A Good Excuse to Say "Thank You!"

Hey, do you need a reason to celebrate today? Well guess what? The first Thursday of every November is International Project Management Day!

Now how exactly is one to celebrate International Project Management Day? That’s a fair question. Increasingly there seems to be a day or month for just about everything. For example, who would have known that November is also Peanut Butter Lovers Month? I can figure out how to celebrate that over lunch today. But how do you celebrate International Project Management Day?

I propose you brainstorm a list of stakeholders who have been actively involved in (or have positively affected) your development as a manager/project manager. Today would be a great day to thank them.

Here are some of mine:

• Diane Conrath and Bob Pawlikowski, who promoted me from being a programmer/analyst to a manager for all the wrong reasons.
• Bill Henry, a former Vietnam vet turned DBA who taught me countless project management lessons through his quirky quips.
• Ron Bieber and Ken Bridgeman, who are some of the most talented technical leaders I ever managed. Or did they manage me?
• Walt Wikman, who encouraged my development and provided many opportunities for higher levels of leadership. He taught me to take a more global mindset to business, and he didn’t keep me from speaking at conferences when I was discovering that I really loved doing so.
• Cindy Elzinga, who was one of the toughest bosses I ever worked for but did more to stretch me than any previous manager. I didn’t realize it (or like it) at the time, but she greatly prepared me for what I’m doing now.
• Ben Snyder, who took a chance on me as a project management facilitator for Systemation when he was probably overstaffed. I have great respect for Ben as a leader, as a CEO, and as a person.
• Seth Freeman, who was both a joy and pain to work with as a stakeholder… and turned out to be a valued friend.
• Karl Wiegers, who encouraged me to pursue a speaking and writing career and graciously offered advice and feedback during the early days of my business.

There are countless others who have molded my ability to lead people and projects today. How about you? Use today as an excuse to take a moment to thank them.

P.S. I’m thinking real project managers would have come up with an acronym for today! So, fellow PM’s, congratulations on IPMD!