Cheetah Learning Blog

Hey there, speedsters! Have you heard the latest roar in the world of learning? It’s all about how Cheetahs are leading the way in teaching us a thing or two about rapid adaptation and efficiency. At Cheetah Learning, we’ve always had a knack for staying ahead of the pack, but even we have to tip […]

Agile and Accelerated Learning fit hand in glove fantastic. Cheetah has two approaches to Agile certification.  The first approach we’ve been doing since 2012 – helping people pass the PMI-ACP exam Cheetah FAST.   The second approach is helping people master the skills to get their projects done Cheetah FAST using Agile and Accelerated Learning Principles. Most […]

One of my hobbies is making bread from grains I sprout, then dehydrate and mill.  It feels like more often then not, I fail, and on an epic level of failure (from my perspective this is when the whole effort needs to be tossed as it’s inedible.) I had one such experience over the weekend […]

Commitment to Becoming a PMP Comes FIRST Over the past 23 years, with Cheetah Learning’s “0 to PMP in 5 days” program, we’ve heard many reasons why Cheetah students make the commitment to do the hard work of becoming Project Management Professional certified – the most in demand global certifications for project managers. Cheetah students still […]

Angela Masciulli, with the Good Enough Mompreneur Podcast,  recently interviewed the Chief Cheetah – Michelle LaBrosse. Together they discussed –  Mastering Project Management, Habits, and Mindset for Business Success In this episode, Michelle shared her insights on achieving goals Cheetah fast, the impact of habits on project delays, and her journey from Aerospace Engineer to […]

By Michelle LaBrosse, PMP Instead of disdainfully dismissing troubling emotional responses to challenging circumstances (mine or others) – I am embracing inner turmoil that sometimes bubbles up to the surface. During the holidays, it’s easy to get caught up in habituated responses to family dynamics with archetypal response patterns (AKA “the same old same old”). […]

As of September 25, 2023, PMI has introduced improved forensics for assessing if people are cheating on the PMP exam.  At Cheetah Learning we significantly applaud this measure as it hurts every person who has passed the PMP exam legitimately when there are people who can game the system and become PMP certified without putting […]

NEWS PROVIDED BY Cheetah Learning  06 Sep, 2023, 10:11 ET PHOENIX, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Cheetah Learning, a leader in Accelerated Exam Prep for the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, has been named Best Project Management Learning Provider 2023 by Corporate Vision, a digital platform to support and guide better business practices with a monthly magazine read by […]

Cheetah Learning Launches Virtual Leadership Certification Course to Address Remote Work Environment PHOENIX, Ariz. – Aug. 1, 2023 – Cheetah Learning has added a new course to address a growing national shortage of qualified leaders skilled in leading remote teams. The Certified Virtual Leader Program teaches students how to assemble, manage, inspire and succeed with […]

Earns 4.9 out of 5 stars on review site PHOENIX, Ariz. – July 5, 2023 – Cheetah Learning, a leader in Accelerated Exam Prep for the Project Management Professional (PMP)®, is proud to announce that clients have awarded it 4.9 of 5 possible stars on Trustpilot, an independent online site that allows consumers to share […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. – June 13, 2023 – Students who take Cheetah Learning’s Accelerated Exam Prep course pass the Project Management Professional (PMP)® test at a 99% rate, which is unprecedented in the field. “Cheetah’s accelerated learning techniques help students quickly assimilate and recall a large amount of content leading to nine out of ten classes […]

One of the benefits of teaching people how to use accelerated learning to pass the PMP exam quickly – I get reminded of good project management practices on a routine basis. A technique a good PM does to resolve conflicts employs direct low-key engagement.  A way to do this is to ask questions – of the […]

I’ve been putting off writing the blog post on procrastinating as I wasn’t sure where to start.  Plus I was a little concerned I didn’t have enough to say or had enough expertise to really be talking about all of this. And then to top it all off,  I was called back on a project […]

I recently had an epic fail of an automated customer service experience with the UberEats app that had me so frustrated I dialed in my “Karen, I need to talk with a manager” persona, and took it up with another automated customer service process through Paypal who had processed the transaction.  Paypal’s AI over rode Uber’s AI […]

The position I had right before I started Cheetah was as a research scientist in Systems Engineering. In that position, I found myself facilitating many project disaster recovery efforts (it is what spurred the creation of the Cheetah Project Management methodology).  Project disaster recovery was in such demand there because of all the extremely intelligent […]

Let’s dive into the wild world of PMP exam prep – where choosing the wrong provider can feel like signing up for a never-ending hike up Mount Everest without oxygen! Ever found yourself stuck in a PMP prep program that’s about as effective as a chocolate teapot? Or maybe you’ve heard horror stories of folks […]

How you lead and who you follow are expressions of your core values. Lets dive into this…. I was named one of the most influential women worldwide in project management after writing, “Cheetah Project Management.” Starting a career as an officer in the Air Force provided leadership training for that environment. But, it wasn’t until the PM […]

Creating More Value, Faster This recent article from NPR talks about how Productivity is at an all-time low. It’s not surprising as quiet quitting has become the norm. Quiet quitting means the employee puts in the minimal effort required and even less enthusiasm for the job while continuing to collect a paycheck.This makes sense as many are increasingly […]

Cheetah Learning Launches New Referral Program to Address Growing Need for Certified Project Managers Project management professionals crucial to American business success PHOENIX, Ariz., May 9, 2023 – Cheetah Learning, a leader in Accelerated Exam Prep for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam, today announced the launch of its new referral program designed to help […]

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has reported striking statistics on the projected demand for Project Management Professionals (PMPs) by 2030: a whopping 25 million new practitioners are needed in order to avert potential losses of up to USD$345.5 billion. Let’s review why recommending Cheetah Learning’s PMP certification is not just beneficial, but also essential for […]

If you’re looking to achieve your goals faster, becoming Cheetah Agile Certified could be just what you need. This recognized and respected credential signifies a level of expertise and experience in agile methodologies, which can help you to implement agile approaches more effectively and efficiently. Here are the top five ways that Cheetah Agile Certification […]

Agile methodologies have been increasingly popular among organizations and for good reason. They allow teams to be more flexible, adaptive, and efficient in their work, which ultimately leads to better outcomes for the business. However, not all agile methodologies are created equal. Cheetah Agile is one such methodology that has gained a lot of traction […]

In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to get things done quickly and efficiently in a virtual environment is a valuable asset. It’s no surprise that those who possess this skill set are in high demand, particularly in leadership positions. Cheetah Learning’s Certified Virtual Leader program uses accelerated learning to help individuals master these skills and become […]

This is what it said: “As an AI language model, I cannot provide personal opinions or biases. However, it is believed that Cheetah Learning is considered one of the best ways to pass the PMP exam because of their unique approach to teaching project management methodologies. They provide a fast-track approach that is designed to […]

The promise of artificial intelligence is that we could ask “Hey Google, should I prioritize scope, schedule or cost” on my bathroom remodel?  But, to even be able to ask this question, you’d need to know making tradeoffs between cost, schedule and scope on a project is required. Using artificial intelligence to help make better choices […]

We have increasing anxiety overall in our society (anxiety was up even before Covid but this raised the general level of anxiety even higher). The challenge is we already have something that increases anxiety for even the calmest amongst us  – taking tests. The anticipatory anxiety with taking the Project Management Professional® (PMP®) exam is off the […]

Authority Magazine interviewed me about leading the high-performing Cheetah Learning team over the past 23 years: “As a part of our series about the five things you need to successfully manage a large team, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle LaBrosse.”   Click Here to Read More Become a Cheetah Certified Leader

by Michelle LaBrosse PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Recently Posted by the Medical Group Management Association As medical group practices face rising labor costs, staffing shortages, and strained resources, it is crucial that they ensure clinical, financial, and operational teams function at a high level to maintain quality patient care. When healthcare professionals work together as a […]

According to the Project Management Institute Pulse of the Profession Survey – “… on average organizations waste 9.9 percent of every dollar* due to poor project performance and that around one in three projects (31 percent) do not meet their goals, 43 percent are not completed within budget, and nearly half (48 percent) are not completed […]

Review the Evidence-Based Research on How to Improve the ROI of Your Projects – download the white paper – Better Projects, Better Business.      

