Navigating a fleet of projects

The bay is starting to look blue (and almost tempting) and I can envision the day (maybe just weeks away) when boats begin to dot the horizon again. As I navigate through my typical work week, it does feel like I have my own private fleet of projects that I'm sailing through an ocean to a final destination. My regatta is made up of various sizes, shapes, and crews but all with one hope: a successful landing with an intact cargo and satisfied passengers.

So is the life of a professional project manager. Constantly planning, launching and bringing in a project. (Hopefully, on budget, on time and meeting the team's expectations.) It's hard to predict the conditions we'll encounter. Sometimes it's smooth sailing the entire way; other projects are not so lucky and are battered by storms and change.

Successful project management is partially a mindset and approach-- knowing how to pull together the specific steps and "to dos" and then walking through a systematic process for each individual step.

It's also an understanding of the tools that are available to help you manage the project. Tools such as flowcharts, worksheets, gantt charts, online meeting scheduling, and document sharing sites. The range of options is impressive and often overwhelming.

The final ingredient is style; understanding the nuances of team facilitation and how to engage, motivate and move a diverse group in a progressive fashion to achieve a shared vision.

Over the next month, we are offering several professional development resources focused on project management. If you missed Robin Grinnell's project management and facilitation sessions on March 17, 2011, you'll find her materials in the NorthSky Resource Center at www.northskynonprofitnetwork.org/resource.php Andy Wolber will be back on April 14 with another technology webinar: Managing Projects with People Beyond Your Walls. Sign up at: www.northskynonprofitnetwork.org.

You'll also find business planning templates in our resource center. Feel free to share any other resources that you've found useful. Happy sailing!

Ah, the world of databases....

Can't live with them, can't live without them. But we all know that our ability to effectively manage the constellation of constituents: clients, donors, volunteers, and staff that comprise our nonprofit's universe, is at the mercy of the database we've chosen and our skills in using it.

This month we have the opportunity to learn more about selecting databases and one in particular, Salesforce. Technology consultant, Andy Wolber, will be leading two webinars on March 10 as part of the NorthSky Professional Development series: www.northskynonprofitnetwork.org

Salesforce is a database we have experience with at NorthSky, having launched it here last fall. It's growing in popularity with nonprofits throughout the country; it's very robust, handling an array of organizational needs -- from marketing and sales, to project management and evaluation. While we don't engage in fundraising here, its fundraising capabilities also appear strong. We've only begun to dig into all of its capabilities but we are excited about the possibilities of having an integrated technology approach that links our website, email marketing and evaluation system together. We'll be launching our new website this Spring so watch for that.

Join us on March 10 to learn more about databases including Salesforce. Anyone else using Salesforce? Anything to share?