Project Managers and Executive Feedback

“Never have I been so engaged, challenged, and entertained by a training seminar. The course challenged me to think differently AND allowed me time to reflect and apply basic elements to my situation. I leave with immediately actionable ideas and concepts. I will recommend this course and discuss the method with my management. I know it is relevant to my organization.“

Catherine Graziose, Program Manager, Federal Government, Washington, DC

“The Strategic Project Leadership Certification is an excellent way to enhance the growth path for existing PMP holders. The focus is on business objectives and strategic initiatives, as well as the methods needed for their implementation. Professionals who seek a path to upper management should be encouraged to take this certification; it will help prepare them for the challenges ahead. “

Bane Hunter, Senior Executive Director at Conde Nast – now CEO, The Loop

“Thank you for a wonderful experience.  My time in the SPL workshop was worth every penny.  The ability to use the knowledge and tools you provided will allow me, as a nurse, to integrate skills into the engineering and R&D projects. This will be invaluable both to the team and to further my rapport with the R&D team as a leader!“

Kirsten Emmons, Nurse, Senior Director, Hill-Rom

“Strategic Project Leadership is the best program I ever attended in my 20 years career. I am confident enough to adopt it in my professional life. SPL is breaking the project steps into meaningful and scientific ways. It showed me how to keep the business results as the prime objective, and at the same time building talent and human values.“

R. Jayaprakash, Tatasky, India

“I was looking for something to further my education when my career has changed. I feel that I must stay, “ahead of the curve.” This course will give me an edge in looking for a new job. I like the way it complements existing project management principles; it is easy to apply because it just makes so much sense.“

Katrice McCullough, Senior Project Manager, Nokia - Now Portfolio Manager, Technisource, Randstad, TX

“Thank you for provided such an amazing course!  I really enjoyed the training session and I'm excited to apply the methodology into my current/future projects. The way everything is structured makes complete sense and is very practical in the real world.  It's nice to learn a methodology that actually sounds possible to implement on more of a theoretical level.  Thanks again and I look forward to taking future courses with you.“

Jason Truong, Solvera, Canada

“The Strategic Project Leadership Workshop certainly exceeded my expectations!!  The SPL approach has changed the way I think about project management and has renewed my passion for my field. It was a “Super Course.” I am truly energized and can’t wait to get back to work and put it into action! I will spread the word to my colleagues and look forward to future sessions and interactions.“

Sharon Bell, Program Director, JP Morgan Chase, NJ

“The seminar was refreshing, insightful, and very educational in approaching Project Management from not only a strategic position but also to focus on the business and the people.  I loved the way the class was structured to be informal, yet collaborative, interacting and challenging.  I learned so much about approaching project management from a business perspective.  It pushed the thought process to think outside of the normal Project Management methodology and really own the practice to support business objectives/goals.  I am looking forward to implementing this education in my future roles.“

Pam Sadhar

“The workshop met all my expectations - and I got new and valuable insights in project strategy. The presentations were superb as were the group discussions.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the workshop for everyone dealing with the outcome of projects. The Strategic Project Leadership workshop is of high importance in the initiatives taken in Norway to get more effects out of the projects. I will therefore recommend the course for my employer, Ramboll, to use it as a foundation for understanding how to use our new Project Management model - implemented this year.“

Hallgrim Hjelmbrekke, Ramboll, Norway

“I attended hundreds of workshops. Everyone focuses on tools, but project management is not about the software tool. This is the first one that aligns projects on the most important aspects. The ability to develop a strategy and build a spirit to deal with the people, are key to project success.“

Dr. Tom Samson

“I have had my share of doubts about PM, but I knew that there is something more (better) available. This program made me feel that I am part of the vanguard of change in the PM world. Now I cannot wait for it to happen. The course content is sound and the principles relevant and well researched. I will strongly recommend the course to others and immediately apply in my organization.“

Dr. Lenox Fingal, CEO, Trinidad

“This program opened my mind to a new dimension in project management. I realized that I could really own the business of my projects and make a difference. The innovation diamond and the competitive map tool are highly useful. I am just so excited to take this methodology back and I hope I can evangelize and get my company to embrace it. I believe it will dramatically change our business results and outcome.“

Laura Thatcher, Yellow Pages

“I wanted to reach out to you and let you know that I am applying what I learned in our session to my job. I'm able to better articulate my plans for my organization and how my strategic goals will benefit the division and the company.“

Nick Starace, Program Director, Government Contactor

“It was a real pleasure to meet and work with all of you over the past few days.  For me, the best part of any class is the interaction, challenge and discussion as we work to find better ways to engage our stakeholders and teams. Thank you for making this a success for me.  And thank you for your research and insights, into making us all better project managers.“

