Being in the learning business, rather than the training business, Team Cheetah attacks these dragons head-on, enabling you to earn those PDUs without the pain. Cheetah Learning offers:

• Convenience: Wired or wireless, online PDU courses go where you go -- and live in your personal time zone. Naturally, every course is instructor-led; this is Cheetah!
  

• Value: Our price point is $20 USD per PDU, with very few exceptions. And you apply what you've learned within your workplace, as part of the learning process. That's a real time return of value to you on the job -- and no waiting! 
  

• Innovation: Mastering PMBOK® principles by building a kayak, for example -- while you earn 60 PDUs. 

Take a look at Cheetah's Online PDU Courses at www.cheetahplanning.com. There are small ones, large ones, and many in between. Blend them with your professional practice and PMI activities, and you'll have a painless PDU strategy that you can live with. Who knows - you might even enjoy it!

Upcoming Cheetah Project Management Project Accelerated Classes -- Winter, 2004
Come learn a simple to use, proven Project Management technique that is guaranteed to get your team working better and your projects launched and completed faster. Learn it in one day -- use it for a lifetime. PMP®s can earn 8 PDUs by taking this course. The class schedule for upcoming classes is as follows:

• Toronto, ON (Mississauga): March 12

• Atlanta, GA: March 19 

• Washington DC (Fairfax, VA): March 26

• Cleveland (Cuyahoga Falls, OH): April 8

• Hartford, CT: April 13

• Seattle, WA: May 7

• Houston, TX: May 14

• Chicago, IL: May 14

• Atlanta, GA: May 28

• Cleveland (Cuyahoga Falls, OH): June 11

• Detroit (Farmington Hills, MI): June 18

For additional class information and registration, visit www.cheetahpm.com.

Featured PDU® course: Building Your Consulting Practice
Are you currently running your own consulting business, or thinking of starting one? Maybe you've got a marketable idea or product, the drive, and the smarts to recognize that it takes a specific set of skills to build the successful, independent business that you intend to become. 

Building Your Consulting Practice is an ten-week instructor-led online course, designed to jump-start your business development efforts and get your consulting business on solid ground. You'll interact with your instructor via e-mail, as well as other students through the online discussion board.

In this course, you'll learn how to use the Internet to substantially reduce the costs to start and run every element of your consulting business. You'll learn and implement what it takes to effectively start up your consulting business, and develop a business plan that includes a comprehensive description of your business, the environment in which it operates, and how you'll run it. 

Designed around ten learning modules, arranged so that you can set a timeframe to get your business organized, this course offers you the flexibility to work at your own pace. The ten modules included in the course are:

1. What does it take to make it in business? 

2. Choosing and Evaluating Your Idea  

3. Your Customers and Your Marketing Plan 

1. Your Competitors and the Competitive Plan 

2. Risks

3. Your Strategic Plan

4. Your Development and Operations Plan

5. Financial plan

6. Developing Your Corporate Identity

7. Writing the Business Plan

Through this course, you'll learn how to accelerate the process of launching and managing your consulting practice. Leverage your unique strengths, learn to research, communicate, develop and implement your plan, and watch your business take off to new heights! 

We offer a 100% learning guarantee -- if you are not satisfied with our program for any reason, we will refund your money. 

The Building Your Consulting Practice course gives you a total of 50 PDUs towards your certification or recertification. Register now and receive $100 off the price of this course. You can register online at www.cheetahplanning.com -- and be sure to use the promo code "FebFeature" when you register. This special offer is valid through February 29th. 

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Measure performance with Project Management Scorecards
Now there is a way to not only measure project performance, but also to measure performance from the different perspectives of all involved parties. Cheetah Learning is using them -- and you can use them too by March 15, 2004!

Take a 360 degree measurement of Project Management performance with Project Management Scorecards-- a new online assessment tool. PM Scorecard is a web-based tool that measures a project manager's success on a project. It allows for ratings from everyone involved in the project, including the sponsor, customers, stakeholders, team members, and project manager.

Project Management Scorecards measure multiple aspects of project performance, based on priorities between Business Performance, Project Performance, and Project Team Performance. Each of these measurement areas are also weighted. For example, under Business Performance the scorecard ratings are weighted by showing what is most important when looking at market impact, organizational impact, and the strategic impact of the project. Under Project Performance, respondents prioritize between cost, schedule, and quality, and rank performance in a number of factors in those areas.

