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Continue reading →: A bias for action
Decide what to be and go be it. – Avett Brothers, Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise My daughter loves animals. She collects stuffies, names each one, carries them to bed and writes short stories about their adventures. We sew up their “ouchies” when the dog gets ahold of…
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Continue reading →: A game of strategic skill
The most powerful weapon in chess is to have the next move. – David Bronstein My Dad owned a heavy, green and white stone chess set. The board was heavy, the alternating checkerboard marred by years of play and handling as he moved across the country and back again. Each…
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Continue reading →: To serve first, then lead
“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve.” – Robert K Greenleaf What does it mean to be a servant leader? Is it holding the door? Buying a lunch? Does it come with a specific title? Why does it even matter? I…
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Continue reading →: Work done for others
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. – Thomas Edison When I turned five, my Mom bought me a birthday cake. Double stacked, creamy white icing with a brown teddy bear holding a “Happy Birthday” banner across her chest. All evening,…
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Continue reading →: To see what is before us
The essential is invisible to the eye. – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince For a moment in college, I imagined myself as a female madman-esque advertising designer. This seemed like an exciting career choice and I closely watched brand campaigns unfold in the world around me. I tasted the…
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Continue reading →: Enabling action with facts
Numbers have an important story to tell. They rely on you to give them a voice. – Stephen Few “Are we on track?” I’m sitting in a small, white-walled conference room. On my left, a half wall of windows and on the right a row of closets, each packed with…
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Continue reading →: Without unnecessary complexity
Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy. — Isaac Newton There are a hundred faces in the audience, spread throughout the conference hall, milling around, and making small talk. I am standing in the back of the room, uncomfortable in my favorite gray sweater, dark slacks, and…
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Continue reading →: That which guides us
Music is the space between the notes. – Claude Debussy Life is noisy. People, traffic, television, the radio, the Zoom call, my own stream of conscience blasting thoughts at me every minute of the day. The garbage collector driving down the street, the dogs barking at the mail truck, the…
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Continue reading →: Ongoing adjustment based on feedback
Progress is impossible without the ability to admit mistakes. – Masaaki Imai My path to project management is only clear in hindsight. I grew up just southwest of Bloomington and just north of the poverty line, in rural Indiana where basketball is king and girls in those days typically become…
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Continue reading →: Calibrating the plan, reality and the goal
Springtime in Indiana is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. – Inspired by Forrest Gump The Blackmore house sat back from the highway, on top of a hill, at the end of a driveway flanked by a row of short, very climbable dogwood…
Hello,
I’m Melissa
Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m a project manager with a passion for simple approaches that emphasize the importance of context. I love helping others navigate complex projects with clarity & confidence.
Outside of the office, I’m an avid runner, reader, writer, mother & wife. I spend my days looking for connections and inspiration in the context of our busy, messy, wonderful, joyous, everyday lives!
I hope you’ll find something useful & encouraging here. Have a look around and let me know what you think.
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Context Matters 