Bill Adams

“The course opened up a new perspective on project management, which I had missed in other formal training.  This course presented management techniques (including the soft skills), which are essential in managing people as the fundamental resource in project management.  Politics is alive and strong in every organization and its role cannot be ignored. I learned about my own style of project management and walked away with a better understanding of team members who have participated in my projects.“

Roya Riazi, DEP, NYC

“The course crystalized some fundamentals that while may appear obvious, are frequently forgotten during project progression, e.g., why are we doing this? Does the project add value to the company? In addition, the visual tool to describe project complexity will be very useful in our organization.“

B. Cunningham

“I was always focused on execution and delivery and was intimidated by strategy. With this class I feel I could help executives be more focused and create a strategy for better results. I can apply it immediately and share it with my teams on Monday morning. I am no longer intimidated by strategy. This will be a new mindset and a paradigm shift to all our company.“

Ryan Kert, Program Director, Yellow Pages

“The course is very encouraging to a PM. The vast knowledge and experience is highly welcomed. It opens up new paths from a traditional PM role – which is very exciting and timely. I would highly recommend the course to anyone managing projects/programs in any industry.“

Sujatha N

“It was a great inspiration for me. It showed me the strategic side of project management. I learned how to focus projects on business results and about creating competitive advantage through strategy. I truly enjoyed it, and I will be able to take it back and actually use it on all my future projects.“

Carol Steeley, Arbitron, Washington, DC

“Wanted to thank you for the Strategic Project Leadership Workshop – it was very good, and will be helping me frame my thinking. It is very relevant to what we do here at Intel.“

Oded Agam, Intel

“SPL provides a realistic approach and useful tips to real life projects and situations, especially those involving uncertainty and change. Focusing on business goals and competitive advantage, takes this course off the paper, and straight into real life.“

Vinati Malik, Tatasky, New Delhi, India

“Strategic Project Leadership was like an epiphany since it made so much sense. I totally agree that most methodologies and processes are treated as "one size fits all," which of course makes no sense. I was very excited to learn how to manage projects based on their true business values, instead of strictly managing scope without dealing with what the project actually means for the organization.“

Marc Soester, National Manager, iPMO, business owner, Australia

“Strategic Project Leadership is providing realistic approaches, and not theoretical/bookish approaches to Project Management. It is also making great use of anecdotes, case studies, and humor to keep the engagement going.“

Girish Varadarajan

“At the early innovation team we were looking to go beyond the traditional tools. The SPL provided us with a framework to manage the types of high uncertainty projects that we are running. We now have a vocabulary to communicate, not just with our teams, but also with the rest of the organization on key strategic points that project managers need to understand.“

Dr. Eric Egdeppa, Executive Director, Early Innovation, Hill-Rom

“There always seems to be something more, something called “the art of project management.” With this class, the art has been broken into a “science.” As project management moves forward, this is actually a paradigm shift. It will take us to a new philosophy and a huge growth in project management.“

Joan Chalkley, Dallas, TX

“The SPL was a terrific experience. I have not only reconstructed the way I think of project management, but also the way I think of strategizing, and the best way to bring projects to conclusion, ensuring that the business needs are met. And for executives, directors, and corporate offices, it will help you as leaders in industry to change some of the ways you do things, so that your company becomes more unique among your competitors.“

Chris White, Vice President, Chiron, Washington, DC

“I cannot say enough about it, as it really went beyond my expectations and me. I am walking away with vary valuable tools and information that I can immediately apply to all the projects that I manage. I can only recommend it to anyone interested to take his or her skill-set to the next level.“

Yvonne Chacon, Architect, Los Angeles, CA

“I am a PMP and Prince 2 Practitioner. I was looking for new material in project management. After three days, my expectations were completely met and were exceeded. I will be able to use the tools presented in my job, and I expect to see real improvement.“

Xavier Hernandez, IT Program Manager, United Nations, NYC

“I think with this class, I would be able to give “Northdrom-Style Service” to my clients and be able to anticipate and be more responsive and flexible to my company and business.“

Joel Myerson, Senior IT Manager, LA Health Care System, CA

“I have been to many workshops. This one is different – it exceeded my expectations. The “Diamond Model” is easy to understand, remember, and apply. The impact of the leader and the spirit is invaluable.“

Noreen Kentish, PMO Manager, Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC

“It was a great three days. It opened my eyes to how much we can do more as project managers. Since we came to the course as a team, it was also a great kick-start to our project. By doing the exercises we are now, weeks, if not months, ahead of the game by having talked about our own projects.“