Learn how to leverage your natural style to become a leader who gets promoted. It’s not about changing who you are that will help you succeed most in life, it’s about using more of your natural talents in a way that will create the best results for yourself and others. All leadership is situational. When […]

Click here to see Part 2 of Agile Project Management of Going to the Taylor Swift Concert Take the Pokey or Swiftie Survey The Agile Retrospective When I was a kid, for five years, my friends and I threw an annual Halloween party. While I don’t remember all the details of every one of those […]

Click Here to See Part 1 of Agile Project Management of Going to the Taylor Swift concert. Take the Pokey or Swiftie Survey We made it to Vegas late Thursday night, with plenty of time to get acclimated to the whole scene before the concert on Saturday night. Several days before we got there, our […]

Take the Pokey or Swiftie Survey The lyrics in Taylor Swift’s song Mastermind, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, Strategy sets the scene for the tale,”  is a big tell she is at her core a Project Manager and part of the reason for her tremendous success. I also noticed, many “Swifties” are […]

People who can pass the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam are able to do so because they possess systems thinking capability. We realized this over two decades ago at Cheetah Learning which is why we teach Cheetah students how to master systems thinking in four days to be able to logically deduce the correct answers on […]

My start in the quality world was as a newly minted Second Lieutenant in the Air Force when I was “volunteered” to be on an Inspector General team. At first, I thought it was penance for “break all the rules” let’s shake up the world energy of someone just out of college. But, the General in […]

Since Cheetah Learning’s payroll account was with SVB, I experienced firsthand the impact of this bank’s collapse. Yet it was not the first time one of our banks had collapsed. In 2008, we had the company’s operating funds in Colonial Bank when they collapsed. I got notification of that from a Cheetah PMP coach on […]

A colleague forwarded me a copy of another company’s PMP Exam Prep marketing brochure they recently received via email (we’re talking 2023 here – their material reads as if Rip Van Winkle woke up after 20 years and wrote it). I was pretty shocked by what I saw being passed off as PMP Exam Prep […]

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, healthcare systems and practices scrambled to implement telehealth systems to “see” patients who could no longer come into the clinic or hospital. The fortunate ones already had some form of telehealth program in place. Others adjusted as best they could, jury-rigging solutions and adapting video technology to meet […]

Cheetah Learning Reaches Training Milestone Firm has coached 80,000 students since 2000; continues to meet urgent demand for project managers. PHOENIX, Ariz., March 9, 2023 – Cheetah Learning, a leader in Accelerated Exam Prep for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam, today announced that it has trained 80,000 students since its founding 23 years ago. Cheetah Learning’s graduates work […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CCPM, PMI-ACP, CAP, RYT Being a veteran of the cold war, we were well versed in the military doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction. Until last week though, I had naively thought we had solidly moved into the interconnected, and interdependent realm of Mutually Assured Respect. Being interdependent and trading with each other […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, RYT By the middle of January most people have in some way faltered on their best intended New Year’s resolutions. This year, who can blame us – with Omicron surging as we enter into year three of this life altering pandemic, horrendous winter weather, the impending climatic apocalypse reminders in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT For over two decades now, Cheetah Learning has been helping people master accelerated learning and pass what is considered one of the most difficult professional certification exams out there, after only four days of prep (the Project Management Professional – PMP). We set up this program two decades […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, CCPM, PMI-ACP, RYT Oddly enough, on this month’s google performance report, a download we had up since 2006 came up as the top hit link on the Cheetah Learning website.  I wrote the first version of “Ten Tips for Top Team Performance” in 1994.  Since for some reason, it suddenly increased […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT Below are two companies. Both the same relative size, both serving the same sector (IT contracted services for Federal Government Agencies). These charts show the companies’ stock performance over ten years – the one ROI performance metric corporate shareholders easily agree upon. The red dots represent the companies’ respective […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, RYT Moving on From Haines, Alaska – Cheetah Agile Project Sept 17 – 30, 2021 To celebrate Cheetah’s 20 year anniversary of helping cheetah students pass the PMP exam after only four days of accelerated exam prep (yes the lion’s share of Cheetah students pass the actual PMP exam on […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT Today, September 14, 2021 is the twenty year anniversary of our first Cheetah student passing the PMP exam after Cheetah’s four day accelerated exam prep program. We know a thing or two after twenty years of helping tens of thousands of Cheetah students pass the PMP exam, with […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT I spent a rainy weekend in April watching every streaming show I could find on Greece. It was my first “arm chair” adventure as I tend to prefer to take the actual trip than to just dream about taking the trip someday. However my plans to travel to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT A recent Cheetah Exam Prep student, who passed PMI’s PMP exam “Above Target” in every area, posted this on Trust Pilot: “Cheetah Learning is EXCELLENT! The instructors in this program did an amazing job teaching course material in a way that was easy to understand, follow and absorb […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT When I was younger (way younger), I would do woodworking projects with my Dad.  They started out with some design I had sketched out on graph paper (this was before Computer Aided Design). We spent a good deal of time measuring – way more than the measure twice, […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT In a world going increasingly insane, the mantra “It’s All Just Information” is what keeps me on this side of the sanity line. Thirty years ago, I adopted this philosophy when dealing with the country building department on my first home. Their lack of clear direction made every […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT In the last blog post, I talked about the importance of having the right project management process, then the right people for creating sustainable results with your projects.  There is another element that can make completing your projects much easier – it’s right timing. There are two levels […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT In many organizations, Project Managers do not have much say in the people available to work on their projects and must follow project management processes dictated by their organization. Often they neither have the right people nor the right process to generate good results with their projects. This […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT What I love about the Cheetah Agile Project approach is the focus on only one project for two weeks. It allows me to say “no” to taking on more “opportunities” than any human could possibly handle. What I find happens in those times where there are people clamoring […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT Much can happen in two weeks. Think back two weeks ago. Did you know you would be where you are doing what you are doing right now? For many of us, that answer is a solid NO. Two weeks ago, I was embarking on a goal to blog […]

Sometimes it seems like project managers can make things a lot more complicated than it needs to be for doing projects.  It’s one of the reasons I was so attracted to Agile Project Management in the early days about 15 years ago. But anymore, even with something that used to be simple like Agile, there […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT My friends tease me saying “You are a dyslexic snow bird as you prefer being in Alaska in the winter and Arizona in the summer. I joke back “it’s because I find balance being in the extremes.” I like living this way because I get to exercise my project management […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT Yesterday I got one of those standard emails from 23 and me telling me I had new DNA relatives. Usually I ignore them, having tired of learning of new third and fourth cousins a while ago. But this time, I opened it and clicked on the link, to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT I’m a huge fan of the BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) as I have always figured shoot for the stars and you may just end up on the moon. HOWEVER,  BHAGs come with a demoralizing element, especially when there is no clear path from how to get from […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT I watch in fascination the antics of some of the more high profile billionaires of our times, and the response in the twittersphere to it all. But are any of us really all that different than these high profile money’d celebrities? The reality is we each have 86,400 […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT A good friend who has helped me in Cheetah since its get go, also had her last child the first year of Cheetah. This child is now 21 years old. There are fewer than ten people I’ve been a part of their life since their start, and this […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CAC, PMI-ACP, CCPM, RYT I was at a family party several months, ago. It was shortly after several of my siblings, their adult children, and my family had been vaccinated.  We had not had a family get together in well over a year and it was nice to finally have the chance […]

Agility and speed are required strengths when doing projects today as requirements are ever evolving, new opportunities quickly appear with significant first mover advantage, and new innovations emerge that can make the need for a project obsolete before it’s even started. We’ve operated Cheetah in this reality for two decades now and it’s for the […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Since Cheetah started using Accelerated Learning techniques to  help people to pass the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional (PMP) exam  Cheetah FAST in 2001, we’ve gone through seven exam format changes.  We are no stranger to PMI changing the PMP exam. This exam change though was different as […]

In observing what has triggered the two largest violent social unrest events in the past year – I came up with a systems dynamics model about what is driving it and how to predict someone’s probability of participating in violent social unrest.  (Certified Cheetah Leaders learn how to assess situations with accelerated learning and systems […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, RYT I’m an engineer and a research scientist who has taught project management for the past 20 years. A big part of doing projects successfully is managing known risks by reducing both the probability of those risks occurring and reducing the impact of those risks if they were to occur. Right […]

