Who is in the village? We all are. We may think we made it on our own but that is not true. Someone has helped each of us and it is our responsibility to reach back and help someone else.
Mentoring is one way to do this. Our youth today are in desperate need of help and guidance. I urge you to make a difference and become a mentor as I have signed up to do with the National Cares Mentoring Movement. The founder of NCMM is Susan L. Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Essence Magazine. I had the pleasure of meeting her earlier this month at the Detroit Public Library, during her promotion of the mentoring program and book signing.
It really does take a village to raise a child. Remember these quotes, then take action:
“You cannot do a kindness too soon for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“To the world you may just be somebody, but to somebody you might just be the world.” Author Unknown
Question: What is the primary cause of project failure?
Answer: It varies by person and company. Projects fail for a number of reasons including unclear goals and objectives, poor planning, poor tracking, and insufficient communication. Sometimes Project Leaders/Organizations just don’t know how to manage all of the details and requirements of a project.
Concern: You or your company do not have a formalized process for starting, tracking, and closing projects.
Potential Solution: Idea Mapping
As I shared with the Delaware participants, in my Project Management seminar, a few weeks ago, Idea Mapping can help you organize your thoughts and serve as a visual for you and your team to monitor your project. You can create an idea map of the project life cycle and include the details on sub-branches. As defined in the PMBOK guide, “The project life cycle defines the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end.” “The transition from one phase to another . . . is usually defined by . . . some form of technical transfer or handoff.”
I particularly like the idea of creating a separate idea map for the closing phase, for a reference and to share with others in your organization. A few of the main branches would be Project Summary, Benefits/Things Gone Well, Lessons Learned, and Financial Analysis.
Upon completing your project, be sure to celebrate your success! You can even create an idea map for that! 🙂
Idea Mapping can help you with projects from creation to culmination to celebration! View my maps and start creating your own to avoid project failure and create project success!
Today I attended a Chamber of Commerce event which was held at the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, MI. Both the tour and guest speaker were very enlightening. Allow me to share.
1) Many did nothing. During the Holocaust 6 million Jewish people were murdered as a consequence of the national policy of Nazi Germany. Many neighbors in Germany and people abroad knew what was happening but did nothing.
2) Books were burned.On May 10, 1933, “un-German” books were burned to usher in an era of censorship and culture control. Books by American authors, Ernest Hemingway and Helen Keller, were included in the fire.
3) Dignity was stripped.In the concentration camps, people were only allowed to go to the bathroom twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. There were no restrooms just 75 holes dug in the ground. Hundreds of people had to stand in line to go in view of everyone as there were no doors for privacy.
What have you done lately to improve your life and the lives of others? Think about it.
My Recommended Actions (Especially for the Youth):
1) Take steps to help yourself and somebody else! Know you can make a difference!
2) Remember, knowledge is power, when it’s applied. Read, learn, grow!
3) Never let anyone strip you of your dignity. Hold on to the winner in you!
4) Make a plan and plan to work! Map out your future and get moving in the right direction!
If you are like me, you take endless notes during conferences, seminars, and classes, but rarely review them. This is because they are often too long, too wordy, and too bland visually to inspire interest. Well fortunately, it’s a new day and there is a better way!
I now use idea mapping when taking notes. For me, it’s a smarter, more efficient, and fun way to capture information. I definitely enjoy reviewing my maps because the concepts and thoughts are clearly displayed and easy to understand. I also find drawing pictures on my maps to be quite relaxing.
I recently participated in a “Passionate Business” teleseminar given by Maria Simone. I captured notes with a hand-drawn map. I used a variety of colors for my text and drew several pictures. I am no artist but the drawings help trigger the seminar suggestions. I have reproduced a version of my hand-drawn map on the attached electronic map which was created with MindJet software.
The lamp icon in the top right callout refers to an analogy Maria used. She said if you went shopping for a lamp, you would focus on getting the lamp. You would not focus on whether electricity would be available in the wall of your house to make it work. You would expect the lamp to work when you plugged it into the wall. She suggested we do the same with our business (lamp). Move forward and expect the resources (electricity) to be available when you need them. I believe this. It is so important to sow with expectation. When you are moving in the right direction, your mountains will be moved!
I hope you enjoy the map and the information in it. Remember an idea map is very specific to the mapper’s interpretation. I captured the information that was important to me. I encourage you to map your notes at the next available opportunity so you too can be taking notes and mapping for your success!
The youth of today are our future. Idea Mapping is a perfect tool to help them grow. It helps children to organize their thoughts and ideas and time. It can also be a confidence booster. Take a look at the maps this 8th grader did in Jamie Nast’s Idea Mapping class. Click here for the full story.
Time really does seem to fly. It’s been too long since I have made the time to blog. I am committed to doing more. See you soon and let me hear from you.
If time and money were no object, what would you really choose to do with your life? Would you mentor to young children or cruise on a yacht? Would you become a Chef or climb the Himalaya mountains? Do you believe that the choice is yours to do anything you want?
So often we are immobilized by the idea of change. We can come up with a million reasons why we can’t do something rather than focusing our energy on what we can do. Change starts with a choice. You can choose to move forward and realize your goals and dreams or you can choose to merely exist, dealing with whatever comes your way.
The choice is yours and the choice is mine, and I choose to change! I choose to say YES to endless possibilities. I choose to make a difference in my life and those I encounter. What about you? Do you need some help? Could you use a tool that simplifies the decision making process? If you said yes, then Idea Mapping is the tool for you!
Idea Mapping is a visual tool that mirrors how our brain:
1) naturally and freely associates information
2) makes connections between pieces of data
An Idea Map is a colorful visual picture of the issue at hand, all on a single sheet of paper. Not only is it a tool that helps with the decision making process, it’s a tool that saves you time, increases your productivity, and helps you get organized.
Isn’t it time to stop existing and start living? The choice is yours, do you choose to change?
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