The Winter It Didn't SnowProject Management

Although it's tempting to assign special projects to someone in house, you're taking a chance.

Not everyone has the know-how and tenacity to juggle a thousand details while keeping both eyes on your goal. Moreover, even the sharpest employee may hesitate to "ride" their own supervisors as deadlines approach, and some personnel may take requests less seriously if they come from a peer or subordinate. Finally, don't forget: everyone on staff already has a full-time job. If you want your project done right, on time, with great results and a minimum of drama, hire a pro.

Some projects I've managed over the years:

  • "Put on a show" to rally support for a small town's emergency services. I wrote a community-specific skit (The Winter It Didn't Snow) as the framework for a variety show; recruited and directed 50 volunteer performers; secured the venue and in-kind contributions; produced and managed the publicity; and brought the curtain up and down to wild applause, even from local curmudgeons who had said, "Never gonna happen."

  • Orchestrated the Baldrige National Quality Award application process for a 7,000-employee institution. In collaboration with two in-house Human Resources professionals, I helped senior managers think through how they do what they do as an organization, collected and integrated ideas and graphics from a dozen departments, wrote the 50-page narrative for the application, and shepherded it through production. No, they didn't win, but with Baldrige that's not the point; the journey was its own reward.

  • Prepared a community for the opening of its new hospital. I produced a health fair with all the usual booths, a series of construction-site tours for local schoolchildren (kid-size hard hats to take home), luncheons for civic leaders, and architect's presentations for employees on all three shifts (Yes, at 2 a.m.).

  • Supervised creative professionals—graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, writers, printers, videographers, sound engineers, web designers—for dozens of media productions.


For further information about my project management services, contact me directly.