“Education might seem expensive until you compare it to the cost of ignorance.” It’s all about perspective. The word expensive has a very negative association, and it’s tied almost exclusively to money spent.  That’s a bit misleading because it takes the focus off of the value you get in exchange. Nothing is really good or […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Do you find the idea of having to do project management almost as much fun as getting a root canal? If so, you’re not alone. But it doesn’t have to be as bad as a painful dental procedure to adopt more effective ways of managing your projects. Nor does […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Last year I realized that by focusing my time and talents using Accelerated Learning, I could create courses to help the world become a more peaceful place.  This spawned the birth of the Peace Leader Academy.  We have three levels of programs at the Peace Leader Academy:Peace Advocate – a short two hour […]

Make the Most of Your Time In Lock Down(online and aligned with social distancing norms)   In the spirit of the “Monk, Hunk, Chunk, or Drunk” meme making the rounds on social media, Cheetah Learning is offering you a way to make the most of your time in lockdown, depending on your preference: Chunk – Project Home […]

From Anna C: “Hi Michelle and Team, I officially passed my exam last week and wanted to reach out and extend a hugeTHANK YOU for developing such an amazing program and for all of your help and support over the past month. Your team went above and beyond to ease our concerns about the virtual […]

It’s time to create your Self-Care Plan for Covid-19 – Boost Your Immune System and Become Resilient Let’s flatten the curve even more by implementing some basic self-care.  I’m putting on my “Dr. Mom” hat today for some motherly advice on how to take care of yourself in the age of Covid-19.  These self-care techniques […]

20 Years Ago, April 2000,  Michelle LaBrosse started Cheetah Learning with a simple idea: When people learn how to learn fast and master a simple way to do their projects, they achieve their goals Cheetah FAST. 20 years later, over 100,000 students are now “Cheetahs.” Cheetah Learning’s approach to Accelerated Learning and Project Management has stood […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Project Turnaround – 40 PDUs – FREE for PMP’s for a limited time (online and aligned with social distancing norms) During times of adversity and chaos, is also a time of tremendous opportunity.  Many project managers are finding they are needing (or wanting) to change direction to go after emerging […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT – Updated March 16, 2020 Cheetah’s Coronavirus Risk Response Plan In light of the risks associated with Covid-19, Cheetah has developed the following Risk Response Plan. First, we identified the main current risks Cheetah students face preparing to take Cheetah’s Accelerated Exam Prep related to Covid-19 A student gets […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My PMP training team and I have been on an Accelerated PMP Exam Prep teaching bender the past several weeks, teaching the Virtual Program, then several back to back large classes in  Atlanta, Washington DC and our next stop, Seattle. One of our important tasks is to inspire and […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Over the past ten months, I’ve been redesigning Cheetah’s award-winning Accelerated PMP Exam Prep program to account for increasing distraction and anxiety issues that have become so prevalent in our society.  Much of it is due to the impact of the current technology tools we’ve adopted for connecting with […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT This is Cheetah Learning’s 7th PMP Exam change in 19 years  – and it’s the biggest one yet. PMI is moving away from a Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)  based approach to the PMP exam. It’s more like what we saw when PMI created the PMI-Agile Certified Practioner […]

  Over two decades ago I got introduced to this idea in George Land’s Book “Breakpoint and Beyond” about autopoietic systems.  These are self-replicating systems based on several core values.  The idea is that when you set up several key core values for yourself or the organizations you are creating, the system develops and self […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Every day we help people become Project Management Professional (PMP) Certified.  A strong foundation in how to use the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) in the day to day requirements of doing projects makes passing the PMP exam much easier.   For that reason, we focus on helping our […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In every Cheetah Accelerated PMP class, our students ask “Do You Think I will Pass the PMP Exam?”   Since our main focus is passing the PMP exam right after spending four days in our classroom (virtual or in person), we have created a series of measurements that help us fine […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT A month or so back we reached out to PMI to find out why they were using the 2015 PMP Exam Content Guide as the basis for grading PMP candidates exams – when they made such a big deal about the exam change to the PMBOK 6th edition. This […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We are now one year away from 2020.  Like 20/20 vision,  will we be able to look back on 2019 with perfect hind sight?   So, I’m thinking that maybe I could look ahead to the year with perfect “foresight.”  To do that, how about just pretend that today is […]

Project Managing Your Way Through the Holidays Why is it that the holiday season – a time to reconnect with family and take a break from work – causes so many of us stress? Why do we fret about getting the Christmas ham just right, navigating contentious political conversations at the dinner table, and (if […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In this article about how Microsoft’s has changed the relationship with it’s leading legal firm away from billable hours to a project based infrastructure, Microsoft now can better address how emerging legal precedents impact technological and business advances. Practice management for Law Firms centered around projects and project outcomes […]

Besides our 4 Day Accelerated PMP Exam Prep Program taught in public venues around the US, privately onsite for groups of ten or more, and in our virtual classroom, we also do: Keynotes to kick off conferences – 45 – 60 minutes minute inspiring presentations. Simulations – engaging interactive sessions 60 – 90 minutes in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT As Project Management Professionals (PMPs), we learn the critical importance of managing stake holder expectations.   “Managing” expectations though feels a bit like manipulation (which has some seriously negative connotations).  While it is important to understand another’s expectations, “managing” them is a far more difficult task.  Sometimes even an impossible […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I hear from PMP’s from all over the world several times a week (most have gone through Cheetah Learning) and they share with me how they have used their credential over the years.  I thought it might be informative to share those stories here (as we do all learn […]

By Brad Egeland Unfortunately, there really is no magic formula that will ever guarantee project success. However, there are some major ingredients, I believe, that together often characterize a team that will tend to experience more success than others. The list likely includes many more than these that I’m about to discuss below, but these […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT While Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on that for which we are thankful, living a more gratitude filled existence is just a thought away at any time. It helps rewire your brain in some very helpful ways to pivot to gratitude whenever there is a complaint. When you […]

By Brad Egeland In case you haven’t heard that one before, “I’m big in Japan” is a way of boosting yourself in some unverifiable fashion. Specifically, it means, “To say/pretend you are someone of stature somewhere else, meaningless and not verifiable where you currently are.” Many are guilty, at times, of overestimating reach, ability, impact, […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Watch this short video to see what you can do when you combine passion, focus and your genius.  It’s kind of fascinating how many dismiss their innate strengths (stats show only 25% of us are working in our areas of strengths).  But it’s your natural talents that can help […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT This is a great video blog for Veteran’s Day as it shares how I developed resiliency from the frustrations I experienced in becoming an Air Force Officer.  As an entrepreneur, I am no stranger to frustration – but also realize it is a powerful part of the creative process.  […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Anger can be a powerfully motivating emotion – when used to move you to take corrective action in the direction of what you’d prefer to be happening.  In this today’s learning byte, see how you can use whatever is activating your ire to your advantage. Mastering how to best […]

By Brad Egeland Ready for the next career step? There are several ways you can get noticed. There are several ways to get your information out there. And certainly some of those involve just going to a career site and posting your resume. Places like Dice and Monster still exist and by all means…put yourself […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In today’s learning byte, I show how you can use yours and others intense emotions to your advantage.  Being able to bring yourself back from being “emotionally hijacked” is a crucial skill as a leader. Staying present in your executive functioning brain is required for discerning the best approach for […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Have you ever been told, “you’re being too emotional?”   Many people shy away from their emotions because they fear if they even acknowledge them they are weak or worse unstable.   However, being in touch with how you’re feeling and being able to hold compassionate space and provide wise counsel […]

By Brad Egeland Have you ever heard that statement made by your project team members? As project managers we often live and die by the percent complete of the tasks on our project schedules.  We obsess over them and compare the tasks to the calendar dates. Are we as far along as we should be?  […]

By Brad Egeland Are you a project manager who needs to pitch the concept of remote project management to your PMO director? Or are you a PMO director of CIO or corporate exec building your project management model and you need to pitch the virtual project management team model to your CEO or the rest […]

By Brad Egeland Project meetings – necessary evils in the world of project management. But meetings are meetings, right?  No.  All attendees come to meetings because you invited them so they have to, right?  No.  If you say it’s important, everyone needs to take note and be there, right?  No.  You’re the project manager so […]