So how does this all work? When you sign up for Project Management Scorecards, you'll provide the names and e-mail addresses of people who will be assessing the project manager's performance on a particular project. Those specified people will then receive an online questionnaire asking them to assess the project manager's performance. When they have completed their assessment, the weighted average of the responses are combined with the other respondents' assessments. The system produces a Project Management Scorecard of all the ratings and provides an overall score of the project, based on the weighted assessments. The Project Manager then decides who gets the Project Management Scorecard. 

What we've seen in our testing of the PM Scorecard tool is that Business Performance, Project Performance, and Project Team Performance all improve when the Project Manager is measured on his or her performance. The old adage discovered by Andrew Taylor in the early 1900's, "What is measured is done," still rings true today. 

In addition, PM Scorecards are an excellent third party verification tool to assure that project managers have demonstrated competency in managing past projects. When an internal department or a party hiring a new project manager wants verification of a project manager's competency, the project manager can simply request that we send his or her results to the third party. 

Data integrity is maintained by storing all ratings on a secure server.

Learn more about how you and your organization can benefit from using Project Management Scorecards. Contact Jill Clement at Project Assurance Technologies by writing  Jill.Clement@pmscorecard.com or call 866-500-4160.

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Cheetah teams up for a unique team-building program
How is your project team performing? Think you could use some help? You're not alone. Most teams are not performing to their potential on a regular basis. Refer to Ten Tips for Top Team Performance for more information -- and read further to learn more about Cheetah Team Kayak. You'll be glad you did!

How does it work?
Cheetah Kayak has partnered with Adventures Unlimited -- a Team and Leadership Development organization located in Milton, Florida -- to bring you Cheetah Team Kayak, the unique course where you build a kayak as a team in order to improve team performance capability. "How can building a kayak possibly improve the way we work together on our projects as a team?" you may ask.

Here's how: Research shows that people are far happier and more productive when in the intense pursuit of a goal. Having experienced accomplishment through intense focus, Cheetah Team Kayak participants return to their day-to-day lives capable of reproducing that focus on future goals as a team.

The key elements of effective team building
The key elements of this program are essential to your team building skills, and are listed below. Imagine reaping all of these benefits for you and your project team, while you have a blast building a kayak together!

Synergism
Team members learn how to best leverage their unique strengths to create a much better result than they could achieve on their own. 

Communication
The teams use the Cheetah Project Management technique that facilitates communication. By using this technique, they are all operating on the same page through their kayak building project. The approach used is template-driven, so that team members can easily incorporate what they've learned from the program into their work environment.

Conflict Resolution
Teams complete an online team capability performance assessment prior to coming to their kayak building session. While the teams are building the kayaks, Cheetah coaches work with each team to help them develop conflict resolution techniques that are specific to their unique challenges. 

Confidence
This program improves a team's confidence at their ability to perform together under very tight deadlines. Teams also learn techniques that will help them better balance multiple demands on their time, so that they can more confidently pursue their goals. 

Program Details

• Two nights, three days stay. Click here to check out the lodging.

• Held at a premier Adventure Learning location in sunny Florida. Visit www.adventuresunlimited.com 

• Teams of two, three, or four work together to build a fully functioning, flat water kayak-- then race against other teams on the last day 

• Other team building activities -- for example: high ropes course, and/or a scavenger hunt -- will be added to round out your experience; additional activities are determined based on needs assessment prior to and during the course

• The team keeps the kayak; you can display it in the office as a symbol and reminder of your team's increased performance capability. Show it off to all your colleagues! 

• PMP®s earn 24 PDUs 

• Perfect for any type of project team or group of any kind 

Classes fill up fast, so register your two-, three- or four- person team today at www.cheetahkayak.com. Click on the link for Cheetah Team Kayak. 

Questions? Want to register by phone? Call 1-800-246-9106.

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Stand out from the crowd with an SPE
Would you like to find a way to distinguish yourself as a Project Manager? Would you like to demonstrate your abilities so that you can move into a higher level leadership position within your company?

Become a Senior Project Executive, or SPE, and show that you are qualified to advance to an executive level position. Prove that you have the knowledge, skills, attitude, and experience to improve your business performance through project performance.

Introducing Cheetah's Senior Project Executive Certificate Program (SPEC)
Cheetah's SPE program, which includes a number of in-classroom and online classes and demonstrations, is open to all Project Managers. If you don't have your PMP® yet, you can earn it as part of the Certificate Program. If you are already a PMP®, and your accreditation is in good standing, your Phase 1 requirements can be waived. 

How it works
Each month, a new group of SPE candidates starts Phase II of the program. These candidates are organized into "cohorts", made up of no more than twelve people to insure maximum interaction. The cohorts meet several times during the certificate program and also have the opportunity to interact online throughout the course of the program. 

