Want to gain some leading-edge skills? Then come join me and other thought leaders on February 22^nd – 24^th at The 2010 National Conference of The Association for Strategic Planning (ASP). I’ll be among a team of experts and top-rated strategists who will share their Best Practices expertise in workshops. Join me in a deep dive presentation “Turn Strategy Into Results” on Monday afternoon to learn Best Practices in execution and strategic project management.

A leading consulting company identified strategic planning as the number one required competency for corporate success. Whatever your mainstream profession, increasing your strategic management skills in these in topsy-turvy times is a smart move.

Check out the brochure (www.strategyplus.org) and register now. And here’s my gift for the first 15 registrants who register as a result of this announcement: I’ll send you a complimentary copy of Strategic Project Management Made Simple: A Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams as my congratulations. Just let me know when you sign up.

See you there!

Are you aware that your life consists of a cluster of projects in various roles that you play? . In a recent interview with Dr. Hendrie Weisinger (aka, Dr. Hank), I discussed how Project Management (PM) isn’t just for Project Managers anymore and how it can benefit your life.

Dr. Hank is a world-renowned Psychologist, Speaker and Author with a weekly column in The Huffington Post. In the following excerpt from the interview—“The Importance of Project Management: An Interview with Terry Schmidt”—you will see how a little curiosity and experimentation can launch a career (or even restart one):

Dr. Hank: You have developed great expertise in Project Management. How did you get interested in this field?

Terry: My love of projects began in high school when I launched a small rocket loaded with guppies. That project earned national press coverage and motivated me to study aerospace engineering. During a summer internship at NASA, I devoured all the project and program management books in their library. This ignited my passion for Project Management and systems thinking, which considers how all the elements of large and complex systems work together to accomplish the big picture goal.

In a later career as a management consultant to developing nations, I witnessed the futility of piecemeal solutions to complex problems. For example, a project designed to reduce childhood mortality in Africa may provide inoculations and health education, but these good efforts will fail unless there is also access to clean water, which may not be part of the project. So we need to think, plan, and act from a larger perspective and address all the solution elements.

Given the nature of the problems we face today, it is essential to use systems thinking combined with Project Management.

Check out the full interview at this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hendrie-weisinger/the-importance-of project_b_395007.html Then feel free to post a comment about how PM relates to you and how apply PM concepts to manage your life.

I recently taught a group of executives from Golden Eagle Broadcast System, China’s most progressive media organization and owners of 11 tv stations, several radio stations, and a movie production business. I taught them strategy, as part of a custom UCLA Extension program on entertainment in a digital area. If you have attended my Strategic Project Management course, you will remember the Noah’s ark case study. It was pure joy watching these execs enthusiastically develop a Logical Framework for the Noah’s Ark case in Chinese!

Have you heard “the talk of the world” lately? Tune in to hear Terry Schmidt and Stephen Haines on www.WorldTalkRadio.com Tuesday, October 20th from 2:00-3:00pm PST so you don’t miss a thing.

Terry will be interviewed by Stephen on the important topic of Future Environmental Scanning. This topic is especially vital to developing strategic plans that take into account the internal and external factors affecting critical projects. Terry will provide lots of strategic wisdom and humor to keep the discussion lively and impactful.

Mark your calendars. Terry and Steve may not have crystal balls, but be sure that sharpening your Future Environmental Scanning skills will make a difference in your business and your life. So, join the talk of the world today about future impact! Here’s the link..

Have you heard (or read, rather) that Sage Journals publishes 165+ online journals in management, technology, science and more? The content is great; and every October, Sage Journals makes its archives available for FREE.

Well, now you have! It’s easy to sign up and access solid journals with articles dating back to 1999 to the present. As you know, it is important to stay updated about the issues and factions within and outside of your field. There are literally hundreds—if not thousands—of topnotch articles to stimulate and educate.

Simply click on the link below to sign up and get started reading:

https://online.sagepub.com/cgi/register?registration=FTOct2009-12

I would love to hear back from you about interesting topics you find! See you in the archives!

In times when it’s vital to reduce expenses, former American Airlines president Robert Crandall offers a creative example of how to do so. While the details are situation-specific, the thinking process transfers to virtually any situation.