By Brad Egeland If you aren’t PMP certified then I can almost guarantee you that you are not earning enough as a PM. How can I do that? Because I know that on average certified project management professionals (PMPs) earn up to $20,000 more annually. That’s a lot of money – that’s $400,000 over a […]

By Brad Egeland Whether you know it or not, negotiation on the project just simply goes with the territory. If you are a project manager you probably don’t even realize how often you are negotiating for something to help your engagement along or to keep the customer happy or to get the right team member […]

By Brad Egeland In the project management world or the consulting world no one ever really wants to say, “I told you so.” Why? Let’s consider you’re saying this to your project client. If you are uttering those words – even if you were right from the beginning – it means the client isn’t happy, […]

 By Brad Egeland As my wife continues to force the country genre on this classic rock guy, I actually find some connections with many of the songs and how they relate to life in general and, in some cases, to project management. Other than the fact that the term “blue jeans” is usually proceeded by […]

By Brad Egeland Customer happiness is Job 1.1 for the project manager.  I would say it’s Job 1.0, but I’ve always said that Job One is effective and efficient communication and I don’t feel it’s a good idea for me to flip flop.  I am not a politician.  So, if customer happiness is Job 1.1, […]

By Brad Egeland Do you consider yourself to be a top notch project manager? What skill set or character traits do you think are most needed to be all you can be as a project leader? Need to become a good project manager? Every individual who is considering entering the field should probably ask this […]

By Brad Egeland It’s not secret that project managers wear a variety of hats on nearly every project they manage. Exactly what hats they wear usually depends on several things – the complexity of the project, the culture of the organization, how much authority the PM is given, and sometimes even how the customer wants […]

By Brad Egeland Are you productive working around others? Do you work well with interruptions and are you able to easily get back on track and focused on issues and tasks you were working on before the interruption? Or can an interruption at a critical point stop your forward progress and send you chasing rabbits […]

This is a funny question and I get this one from all sides. Are formal sign offs necessary for things like individual deliverables, user acceptance testing (UAT), and final system acceptance? I get this from my teams from time to time, from the customer periodically, and – believe it or not – from senior management […]

By Brad Egeland As project managers we try to be a value-added resource on our projects. We want to bring positives in everything we do. We train, we certify, we explore technology and stay as current as possible. After all, the success of the project is ours to own, right? We succeed or we fail, […]

Written by Brad Egeland Is that cutting edge Cybersecurity technology making your CSO drool and ready to pay boo coos of internal dollars on a bleeding edge tech project to showcase at the next user conference or Black Hat digital security convention?   Is that latest platform recently available to showcase your web apps on […]

Written by Brad Egeland Not all project managers want to manage projects forever. Sometimes they look to switch to a more technical hands on position with the team like the business analyst role. Likewise, not all business analysts want to continue in the role of business analyst forever – looking to take on a higher […]

By Brad Egeland Your CEO knows everything, right? That’s why they are the company leader. Wrong. Just like everyone else, they can take some tips from other leaders in the organization. The problem is, the typical CEO has to maintain a fairly high level of focus on the organization as a whole.  Certainly they face […]

By Brad Egeland It would be nice to say the more organized and rigid you are in your processes and leadership, the better the project manager you will be. In fact, isn’t that what project management is all about? Defining a methodology and using it and creating and using repeatable processes and planning templates so […]

By Brad Egeland I like to say that communication is Job One for the project manager and I will always feel that way. But Job Two (and part of Job One) is keeping the project customer or consulting customer satisfied, happy, confident… whatever it takes to keep them onboard with the project and current agreement. […]

By Brad Egeland Why do you keep going back to your favorite stores or restaurants or vehicles. Is it because you never know what to expect? Do you consider it to be an adventure every time you go back not knowing for sure how the food or service or quality is going to be? No. […]

By Brad Egeland It’s really hard to admit that you’re in over your head. It’s a show of weakness or possibly a professional short coming. It may actually be neither – you simply may just be overworked, but it can feel like a weakness. And we are just not programmed to scream that out loud. […]

By Brad Egeland First off, let me state that I really, really believe that remote project management I is a great solution for most projects. It has worked extremely well for me for the past 10 years or so. But I know it’s not for everyone. Remote project management, while often a sensible and cost-effective […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, PMP, RYT Cheetah Learning is in a growth phase and I’ve been reaching out to a variety of the freelancer sites (like Freelancer, Upwork, and Fiverr) looking for talent on short demo projects.  I’ve also been doing fix-up projects on a couple of properties and have turned to Craigslist, Care.com and […]

By Brad Egeland I’m a big believer in managing projects remotely and using virtual teams on projects. In fact, i’ve been managing projects and consulting engagements remotely, and using remote and virtual teams successfully on project and consulting engagements successfully for more than ten years. While it is very rewarding and I’ve saved countless hours […]

By Brad Egeland PMO Directors.  Are they game changers? Great leaders? Powerful enough to get the job done? Are they taken seriously by senior management? What about this… what about a central figure leading the project management infrastructure in an organization. It’s certainly not a new concept. Making that central figure a C-level officer in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, PMP, RYT Do you find you know the layout of your local hardware store better than the summer hires? If so, we have a way for our PMP students to earn their 60 PDUs from their own home improvement projects. Register today and get even more value for your summer home […]

By Brad Egeland When is the best time to start your move up the corporate ladder in PM? Can you make it happen on your own, or do you wait for lots of experience and hope someone notices you at the right time? The aggressive answer is ‘you go for it’ and we know that […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, CPD, PMP, RYT Have you thought much about what limits you from really going for it with your life? Or what “going for it” even means anymore for you? Do you sometimes wonder “is this all there is?” Last week I created an intake form to make the most of people’s scheduled […]

By Brad Egeland Of course, nothing can guarantee ongoing project successes. If we had a magic formulate that could, we’d be millionaires. But there are some major ingredients, I believe, that together often characterize a team that will tend to experience more success than others. The list likely includes many more than these that I’m […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, CPD, PMP, RYD If your project skills were like software, what version upgrade are you releasing? When? Yes, I say upgrade – because even if you’re already on version Project Skills 5.0, there are still ways you could create new experiences with how you do projects. There is a fundamental human […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, CPD, PMP, RYT I came from a large family –  my parents had six children in eight years and I was number four  Both my parents were public school teachers so we were encouraged to go to college. By the time I was a junior, there were five of us in college and […]

By Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP®, PMI-ACP, RYT, Chief Cheetah and Founder of Cheetah Learning Project Managers – and all professionals, really – pursue credentials in their field for a variety of reasons: to advance their knowledge and skills, to build their reputation, to earn a promotion, to get a pay raise… All of these are […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, CPD, RYT My purpose in life is to help people make a bigger difference – to help create a better world for all of us. I run Cheetah Learning to do this.  We create accelerated learning programs where you master how to get better results with your projects, faster, with far […]

By Brad Egeland If you’re logical, have common sense, can be organized, and aren’t afraid to put your neck on the line when you know or think you’re right and when you’re trying to do the best for the work you are doing, for whom you’re doing it (the project client) and whom you’re doing […]

Michelle LaBrosse,  CCPM, CAL, PMP, RYT We’ve all been there at one time or another – our career feels like it’s on the slow track to nowhere. I remember when I was still in the Aerospace field, I often wondered “is this all there is?” I stumbled upon a book called “Do What You Are” […]

By Brad Egeland Most projects are complex in some way – especially high tech projects. Not all project managers get to choose their projects or even get to personally choose their team members once they land as leadership on a project. I know I usually don’t. I get to request a warm body with a […]

By Brad Egeland Got a project that is tanking and the first obvious choice is to bring in a new project manager? It’s difficult to change leadership at that level, but sometimes it just has to happen. If you are at the point of considering or needing to replace the project manager or especially if […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, CAL, CPD, RYT Since 2001, we have been helping people get and stay Project Management Professional (PMP) certified.  Many of these folks stay in touch with us – especially those who continue to take Cheetah Learning professional development courses to maintain their PMP certification or earn new PM certs through Cheetah Learning. […]

By Brad Egeland Best practices – what exactly is meant by that? For me – especially in terms of project management – it’s not rocket science.  It’s about doing those things that keep the project manager and team focused on successfully delivering the best project solution possible to the client. I’m going to present a […]

