In each issue, Cheetah News features an individual who shares his or her ideas, insight, and experience with Cheetah Learning's Methodology.

So Much to Learn, So Little Time

Three hundred and eighty pages of information turned into a four-hour exam. Who has the time, let alone the memory, to study enough to pass the exam to become a certified PMP^®? Inger Adams, executive project manager in global technology services in the IT industry, had those same thoughts when she considered pursuing her PMP certification. But respect for her company, its clients, and her own passion for Project Management fueled her motivation.

“Project Management is a core competency and one of eight key professions in our company, and our clients highly value and expect to work with PMP-certified project managers,” Inger says. “I am a project manager by choice, and I feel I owe it to our business, our leadership, our teams, and our clients to lead and serve with expertise and skills that are validated against worldwide standards of excellence.”

Inger completed some self-study prep work but wondered if there’d ever be enough time to dedicate to passing the PMP exam. Through research and a good reference, she chose Cheetah’s Exam Prep as her preferred Prep course. “I wanted to go with the company with the best track record for PMP certification,” she explains. (Cheetah had a 97% internally audited pass rate in 2006 and a 98% rate in 2007.) “A respected colleague – who successfully passed the exam after Cheetah’s course, though convinced he didn’t have a chance of ever passing the exam – recommended Cheetah. That did it for me. I enrolled.”

Inger appreciated the intense immersion approach, even checking into the hotel for the class despite it being held in her home town. “I embraced it all – the holistic approach, the innovative, accelerated learning techniques, and the stress-busting yoga.

“I had to trust the Cheetah way and my outstanding instructor, Dianne Bussey, when she assured me it would all come together before the end of the four-day class,” Inger explains. “I started out confident on day one. On day two I was wondering if my prime learning years might have passed.  By day three, I realized my biggest challenge was me. I had to get out of my own way.”

From that point on, Inger’s test exam results began to improve, and by the time the class ended, she was getting some of her best scores. She did not take her PMP exam until a week after the class, but Inger continued to devote two or more hours each day to repeat Cheetah’s learning methods and position herself for success.

Since receiving her PMP certification, Inger’s career has moved to a whole new level. “My Cheetah PM training brought me a base of knowledge and the skills needed to bring sanity, structure, and controls into a sometimes seemingly chaotic job.

“Shortly after achieving my PMP, my mom faced a life-altering health challenge, and I made the life-altering decision to provide care for her. My company is at the foreground of work-life balancing initiatives; my own manager is unwavering in his confidence in my PM abilities, so work and life aligned to enable me to work exclusively from home. Within months I achieved a significant career milestone in terms of a promotion, and since then, the teams it’s been my privilege to serve and lead as an end-to-end deal project manager, have closed more than $1 billion in new and incremental services business.