Crandall visited each AA location annually, and discovered that a low traffic Caribbean office employed an expensive night watchman. He suggested reducing the watchman to just three nights a week (the thieves wouldn’t know). A year later, with no theft, he suggested a further cost savings.

Crandall ordered a “vicious dog” sign be prominently placed, and found the meanest and scariest dog around. Months later, after no theft, he put the dog on part time duty.

During the next years’ budget review, in search of further cost reductions, Crandall instructed that the dog not be fed for a day to make him angry. He had the staff tape-record the dog barking, then play the tape recorder on a timer, so that potential thieves would be fooled into thinking a vicious guard dog was inside the facility.

And it worked!

How can you adapt this concept? The key is to analyze the central function of any system or process, then identify alternate ways to perform that function. In this case, the function was to deter potential robbers, and there were cheaper alternatives than a live guard. Rather than automatically accepting the traditional way of doing something, what better and cheaper ways can you uncover?

Last month we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, America’s first manned lunar landing. When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon, not only was it “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind,” it was one great adventure for me because I was the youngest accredited press member covering this historic life off and the only one representing an underground hippie newspaper. I still get chill bumps recalling the fiery lift off from Cape Canaveral. For the story on how my early love of rockets lead a grand adventure and a career in technology, READ ON

It’s delightful when a big company which acts shamefully and gets its cummupins! Dave Carroll, my latest hero, refused the runaround United Airlines gave him after they admittedly broke his $3500 guitar. After nine months of endess frustration trying to get reimbursed but getting the runaround, he decided to put his complaint into song form.

In the spring of 2008, his band Sons of Maxwell was traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and his Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in Chicago. He discovered later that the $3500 guitar was severely damaged. They didn’t deny the experience occurred but for nine months the various people he communicated with put the responsibility for dealing with the damage on everyone other than themselves and finally said they would do nothing to compensate him for the loss. Carroll promised the last person to finally say “no” to compensation (Ms. Irlweg) that he would write and produce three songs about his experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world.

United: Song 1 is the first and is rocketing up the YouTube charts; United: Song 2 has been written and video production is underway. I’ll bet there are plenty of red faces at United but they deserve the shame.

Enjoy this brilliant song which will catapult Carroll into the fame he deserves.

”United Breaks Guitars”

Have you heard that Facebook has made it easier to find you on the web? If you act quickly, you may get a unique URL with your name or with the main benefit of your business.

(If you registered for Facebook before 6/9/09, you are eligible. Those who have registered after that date will soon be allowed to do so.)

Go to www.facebook.com/username/ to register your unique name. You can choose

your full name www.facebook.com/yourfullname
your main benefit www.facebook.com/solutionprovider

But if your name is TerrySchmidt, you are too late because my new handle is www.facebook.com/terryschmidt.

Once you have customized your username, you cannot change it—so choose (and type) carefully.

See you on Facebook!

There are times when we all must hunker down and crank to produce something important. During pedal to the metal times, it is important to focus your effort and energy like a laser beam. After years of being disorganized (e.g., papers, and books everywhere), I’ve finally learned that being organized brings clarity and clutter helps you operate most efficiently.

In recent months, I have been systematically organizing and even “shedding”—not in the sense of grooming my dog Mushka, but by dejunking, paring down clutter and organizing what’s left. Julie Morgenstern’s book When Organizing Isn’t Enough: Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life has been enlightening as I lighten the load.

What is SHED? Morgenstern explains, “SHED is a transformative process for letting go of things that represent the past so you can grow and move forward”. There are four steps of SHED (Separate the Treasures, Heave The Trash, Embrace Your Identity, Drive Yourself Forward). The shedding process eliminates the defunct, extraneous and burdensome objects and releases obligations that are weighing you down. By doing so, you create the psychological space to discover what’s next and gather the energy and courage to move forward.

The process requires understanding and releasing emotional attachments to tangible objects. I was able to shed 50% of my extensive but seldom used library, and a long with it, to release intangible burdens including unhealthy beliefs, thoughts and behaviors”.

Letting go through shedding is empowering—because what remains allows what really matters most to surface, so you can achieve more of what you truly desire.

What bottled up project and “stuck energy” corners of your life could benefit from shedding? Give the process a try.