It's been a month since my return to blogging - feels like a reasonable opportunity to take a break from talking about objectives and spend a week checking in on progress and the bigger picture.
So going through each objective to give a progress report:
Objective 1: PMP
This objective has fallen completely off the rails. The PMP cohort I was a part of at work has been paused until the new year. I'm dedicating a bit of time to studying the PMBOK and doing some PM related learning. But until the cohort starts back up again this objective is basically blocked.
Because the final step of this objective is an exam that I can't take until after the cohort has completed - I don't want to invest a ton of time exam prepping now since it will likely be 4 or 5 months before I am eligible for the exam.
I'm a bit bummed about this because I was originally hoping to have the PMP locked up before the end of 2025 - but that's life.
Objective 2: Strengthen BA Skills
Because the PMP is on pause - This objective has now functionally moved into the top slot. It's also become increasingly relevant because the principal BA on my current project is being (at least partially) rolled off my contract.
So ready or not - I will be the primary BA starting next week.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't anxious about this. But I've got a great team, and we're all navigating this transition together.
I'm taking this as an opportunity to step up and take ownership for things that I previously would have deferred on - and I am certain that the practical knowledge that I gain the next several months will be far more valuable than anything I might learn from a book, video, or class.
I am spending an hour or two a week consuming BA related courses on LinkedIn Learning to help fill in gaps, and I'm continuing to examine the value in a formal BA credential.
Objective 3: Begin Formal Process Improvement Training
I've not gone into detail on this objective yet - but the general intent is to pursue Lean Six Sigma credentials and consume alternative process improvement literature.
While completing that work - I want to find some opportunities to apply the process improvement knowledge I already have and understand.
I haven't formally entered an engagement yet - but I believe I have lined up an opportunity to put these skills in practice starting in January and am currently working on some assessment/analysis frameworks that will be the opening activity in that engagement.
Will go into more detail on this objective next week, and more detail on this potential opportunity when it's a little more set in stone.
Objective 4: Strategic Reading Plan
If you've been following my Monday posts - you'll know that I had a goal to read 100 books this year. Prior to creating my learning plan I was just reading things I already had on the shelf or that were recommended via various channels.
As a part of the plan - I developed a more targeted 'curriculum' of books that are supportive of the other objective areas and that curriculum is the basis of Objective #4.
That curriculum included 7 books from the plan start (Oct 15) through the end of November. I've already completed 6 of those books and am about two thirds done with the 7th.
This objective will get covered in detail in 2 weeks - and at that time I'll talk about which books are a part of the curriculum and why they were chosen.
Objective 5: Reignite LinkedIn/Blog Presence
1 month in and this will be my 10th post to the blog. I've established and have been maintaining a regular cadence of two posts a week with an "A" post on Wednesdays and a "B" post on Mondays.
I don't have much of a following yet - I generally only get somewhere between 5-10 views per post. But right now it's not really about the audience, it's about the habit.
Posting here is a form of accountability and traceability that is necessary for me to be successful on this path.
Maybe the blog will draw a massive audience someday - maybe not. I'll be here either way.
As with Objectives 3 and 4 - I'll be diving deeper into this objective in the coming weeks.
Overall
I'm relatively happy with where I'm at - I'm doing the things that I committed to do.
Writing the blog is probably the hardest part - learning things is easy for me.
Coming here and writing about it is hard.
It forces me to really think about the things that I'm doing so I can articulate them here.
It forces me to accept that I'm not some brilliant thought leader who's dropping never before seen insights
.
I've not yet figured out how to appropriately talk about challenges or frustrations from my work - they're a big driving factor in my growth but I don't want to drop dirty laundry here that gets me in hot water.
I've not yet figured out how to appropriately share all of my fears and vulnerabilities while still signaling that I am an extremely capable high performer who will contribute to the greatness of any organization I am a part of.
There's this Mark Manson quote that I keep repeating to myself as I write here:
"You can't be an important and life changing presence for some people without also being a joke and an embarrassment to others."
Thanks for reading!
CHG
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