Headphones in the office

Headphones in the office…good idea or bad idea? This summer we had a development team working on a project to deliver InSite online courses on iPads, tablets, and other mobile devices.  The team found it productive to collaborate in a conference room, …

How to Take the Scary Next Step

“Maybe this woman will be ‘the one.’” “Maybe that job will be my calling.” “Maybe this book (or podcast) is going to give me the answer I need.” “Maybe this diet is the one that will keep me skinny.” We really want this next step to be The Last Step. W…

Part 2 – 1000 Serious Moves

2012-08-22 – Part 2 – 1000 Serious Moves – We easily habituate to feeling stressed, leaning forward, trying to figure things out and get things done. The undercurrent is we are living reactively–resisting unpleasant experience, seeking out more comfor…

Collaboration Tools for PMs

I will admit something: I was a big fan of the ill-fated Google Wave. It was a great way for teams to collaborate on documents and deliverables. It kept track of the evolving conversation right alongside of the deliverable. If someone came into the pro…

1000 Serious Moves

2012-08-15 – 1000 Serious Moves – We easily habituate to feeling stressed, leaning forward, trying to figure things out and get things done. The undercurrent is we are living reactively–resisting unpleasant experience, seeking out more comfort and ea…

Server Crashes during PMP Exam…TWICE

Friday, I received this story from a Student named Bill.  He overcame not one but TWO server crashes while taking the PMP Exam.  Bill kept his cool; he persevered; he passed!  Read Bill’s story: “I recall you mentioning on the cd recordings that you li…

Real But Not True

2012-08-08 – Real but not True – One of the most liberating realizations is that we don’t have to believe our thoughts. In this talk we look at the suffering caused by limiting beliefs–“I am unworthy, unloveable, unsafe”–and the process by which we …

The Good News About Bad News

During my last two years of college, I worked as a co-op with IBM. My boss, a straightforward and serious individual, cut straight out of a bolt of IBM-blue cloth, used to tell those of us in his department “bad news does not get better with age.” It t…

Inspiration that rivals the Olympics!

Work got you down?  Struggling with your studies to prep for the PMP or CAPM?  Been watching the Olympics for inspiration?  Want a little more? I’ve got a story for you.  I’ll share one story from the Blue-Skies Week mentioned in an earlier post. Durin…

What kind of work do you do?

“What kind of work do you do?” “I am a project manager.” And then the project manager jokes start up.         Wait.       That’s not true.  I don’t remember ever hearing someone say to me, “Hey, I’ve just heard a new project manager joke – check …

Back to the Garden

2012-08-01 – Back to the Garden – The suffering of perceiving ourselves as separate selves expresses as fear, aggression, shame and a host of other afflictive emotions. This talk examines how, by taking refuge in the present moment, and taking refuge i…

Kids with Courage

Melinda has a heart for kids.  Melinda Mayton is a nurse practitioner and RN who worked for more than a decade in the pediatric cancer unit of a hospital in Atlanta.  After witnessing cancer’s heavy toll on kids and families, Melinda created Blue Skies…

How to Win an Argument

“You know, if she would just listen to me we wouldn’t be having this problem,” Steve said. He was exasperated. “My wife just doesn’t get it. She always has to do things her way and it drives me nuts!” Steve is a coaching client (and that’s not his real…

Listening with an Awake Heart

2012-07-25 – Listening with an Awake Heart – Listening to our inner life and each other is the grounds of healing, intimacy and love. This talk explores the challenges to offering a listening presence, and the qualities of open receptivity and interes…

Leading and Managing Volunteers

The more I manage and work with organizations, the more the subject of leadership becomes interesting to me. There is only so much an individual can accomplish, but leading a team or an organization multiplies that ability greatly. More than that, it f…

Which Type of Lover Are You?

Which one of these scenarios best describes you as a lover? We’ll use scratching your partner’s back for pleasure to help us illustrate. Scenario One: The “good boy” asks, “So, uh, where do you want me to scratch your back, babe?” She has an itch and t…

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