Brad Egeland If you need the “best of the best”, then what skills or characteristics are you looking for?  What defines the best for your organization’s project needs?  While BAs are not project managers, the most successful BAs manage the entire business analysis effort. This means that the BA is proactive and dependency-aware. It also […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We’re now a couple weeks into the new Project Management Professional Certification exam based on the PMBOK 6th Edition.  At Cheetah Learning, we are having good results with people passing the PMP exam after taking Cheetah’s PMP exam prep course.  Here is what we’re seeing: You still need to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Every day we help Cheetah Students complete their eligibility applications for the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional Certification exam.  PMI is very diligent in ensuring that the people who become eligible to take the PMP exam are actually Project Managers and not simply following a repetitive process that […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT For project staff, interruptions and distractions cost $30,000 per project team member every year.  This isn’t just an issue with productivity, it’s also a significant issue with an organization’s ability to finish their projects and the impact of unfinished projects on the viability of an organization to survive. As part of […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CAL, CPD, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Okay, this alphabet soup after my name is getting quite long.  The main thing is I’m “certified.”  I guess this is like the good housekeeping seal of approval that someone somewhere has deemed me capable of doing something of value for someone.  But I did have to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CAL, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’ve spent the past several months combing through the PMBOK 6th Edition comparing it to the PMBOK 5th Edition to make sure the Cheetah Exam Prep for the PMP will continue to ensure Cheetah students pass the PMP exam after four days of prep.  It is true there […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In last week’s Facebook live webinar, I talked about how to activate your innate genius and bring out the best of everyone.  As part of these two, I talked about the importance of creating supportive support networks for achieving both goals.  But how do you go about creating more […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Have you noticed when you are happy, doing what you love, you are more willing to help others succeed?    The question is how can we have more of that for everyone and create a better world?    At Cheetah Learning, we have come up with a process through […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Today, we did a live Facebook Event on the Cheetah Learning Facebook page at 1:00 PM PST talking about “Be the Change – Release Your “Buts.”  Click here to see the recorded live event. It’s a riff off two of last week’s blog posts on Your Big But and […]

                      Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Worldwide there are close to 25 million people who call themselves project managers.  The Project Management Professional (PMP) credential by the Project Management Institute has been around for 31 years and there are close to 800,000 people certified.  The […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Since last Wednesday’s facebook live event that is nearing 100,000 views, I have received a number of inquiries about why I have this obsession with project management. The queries go something like -” this all looks fascinating but I really am not interested in being a Certified Project Manager. […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In yesterday’s blog post I talked about how many have a big “but” – the thing that is most holding them back from pursuing the life that would bring out the best of who they are.  What goes along with that big “but” is a whole lot of junk […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT There was a great line in this crazy movie by Pee Wee Hermin back in the late 80’s.  He said – “Everyone has a big but(t).”  Meaning we are all held back by something we feel if it were different, our life would be different.  My big “but” used to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Back in 1991, while toiling away as an Aerospace Engineer, I found this book called “Do What You Are, Discover the Perfect Career for You.”  While having achieved my early life’s dream of becoming an Aerospace Engineer, I felt there was something else I could be doing to contribute […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father was always up before the sun rose.  He liked to travel and when we were kids and he’d take us camping in beautiful places, with some amazing sunrises.  I remember camping with him on Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire. I was 7 or 8 years old. It was […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father was a teacher so whenever we had a day off from school because of too much snow, he also had the day off. I was reminded of this when I woke up this morning to snow for the first time in almost a month.  Being in Alaska, […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We all start out as both a blank slate and also hardwired with our innate characteristics.  It is the nature and nurture aspects of who we are and who we become.  I joined the festivities here on planet earth with well seasoned, albeit very busy parents – I was […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   My father frequently challenged me and others around him to think differently.  At times this absolutely drove me nuts.  However, the outcome was tremendous growth, and freedom.  It isn’t the people with whom you sync with who teach you the most, it is the ones who challenge you. Sometimes […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT’ My father earned his Eagle Scout badge in his teens.  He transferred what he learned in the 1940’s with the scouts to me through the hiking adventures he took us on.  Most often these lessons came in preparing and doing our Sunday Afternoon hikes.  We did a few longer […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father and I had a 45 year feud over his cooking capabilities.  At ten years old I was so disgusted with his cooking skills,  my younger brother and I took over making family dinner.  What I did though love about my father was that he wanted to be […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father was more of a “get to” than a “have to” type of guy.  He actually resisted those things he felt he “had” to do.   While this made those of us around him later in life who were caring for him a bit crazy, it actually has served me […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father made continual upgrades to our family home where he and my mother lived for 52 years.  Over that time period, he probably did well over a thousand home improvement projects.  My love for hardware stores comes from all the times I joined him while picking up his […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father and I started to play golf about fifteen years ago.  Neither of us was all that good and “do over’s” on really lousy shots (“mulligan’s”) were how we most enjoyed the game.  I realized I do the same with my projects that are just not performing.  While […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father used to say, “A lazy engineer is a good engineer.  They will find the easiest and most efficient way to get things done.”  I took that to heart when I became an engineer and made sure I kept anything I designed simple to learn, and simple to use. When […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   My father used to say “Opportunities are always all around you but are you prepared to take advantage of them?  You make your own luck by how ready you are to seize the moment.” For me, magic happens when I focus on expanding my capabilities.   I love designing […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT How often have you noticed that what you think is a really bad situation, ends up being the best thing that could have happened to you?   My father taught me to find the silver lining to everything I experienced in life – regardless of how bad it felt at […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father used to say “success comes to those who go after it.”  He was always encouraging me to pursue my dreams.  His influence plays a huge part in the courses we create at Cheetah Learning.  I had moved back East to live closer to my folks while my […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My parents had six children in eight years.  I was the fourth child.  They were both public school teachers so the family budget covered what we needed with a little left over for camping trips, and a few extras, but not much else.  I was the first girl after […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT My father used to say to me when I was a kid – “When you procrastinate you are depriving yourself of the value of what you want to create.  Just FINISH.”   It became part of who I am to focus, and finish – FAST.   I used to joke in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In 2010, I read a book called “Busting Loose from the Money Game.”  It was about how most of our impressions about money were illusions that kept us imprisioned in a tread mill to make money, pay bills and support a life style that we had in some ways […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When my children were pre-schoolers, around this time in December, Mrs. Claus would pay a visit to our home. She would sneak in after they were already in bed and clear out all the toys they were no longer loving all that much.  Afterall, where would Santa put all […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I recently saw a meme on social media that confidence creates excellence whereas insecurity fixates on perfection.   It resonated as the truth for me. Developing confidence in Project Management comes from mastering the basics so that you can have great results time after time after time with your […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I was reflecting on 2017 and what a year it’s been. I’ve had some personal rough spots – my father passed away at the end of June. That has consumed a great deal of my mind space and it’s been somewhat of a struggle to find the joy in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’m busy today getting ready for the next six weeks of travel.  I’m heading to Alaska for several weeks to work on a project, then to visit my daughter in Portland for Christmas, up to Seattle to work on 2018 strategies with the Cheetah board between Christmas and New […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Being an attitude of gratitude by recognizing all for which I am grateful in the moment has been my practice for the past 22 years.  I found my way here during a hard time in my life when I first became a single mother with two pre-school children to raise […]

Michelle LaBrosse CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT This morning, Facebook reminded me of this blog post I had put up six years ago –  http://www.michellelabrosseblogs.com/2011/11/targeted-gene-therapy-and-some-alternative-approaches/.   My mother had brain cancer, and we had her in an experimental treatment in the hopes it could cure her (it, unfortunately, did not). In the six years since I wrote […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT This Sunday in many places in the Northern Hemisphere marks the end of Daylight Saving Time when we move our clocks back an hour.   If you normally wake up at 7 AM, this means you will now normally wake up a 6 AM.  Likewise, you will start being sleepy […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Last week, the Project Management Institute (PMI) released it’s tenth salary survey of Project Managers worldwide.  The salary gap between project managers who hold PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP) credential and those that don’t is increasing.  When we started helping project managers become PMP certified in only four days […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT If you’re on the fence about whether or not earning the Project Management Professional Certification would be an S.M.A.R.T goal for you – let’s review the basic concept of S.M.A.R.T goals. An S.M.A.R.T. goal is defined as one that is specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound. The S.M.A.R.T. acronym […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I realized just how significant Cheetah’s approach to passing the PMP exam is when I decided to participate in a sprint triathlon next May – 2018.  I had no idea what is required to train for a triathlon.  I initially thought I would have to sign up for working […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I was explaining my day to day as the CEO of Cheetah Learning to a new team member and said – “basically I work on whatever is in most need of change at the time.” Whenever something needs to change in business, that change often spawns at least one […]

Why The C suite needs to master project management I was explaining my day to day as the CEO of Cheetah Learning to a new team member and said – “basically I work on whatever is in most need of change at the time.” Whenever something needs to change in business, that change often spawns […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When there is something wrong with your brain, you may not be aware if it. Other people around you though may notice you’re not as sharp as you once were. Four years ago, my children noticed I was more forgetful than usual.  As did several of my friends.  One […]

Find out how to quickly improve your business by improving how you select and do your projects.  Download Cheetah Learning’s White Paper – Better Projects Better Business. To discuss how to improve your business with project management, contact us!

