool tools for scheduling projects and every time I try to use one, it doesn’t do what I

Source: The Evil Ways of Project Tracking Tools

Ever feel like you are constantly measured?

While it probably happens earlier, I think the wagon of measurement gets wheels in school. When kids are young and they tie their shoes or potty in the right place at the right time, it’s easy to see the accomplishment. But something suddenly changes, accomplishment has to be measured. Against a backdrop of helping a person grow into all they can be, measurement is a useful tool. However, it easily get’s off the track. The State of Indiana’s educational measurements (Mandatory Poorly Managed Standardization Tests) falls in that category for me, but it’s far bigger than that. Attend a kid’s extracurricular and shortly you will observe measurement of how valuable they are when calls are made, starters are picked, when placement is set – and you’ll also observe heated disagreement of measurements. To some people, that’s a measurement of ability and good competitive growth, to a growing number of kids it speaks directly to their value overall. It ain’t always “good for ‘em”. There is a huge countermeasure called “encouragement” that can really help.

Travel from Elementary, to Middle School (speaking of measurement, who’s idea was that?), High School, College and/or Military, Family, and Career. It’s a series of measurements. Some measurements are good and necessary, but our much of our society seems not to recognize the difference between accomplishment and individual value. Overall, a lot more could be made of encouraging folks of any age or background to use their strengths than is made of measuring. While there are a few exceptions, and they are few, I’ve found that seeking someone’s potential will produce a lot of fruit in many ways.

I’m enjoying the journey I’m now taking in Project Management. I enjoy going to work. A significant part of Project Management is about measurement on several levels. However, the best part to me is journeying with a team to seek, see and pursue potential. When you stir in encouragement, you’ll see it pretty quickly start to grow.

The idea of looking beyond the exterior to a person’s potential isn’t new. It’s quite ancient. Barnabas did that for Saul in the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter 9. Why not put potential seeking in line ahead of measurement of others today? Buckle up… cool things will happen.

Meet Earle Hart, hero to Job Seekers, and learn about Passport to Employment!

Earle was awarded the September Community Hero of the Month by Fox 59!  Click Here to watch the full report!

Looking for a job in the Indianapolis area? A lot has changed in the past few years when it comes to your job search. It’s time to get connected to a premier resource. Go to Passport Now!

I didn’t catch it, but I really wish I had!  As I’m continuing my job search, I often get home later in the evening from networking events. I take a back road to my home which includes a short drive by Wildcat Creek that is overgrown with trees, which forms a tunnel of sorts. It’s pretty cool to see. The last two evenings have been very dark, but a wonderful thing has occurred. As I rounded the corner, fireflies lit up the tunnel! I looked like a view into space.

It was what I needed. I love outdoors and I love nature. My job search has extended beyond my plans, so a refreshing view of something God made is just what I needed!

Maybe next time I’ll have a camera with me that can capture it to share!

December 16, 6:30p to 9:00p, free

I’ve had some huge wake up calls on Internet Safety. I’m kinda big into taking care of and protecting kids – even from themselves. I thought my kids and I could discuss our way through what we couldn’t filter. You have to understand, though, the fight for Internet safety for your kids IS NOT a fair fight. It’s Guerilla Warfare and curiosity doesn’t kill the cat fast enough. What parent wants their kids interacting with predators? I take it a step further, I don’t want my kids interacting with the world’s trash, even if it’s popular in culture or even if they want to.

It came together for me when I saw this post on Facebook & Twitter: 10 most dangerous apps for kids on Fox 59. This is a great piece. It behooves anyone with kids with devices / even school devices / to be very careful. So what’s a parent do with that info?

I’m a tech geek. We use technology in our home and I’ve provided wireless devices for my kids. Each student in our school has an iPad. At this point though, I’m wondering if they are really worth the headache. It is very difficult to effectively filter the Internet or to detect the decoy apps (apps that look like one thing but are something else). I’m finding that the school has some filters in place, but as far as monitoring, less than generally believed. I know that the most effective filter is to sit with your kids and watch their every activity online all the time – and who really can do that? The school doesn’t have the technological structure to send me a report of my kid’s activity on the school iPad (that’s really all I need, I can take it from there). I don’t even know that the architecture exists to do so. It hasn’t popped up on Google like most things do.

Speaking of Google, take their product – the well known YouTube for example – great resource of educational instruction and entertainment – great heap of stinky trash all mixed into one. I can block the web address, but can’t keep up with the multiple url addresses the YouTube App uses – and they are not readily available. Does YouTube have filters? Yes! But you must be signed into YouTube or Google for that part to work. You don’t have to be signed in to use the service.

I haven’t touched cellular Internet. We don’t have it for our kids for costs – and I don’t really know if there is anything to actually help parents who have it for their kids. Perhaps there is more available than I know of, but I thought that about web filtering at home and school.

I would like to hear more of what people think of this. I would like to team up with someone to help figure out a solution. A business case could be developed easily on this for most of us parents. If there is a solution short of building a commune, I’d like to hear about it. If not, is there anyone interested in helping me figure this out?

Traci Heavilin is a wonderful sister at Center Road c/C. She and her husband serve in multiple ways at MWLTC. I didn’t know about most of this story that I found on her FB wall. It’s amazing!

I have been wanting to post this story for a long time and since LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) is coming up…I cannot think of a better time! For a better understanding… LTC is a program designed to encourage young people to actively participate in numerous events and activities in order to build up their faith and expand their “comfort zone”. Part 2 to this story my husband and I have been struggling with infertility and have done a series of fertility treatments with no luck (very distraught, and not sure if adoption is the answer). OK, now the exciting part…(this is where I know Gods hands are at work ) While monitoring the doors for the singing group I strike up a conversation with some people and somehow got on the topic of adoption. Any hoot…a boy (pictured below) heard my conversation and came up to me and said that he was adopted from Russia and introduced me to his mother and told me all about his experience (made me start thinking more about adopting) (ok here is where my heart melts) later on he came up to me and said “this is not much but it is all I have” and handed me money (of coarse, I could not take it) but that very moment he forever changed my life and I am soooo EXCITED about the future! Life sometimes does not work the way you want but God is working and walking right beside you thru all of it and HE will make it better than you could ever imagine. I am so excited about LTC 2014 “CALLED OUT” Always amazed at all the hard working volunteers (they are awesome) but worth every single moment when you see lives changing, learning and having a great time! What a blessing to be a part of!

Video of my message, from March 23. Resources below.

You can see all the responses I got when I asked people what does WITNESS FOR JESUS bring to your mind… CLICK HERE.

You can download the Sermon Notes from March 23… CLICK HERE.

The following information is the page I told you (or will tell you) in my sermon on March 23. Years ago, brother Jeff Walling produced a 4 part DVD called S.W.A.T. In my message I refer to parts of Session # 1 and Session # 2. He gave me permission to temporarily share the sections below for your benefit. Consider ordering the DVD. It’s a wonderfully simple and doable way to talk about Jesus.

Let me encourage you to get your hands on your own copy of this video set. Go to WallingOnDVD.com It’s the best $35 you could spend.

Video SESSION # 1

Video SESSION # 2

Ok, today I was working on the MWLTC.NET info, and mailing list and something went wrong. Probably I went wrong.  In any case mwltc@mwltc.org managed to generate a lot of weird administrative emails to a lot of people. Sorry for that. I “THINK” we have it corrected. Sorry for the email blast.  🙂