Dave Ribble, Director Corporate Development, Early Innovation Team, Hill-Rom

“This course gives me an opportunity to evaluate all the projects that are coming into my portfolio and make decisions about how to align our strategic and business objectives, and thus help me achieve the objectives of my job. The course does a very good job of aligning strategic management and project management. It provides, not just the concepts and theory, but also the tools and techniques to make sure that what we are doing is answering the question of why are we doing it.“

John Coleman, Portfolio Manager, CSSI, Washington, DC

“Course material was practical and relevant. I would definitely recommend the course to executive management as well as all PMs. Would also definitely recommend this method be applied at my company.“

Michael Dimuro

“This course could also be great for the executive level, starting from portfolio management. And I would clearly recommend it to ALL project managers.“

Martino Pettenati

“I would highly recommend this course to any project manager, and to any one who’s got a handful of projects under his or her belt. It is useful to those who are being in charge of seeing projects run, are interested to tailor the project to a broader sense, and to those who have a desire to see change in the enterprise.“

Ken Pepin, Solvera, Canada

“The course was very insightful and offered a new perspective on project management. Overall, I thought the course was great. I plan on utilizing these principles to gain long-term success with my projects.“

Adam Feinberg

“I feel like I have got an opening to what was missing in my project management experience, not only for myself but also to my team members. I feel like I have a very rich resource and a great reference point in the material that was given in the course.“

Dauwn Parker, City of Hope, Los Angeles, CA

“The course provided a complete package, starting with what is known and the differentiations of what is still missing. The success criteria and the strategy are critical. But the human element is what makes projects successful. The philosophy of SPL is very close to real life – overall, this was great.“

Dr. Rupasiri Fernando, Pfizer, NJ

“SPL captures the technical, human, and business perspectives, and packages it into a solid approach that can be easily applied to each project. And it can be applied to really gain a competitive advantage on your project, as well as helping you present it to your senior management. It was excellent.“

Karen Noe, Senior Project Manager, Public Service Enterprises, NJ

“Strategic Project Leadership manages to put a framework into our processes that we typically do now in an unstructured, fragmented way. Its energy levels and enthusiasm are amazing.“

R. Srinivas

“I think this is a marvelous tool. I would like to see this expand not just in the private sector, but also move into the public arena and into the schools - but not just for college kids, but the ones that are coming out of high school. They need to develop these skills; they need that passion during their entire lives.“

Randy Townsend, IT Director, California State University

“The program is very practical and has a common sense approach to business issues – focusing on business results and the people working towards those results.“

Jaishri Shivaram

“There is a lot I already knew, but now I see it in a fresh, new light to start again. It provided me with the leadership examples I was looking for. I will definitely apply the “Spirit,” human level, and refocus on why we are doing the project in the first place. It was a great course. I am glad I came! It was interesting, engaging, and fun!“

Debbie P

“The course brings new ideas to traditional project management, and reinforces the importance of the human factors. The course provided great examples and humor along the way.“

Mari-Jo Vergano

“I liked the new perspective – looking at the project from a strategic standpoint opens up new opportunities for greater success. It will clearly be beneficial to apply to my company, and I would recommend it to all project managers.“

Lisa M

“The course highlighted the importance of strategy and spirit. Many seminars and workshops focus on tools, which unfortunately results in the absence of focus on the key leadership elements.“

Tony R

“Following the path of SPL, the definition we were required to make at the planning phase of the project helped us focus on what will make this project successful and how we define the specific goals to accomplish during the project phases. In this aspect strategic planning changed forever our perception of project management.

We found the Diamond Model to be a game changer in the aspect of adapting the management method and tools to a well-defined project type, which was formerly a more vague definition.“

Asaf Noifeld

“I enjoyed an opportunity to think out of the box and learn tools and techniques that are extremely relevant to my job situation. I'm excited and have already started preaching to business and direct reports the things I have learned.

This is terrific content and presentation. I want to work for a company that embodies this approach to project management.

Thought provoking and outstanding! “Awesome in delivery and content…”

I hope this email finds you well. I was reminded of you since I got one of the SPL emails and I realized I had been rather slack in not communicating with you. I just recently accepted and started a new role - as the global CEO of The Loop - so you see now you have a CEO graduate from your program. And now a little more year later I am putting to good use the SPL tools.“

Bane Hunter

“It is good to hear from you. I found a job in late March and I am working at Technisource, A Randstad Company. I am managing 80 plus project managers. It is an interesting and very challenging job for sure. I have not had an opportunity to work with our training specialist and they are in the process of transitioning to our parent company and combining processes and courses. I will share information about your course with them when I can get their attention.“

Katrice McCullough