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Do you have a vague sense of unease relating to the PMP exam? Or are you not even sure what there is to be concerned about? I remember when I first learned about the PMP exam back in 1999 and took a test to familiarize myself with what was […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I recently played in a golf scramble in one of these community events where you are paired with a total stranger. My golf buddy for the morning was an engineer from FEMA.  We were discussing the safest places to be and she said, “Alaska – as those folks are […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Cheetah Learning rolled out the first accelerated PMP Exam Prep program the week of 9/11 – just outside of Boston. We could have never predicted that would have happened the Monday we started class. But what we have learned how to predict over the past 16 years of helping […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Life has a way of forcing the most important projects to the forefront, often times without us even having to do a thing.  I’ve been doing an “undercover boss” exercise with Cheetah Learning and taking over people’s jobs for a day here and there.  I recently took over the […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT The four minute mile was first done in 1954 by Roger Bannister and it’s now considered the norm for middle distance runners.  Before Bannister broke this barrier, it was considered impossible.   This is the way it is for most things in life. Before Cheetah Learning created the 0 […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I had the great fortune to talk with one of the Cheetah Scholarship students – Carola Walker on Friday.   She responded to a request to chat for our “undercover boss” event to hear from our Cheetah students what most inspired them about being Project Managers. Carola received the […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   A friend’s son, in a project for college, sent me an email inquiring – What Makes Someone Entrepreneurial?   Based on being an entrepreneur the past 30 years, here are my four “tells” that someone is entrepreneurial. 1. Insatiable Drive – You have an insatiable drive to create a […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Many of us know exactly where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001 when that second plane flew into the twin towers.  I remember it as clear as if it were yesterday.  We were out on a break from Cheetah’s first Accelerated PMP Exam Prep course […]

Project managers often call us concerned about what it takes to become a Project Management Professional (PMP).  The most frequently asked question is, “How do I document my experience so that PMI will approve my PMP eligibility application?” We review every PMI PMP eligibility application a Cheetah Learning student completes.  This review is part of […]

Ray sent me an email this AM commenting about my blog post on him yesterday.  He was a little embarassed by my glowing praise for him  and he reminded me – for him, it’s really all about the success of our Cheetah students.  (For me, I like to celebrate all our Cheetah’s – those on […]

Ray Strano is a Cheetah PMP Coach.  He’s been associated with Cheetah Learning since 2001 and has helped over 3000 people pass the PMP exam after only four days of prep – WOW.   I’m wondering if he has set any records with this?  I met Ray in 2001 in our second ever PMP exam […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT (Harvard Business School – OPM35) I would recommend you get the PMP FIRST – and get some solid experience leading projects of increasing complexity under your belt.  In discussions with recruiters over the years, they found it much more valuable people who had some experience then got their MBA. […]

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According to the Project Management Institute, “only 64 percent of government strategic initiatives ever meet their goals and business intent — and that government entities waste $101 million for every $1 billion spent on project and programs. The research also shows that adopting best practices (in Project Management) result in improved efficiency and less money […]

You can find hundreds of books for becoming better at taking exams.  You can also find numerous books about what to study for taking the PMP exam.  And you can take weekend classes, join study groups, and do many sample practice exams. Many people think this is sufficient effort to pass the PMP exam, but […]

Jean Steinmetz (CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP), who wrote the Cheetah Agilebok, says she gets the “Agile vs. Scrum” question from almost everyone she speaks with about PMI’s Agile Certification (PMI-ACP). According to Jean – “This is a common question since the Jan 2012 launch of PMI’s Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) certification. PMI-ACP is about ALL agile […]

Chief Cheetah’s Insights  Hello from Haines, Alaska.  Yes I came to Alaska for the holidays. Now before you think I’m a little off, this is where I hang my hat as often as I can throughout the year.  I found my way here in 2002 on a vacation.  Like many of my neighbors, I immediately […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I had a good friend who routinely said – “If you don’t like your view, change your seat.”  For the past several months I’ve been reeducating myself on digital marketing, search engine optimization, everything “social” and have realized I need to “change my seat.” I’m visiting my daughter in […]

Three ways yoga helps learning Yesterday we wrote about being wrong as a common feeling in learning (and marriage).  Feeling you are wrong produces anxiety that puts your brain into a state that makes learning difficult – if not impossible. (Could this be why those in the “being wrong” type of marriage feel their spouse stopped […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I reached out to Cheetah’s PMP coaches on what they have learned most about coaching our students to become PMP certified.  Our Cheetah Exam Prep Coach, Ray Strano, PMP had this to say: Erma Bombeck was an American humorist who published 15 books from the mid-1960s until the late […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Several years ago we studied the annual reports of Cheetah’s publically traded corporate clients. (Well actually we hired someone who likes to study these types of reports).  We found that after ten years of service to some of the biggest, most successful publicly traded companies in the US, 90% […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Several years ago a PhD candidate approached us for studying how preparing for PMI’s Project Management Professional exam improved people’s self – efficacy – that is their believe in their ability to achieve their goals.  What was intriguing about the study, almost as much as the results, she approached […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT If you think learning is expensive, try ignorance.  Learning, at any cost, is quite the bargain.  Yet the topic of today’s blog is on making learning affordable. Let’s say you want to become Project Management Professional (PMP) certified – you know first hand that it’s going to help you […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Learning is intrinsically rewarding. We have found that while people do not necessarily like being taught, most of us very much enjoy learning. Discovering new concepts and mastering new skills, increases confidence, and brings more fulfillment in life. But often times, learning does in fact create significant monetary rewards, especially […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Being agile, resilient, adaptable all have one thing in common – they require people to learn, and to learn fast.  This is why I started Cheetah Learning and even named us Cheetah Learning in the first place in 1999.  As the faster people can learn, the quicker they can […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Everyone does projects – each individual, every organization, and every company. When people share a collective understanding of common project management processes, tools, and techniques, they can more easily integrate their project management efforts.  Think electrical outlets here.  For anyone who has traveled, they know first hand the challenges […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT What I’ve discovered by being in the learning field for over 25 years now, everyone has their own unique mojo with how they best learn. Learning what this mojo is can significantly improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your learning efforts. I never find the need to label anyone […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Consistent experience creates consistent rewards. Creating increasing value for others creates even greater rewards. But this takes focused effort on improving how you can best be of value – especially as a Project Manager. The challenge is mastering new skills. When you can efficiently implement new skills and create more measurable […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT For this month, we’re helping people stimulate their learning.  Every day, we are highlighting some learning element of one of our many Cheetah courses, with a learning contemplation for you to consider.  Each day is a different course, with a special promotional price for that course for the first […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI – ACP, RYT Practicing patience helps reign in often destructive impulsive desires. Taking time to work through the details in both project planning and negotiation preparation templates, Cheetah Certified Project Management students master the skills that improve their abilities to discover the approach that will bring out the best in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety nine percent perspiration.”  Thomas Edison I love this quote by Edison as it shows how much work it takes to get an idea off the ground. Project Management is the bridge between inspiration and the targeted perspiration required to achieve results.  The better […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT It isn’t what happens in life that defines me, it is how I respond to it. Developing abilities to best respond to changing circumstances is crucial for any entrepreneur who wants to maintain a thriving business. I’ve written about change before – the last time it was about adapting […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In my book Cheetah Negotiations, I created a process for negotiating every element of life.  If you think about it, we are negotiating day in and day out – in every relationship and in every situation.  It takes laser focus discernment to know the best way to negotiate in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’ve been contemplating lately how to develop empathy on the terror, hatred and disdain happening in our society right now stimulated from the very divisive election.  And it got me thinking about Mama Bears.  Many of us are much like Mama Bears – very attached to our “babies.”  Living […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’ve had interesting discussions with other business owners over the past several days about the results of increased bigotry in their companies.  Some have even gone as far to say as they won’t hire someone who voted for Donald Trump because it shows they are at worst a bigot […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT It is darn near impossible to make good decisions when hatred is triggered and your limbic ( “fight or flight”) brain is engaged.  The ancillary feelings of disdain, disgust, and disappointment also activate the limbiic brain. In the Happiness Project class, Cheetah students learn how to temper what triggers […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In reflecting on the divisiveness of this current election cycle,  I realized the projects I work on give me hope.  Hope helps discern where the opportunities are in the challenging times. For the past eight years I’ve been on a path to develop the capabilities to  become energy and […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When things feel out of balance, life seems to send you what you need to bring it back into balance. I learned this lesson in my early 20’s when I burned the candle at both ends working hard and playing hard. To make the time to rest, I’d be […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT While I’m a big believer in turning your ship around, second chances, and infinite redemption, I’ve found time and time again, most people show up consistently as who they truly are. The people who were A students, are generally A employees, and so on.  Another attribute, is  the best […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Culture by it’s very nature is the long standing norms of behavior that guide people’s interactions. I define cutural bias as the cultural attributes we prefer.  A couple days ago, I wrote a blog post on my guiding values – the leader of an organization sets the tone and […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Whether you’re running a business or leading a project, there are times when you can be shaken to your core. The challenge is to discern the relevant threats from imagined threats.  Usually the imagination of what could go wrong is far worse than what could actually happen. I developed […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   Living in Alaska I am lucky to observe whales as they travel north to their summer feeding grounds. They have an internal compass that guides them to the best locations to sustain their life. Reflecting on this. I created a mind map of my guiding values that calibrates my […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When people engage with you or your business do they feel tricked or treated?  You can tell almost immediately the integrity of leadership by the strategies employed to inspire your patronage and grow the business. On the trick end of the spectrum, are you lured into engaging with captivating […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Being a life long entrepreneur, I know certain things about uncertainty. What I know is that when nothing is certain, anything is possible.  What creates the possibilities though is taking action, seeing what happens and then modifying accordingly.  I get to practice this just about every day in my […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I absolutely love competition as it makes me sharper, hones my attention, and helps me see new ways of delivering value.   When working on a new project, I use a technique we teach in our course Project Breakthrough to evaluate our competitive positioning.  I look at it through […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We have a bold vision with our new initiative – Cheetah Micro Greens.  This was a product line we created from our research efforts with Alaska Research Garden this summer.  Our goal with Alaska Research Garden is to research various ways to cost effectively create a year round food […]

Muchelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP,  RYT High performing businesses create a culture of respect. The leader of every organization sets the tone for the level of respect in the organization by how they handle challenging issues – such as sexual harassment. I move quickly on any allegations of sexual harassment in my own business (and […]

Muchelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   In 2003 I met a fascinating neighbor.  He had taken the summer leap from his main stream existence in the lower 48.  He was in Alaska being a river guide and was living with a friend on a lot across the road from my new place in Alaska.  We […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT It took me fifteen years to become an overnight success.  That was fifteen years where I tried one idea after another, learned, built up a business infrastructure, developed the capability and the capacity to run a thriving business.  The skills I learned during those fifteen years helped keep my […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT The psyche craves consistency which is why commitment is such a favorable construct.  Yet commitment to a strategy that is not adaptable to changing market realities requires a reread of the book “Who Moved my Cheese.” The question I routinely ask myself is – if I were making this […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI – ACP, RYT Somewhere along the line I learned an important strategy for business success called “turn key.”  It means to offer a complete solution.  It’s pretty easy to find opportunities to develop turn key solutions. All you have to do is to see where you are having the biggest […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In designing learning experiences, we use a technique called the “emotional gradient t-up” as a way to engage our students. This way even if they do not come to class being “ready, willing and able” to learn,  through the t-up, they become so. I was thinking about this in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Being of service, helping others, creating value – these are innate human drives.  For many, focusing on being in genuine service brings meaning and depth to life. I was discussing these deep philsophical ideas with the dirt working dude for our year round food production project in Alaska.  (He […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Everyday I get to review five to ten course evaluations from Cheetah Learning students.  For me, this is my pay day. All student feedback is valued insight, however and whatever our students want to share about their experiences as they pursue their goals under our guidance. It always impresses […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In 2008, very concerned about the unraveling of our financial investment infrastructure, it occurred to me I was looking at just one element of our capital basis.  We in fact have five distinct sources of capital we can leverage to be in service and create value with and for […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’m putting the finishing touches on a new course we call Project Micro Greens.  It’s been a whirlwind as we designed and use the system included in the course. But teaching how to build it is quite another task. Especially since I have been sufficiently traumatized from poorly documented […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When I created Cheetah Learning’s four day accelerated exam prep for the PMP in 2001, there were roughly 40,000 people certified.  As a new comer to a saturated exam prep market, I estimated we could fill four classes per year with our accelerated approach.  When sharing my commitment to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Several years before starting Cheetah, a colleague introduced me to George Land’s book called “Break Point and Beyond.”  This was where I first learned of the concept of autopiotic systems.  Autopiotic means self organizing.  An autopiotic system is self organizing around a core value.  When I formed Cheetah Learning, […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Being in service is a privlege of the capable  – think about it – who wants someone incompetent attempting to be of service?   Yet it is more than just an alignment of capabilities  to best serve others, it is also about taking on the responsibilities that are yours […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Years ago a good friend told me people go where they are needed and stay where they are wanted.  I’ve realized while there are many places I’m needed, there are far fewer where I’m truly wanted.  I’ve found time and time again, I’m best able to serve those who […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I was watching a TED talk on block chain technology (the engine behind Bitcoin) and am fascinated how we create systems to increase our ability to trust those processes we need to conduct our lives.  It seems trust is in short supply these days from our political candidates, to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In the news lately there has been much complaint how little attention main stream media gave to the floods in Louisiana. This has spurred much conversation with my peers about how many of us have become numb to the “news,”  just curating only the information we wish to receive. […]

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, CCPM, PMI-ACP, RYT As I contemplate this topic of building bridges, I wonder if we are living in increasingly divisive, and polarized times or is that how I am perceiving the information coming at me from a variety of news sources?  The only reason you need to build a bridge is to […]

  Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Yesterday was cleaning service day out here at the Alaska Research Garden.  I had a couple cheetah staff visiting, so we went into town while the cleaning service was over.  I didn’t stick around to supervise (and really who wants to supervise the cleaning service anyhow?) While we […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT “Those who tell the stories, rule society,” Plato. One of the many things I love about running Cheetah Learning are the success  stories we hear from our students.  What I love even more is how we are simply the conduit for our students to find their own way to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT About a decade ago, I kicked off a conference for a group of 5000 project managers at a large telecommunications company.  Before the conference, as a way to prepare for the presentation, I had the project managers participate in a short survey on how effective they felt in their […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT There are many reasons over the years I’ve spent more and more time in Alaska, but the main reason is just learning to live in a small remote Alaskan town helps me develop perspectve on what is really important.  And it’s most certainly not the luxury items often deemed […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT   Creating a quality experience for another in any realm is all about listening to them.  When through your actions, people are able to meet their needs, they feel heard, seen and acknowledged.  This is the higher level of “listening.”  Sometimes, though people do not even know they have […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT At Cheetah Learning we live by the core premise that learning is about creation, not consumption.  It is in this creative expression that happens through learning I find the most engaged experiences.  For me it is all about the quality of engagement.  I’d much rather live a life full […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In the retail world, the big name brands commonly make lower grade products for the big box stores who demand the lowest prices for their customers and also for different levels of customers.  For example Black and Decker tools are made by the same company as Dewalt tools.  Black […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Throughout the years I’ve run into some very good project management styles and some very bad project management styles. Just recently I finished cleaning up the mess made by this project manager I had to let go a year ago after a huge mishap.  It got me thinking, how could […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I started my first company in 1987 at 25 years old after completing my tour as an Air Force Officer.  I had several quick successes which were very nice, but because of this beginners luck,  I did not develop the capabilities needed for enduring success.  Over the next ten […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Part of many courses we teach at Cheetah Learning, in the spirit of helping people efficiently accomplish their important projects, is the crucial aspect of setting the “right” goals FIRST before starting a project to achieve those goals.   Cheetah students learn how to set and evaluate their goals […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT The more robust your business processes, the more freedom you have to live your life the way you’d like to in the moment without having to micro manage the processes required to run your operation. I’ve lived by this axiom the past two decades and it’s served me very […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT This month’s theme is inspired by a new on the road lifestyle. (For those who follow this blog you may have noticed I’ve not been posting as frequently).  I took advantage of a seller’s market in Portland, Oregon this spring to flip a property for the company we were […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT The previous post on shifting from being super frustrated with the technology in my life to becoming delighted with it is all about change management (and learning).   I was thinking about how technology changed during my grandmother’s life.  She was born in 1900, at home.  The family did […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We’ve all seen (and maybe even had) those very ugly reactions to challenges with technology – where even the dog goes running for cover.  But I prefer to take responsibility for my reactions, so how I react to any type of technology challenge is 100% within my control.  Is […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Every technical challenge I’ve faced in the past   40+ years of me being a techno wonk has been resolved within short order the quicker I let go of even needing to resolve it.   There is a host of alphabet soup after my name at the beginning of […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Infrastructure capital – we all have it as individuals, companies, and as a society.  It’s what helps us conduct the affairs of our lives.  As individuals, it’s our computers, smart phones, vehicles, homes, tools of our trade.  As companies it’s our buildings, our technology hubs, our machines, our processes […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Like anything, technology can help or hurt you.  Lately,  the attraction to stay in constant connection with others – via email, facebook, texting, snapchat, instagram, twitter, linked in, etc – while causing perpetual distractions, also becomes addictive.   (And it’s estimated to cost US businesses alone over $9 billion […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT We use a virtual live classroom to teach Cheetah Learning’s accelerated four day PMP class so people can take it wherever they are – real time.   To set this up, we researched ways to easily capture a wide angle view of the physical classroom space.  People remember in […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Having an idea (or even several ideas) on how to exit a situation (any situation) is something that requires careful deliberation.  Yes I hear the commitmentohpiles or those who believe thought creates reality saying , “but doesn’t having an exit strategy presuppose you’ll need one and create the situations […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I noticed years ago the more enthusiastic I am about a plan, the better it seems I can enroll others in my ideas.  When I am working with Cheetah Learning’s certified teachers, every once in a while I’ll here the hardest students to work with are the ones who think […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP In the book  Sway, The Pull of Irrational Forces, the authors discuss how people want to have the decisions of others for which impact them be made fairly.  If there is a perception someone was not fair in an interaction,  there leaves a stain in the memory of the person […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Ever since I created Cheetah Negotiations, I often hear from others they perceive any encounter with me is a negotiation.  But,  for me, a negotiation is a very deliberate, well planned out exchange where there is a mutual exploration of how we can create more value together – beyond […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP I’m working on a really exciting project with Dylan Kasch, an Environmental Scientist and food security expert.  After graduating from UC Berkley and then riding his bike from California to New England he found his way to studying small-scale food production year round in cold climates – at an aquaponics […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT When I was an Air Force Officer, I was stationed at the Aeronautical Systems Division and worked in the office for Electronic Warfare and Countermeasures.  We were responsible for upgrading the electronic warfare systems on existing aircraft.   Part of our duties were to write Request for Proposals (RFP’s) […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Estimating is a crucial element of my project success.   It is the early assumptions made that set most projects in motion. I was thinking about this after the first weekend of my property in Portland being on the market. The first estimate that even started this was with observing […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Expediency in completing projects is my main goal.  I find I can move fastest with kindness as the foundation.  Projects are about people working together towards completing a significant goal.  The key words here are “people working together.”   Kindness and consideration in the planning phase goes a long […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT It’s only March 3rd and the fruit tree’s are in full bloom all around me here in the Pacific Northwest.  The rain clouds have cleared for a moment and the sun is peaking through.  It’s days like today that fill me with vim and vigor to start planning my […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I first heard the term “mojo” about ten years ago.  I was doing a live radio show and the interviewer asked me about the “mojo of accelerated learning.”   I managed to contrive a suitable answer, as I had never heard the term “mojo” before.  When the interview was […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Working together over a period of time, a group of people will create a collective identity of who they are as a team.   At Cheetah Learning – we call our team – Team Cheetah.  This means something very specific to us.  Team identities foster a sense of “we” […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’m a big fan of using the Japanese technique of the 5 S’s to improve productivity with my project teams. The 5 S’s are a way to get your workspace organized.  Do these tasks in the following order: 1. Sort – this means go through and get rid of […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I recently met a young engineer with an exciting job where he gets to travel to remote villages all over Alaska.  He was telling me about the challenge of being in the office – meetings.  I shared with him my standards for meetings – and thought it might be […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In Cheetah’s course “Effective Project Management,” we have students look at how they behave on projects and understand if that behavior is an asset or a liability to their project team.  It’s been my experience most people’s intentions are positive even if others see their behavior as negative. People generally […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT “Trust me” may be the most manipulative phrase used on a project team.  Now before you think me a hardened curmudgeon, let me explain myself.  It’s been my experience, people who are worthy of my  trust, do not say this.  Furthermore,  they would not even consider saying this.  Integrity […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT No one remembers what you start; they remember what you finish (and how well you finish it).   What I’ve seen on various project teams, some people have a different definition of what “complete” means.   Done means done in my book.  It means the task for which you […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In the early 90’s I was working with an organizational psychologist developing curriculum for improving team performance.  She said something that stuck with me – “the principal source of conflicts is differing expectations.”   While I never verified or validated if this was true, when I dissect it, it […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Creating great results with a project team involves using our inherent human nature for our best advantage rather than to become diminished. To better understand human nature I look to the sun and the ocean. With the sun, the same sun shines on all of us. But for some […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I’m on a sailing adventure this week with several project team members.   I’ve written this blog post in advance as I wanted to focus entirely on the task at hand with my project teammates rather than on staying connected to the office.  This adventure came up quickly like […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT On February 2 every year, Groundhog Pauxitawny Phil comes out of his hole. If he sees’s his shadow, he gets scared and goes back into his hole. Folklore has it there is then six more weeks of hard winter. It got me thinking about the fears of our shadow […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT Creating delighted customers (of your project) happens BEFORE you start your project.  In Cheetah’s Communicating Through Conflict class, students learn the largest source of conflict is differing expectations.  Let’s say the goal of your project is to become Project Management Professional (PMP) certified.  And you take a course to […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT In the last post I talked about Project Stakeholders, today I’m going to talk about Project Sponsors.  The Project Sponsor is the person who sets the project in motion, often securing the funding and resources required and handling many issues outside the control of the project manager.  In many […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT According to the Project Management Institute  “A Stakeholder is an individual, group, or organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.” Most projects have a variety of stakeholders, many with competing interests. Sometimes these interests can derail your […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I was contemplating how Michael Porter’s work on Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors, relates to Project Management.  The first area is with the impact people experience in their careers when they earn the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential – as it tracks closely with what Porter describes […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT For me, projects that go on forever suck out my life force.   I’ve found the way to keep vital, vibrant, and enthusiastic about life is to succinctly define the scope of my projects and stick to it. That means I know what “finished” means, before I even start. […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT I wrote about alignment several months ago after stumbling upon this concept called Ikigai – that is when you align your passion, mission, vocation and profession.  Lets look at Ikigai through the lens of aligning your passion, mission, vocation, and profession with the rate of change of technology. Technological […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT You can do anything you’d like but you cannot do everything you’d like. The key to achieving your most significant goals is to make them your priority. The first step is to decide how something becomes your priority.  When people complete the 60 hour online Cheetah Certified Project Management […]

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT It’s exciting to create lots of ideas and see extensive possibilities.   In a world where anything is possible, it helps to also learn how probable it is for you (and others) to achieve your dreams. Being an entrepreneur, I have the inside scoop on this dreaming thing.   I am […]