Participants have two years to complete the coursework and earn the certificate. Phase I and II courses must be completed prior to performing the Phase III demonstration events. To complete and maintain the SPE certificate, project executives must demonstrate they can deliver project performance, which is measured through PM Scorecards™ that are completed online by the project manager, the project manager's sponsor, stakeholders, customers, and team members. 

Bottom line results
This certificate program includes the PMP® certification, proving that you have the knowledge for professional Project Management. It moves people who hold the PMP® credential to the next level by demonstrating consistent competency with creating bottom-line business results. The SPE program enables the rapid advancement of top performers who consistently improve business performance by delivering effective project performance. 

Here are the program details:

Phase I-- Knowledge

• Accelerated PM Basics (Classroom/2 days)
• Accelerated PMP® Exam Prep (Classroom/1 week)

Phase II-- Attitude and Skills

• SPE Intro & Cheetah Project Management (Classroom/2 days)
• SPE Leadership Strength Builder (Online/4 weeks access)
• Project Negotiation Skills (Online/4 weeks access)
• Communicating Through Conflict (Online/4 weeks access)
• Enterprise Wide Project Management (Online/7 weeks access)
• Project Portfolio Leadership (Online/4 weeks access)
• SPE Development (Online 1 week and classroom 1 week)

Phase III-- Demonstration

• SPE Demonstration (Online/10 weeks)
• Project Score Cards

If you are interested in this program, click here to fill out our admissions application. We accept only twelve people per Phase II cohort into the program. Admission is limited to 100 people in 2004. The first cohort is scheduled to begin in April. Michelle LaBrosse is teaching the in-person classes for this cohort. 

Cheetah Points -- our way of saying thank you
Collect Cheetah Points -- Save on Cheetah Courses!
We at Cheetah Learning know that we have awesome customers, and we wanted to do something to show our appreciation for your loyalty, your referrals, and your good sense of humor (our customers know we Cheetahs appreciate a good chuckle!) We are proud to introduce Cheetah's new customer loyalty and appreciation program -- Cheetah Points!

How do I earn Cheetah Points?

• Referrals -- when the person you refer takes a Cheetah course. You earn from 10 to 50 Cheetah Points, and the person you referred gets a $10 to a $50 discount, depending upon the course for which they are registering.

• Completing courses -- You earn 50 Cheetah Points for completing our course evaluations.

• In the future, we'll also be giving Cheetah Points for completing surveys and participating in focus groups.

• We are setting up an affiliate relationship with the PM Scorecard application, so that when you fill out your PM Scorecard, you'll also receive Cheetah Points. 

Where are Cheetah Points stored?
Cheetah Points will be stored in our secure server. You'll have access to your Cheetah Points at any time -- either to see how many you've accumulated or to redeem them.

How much Is a Cheetah Point worth?
Each Cheetah Point is equivalent to $1.00 towards Cheetah classes.

How many Cheetah Points can I earn? 
There is no limit to how many Cheetah Points you earn.

How are Cheetah Points redeemed? 
You can redeem Cheetah Points when you register for any Cheetah course.

When can I start to collect Cheetah Points? 
Our system is being tested right now and will be "live" within the next couple of weeks.

How do I enroll in the Cheetah Points program? 
You'll be able to enroll through the "My Cheetah" page. Go to the student login and enter your user ID and password. You can also start referring people for courses in the "My Cheetah" page.

We'll keep you posted on the "Go Live" date, so stay tuned!

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Cheetah in the Spotlight

Linda Lansky, PMP - Trainer, VP Course Development

Linda is an integral part of the Cheetah Learning Team. She is a certified coach for the Cheetah Accelerator Course for the PMP®. Linda's Project Management experience comes from over twenty years in Information Technology & Quality Management in the semiconductor industry. Linda is a member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), PMI®, and received her training certificate from Langevin Learning Services. Linda is the lead designer on the creative collaboration team for the development of new Cheetah Learning courses. At her ranch in Northern California, Linda enjoys her horses, dogs, family, and a home vineyard and fledgling winery (not necessarily in that order!) 

CN: Are there any special goals you'd like to accomplish in the near future?

LL: I would like to contribute to the ongoing rise in our pass rate for our students taking the PMP® exam.

CN: Are there any new realms explored by Project Management Education today, anything that you want to elaborate on?

LL: I've been spending some of my energy researching how people learn and retain information, and I've started incorporating these techniques into our classes. 

CN: What are some of the projects you've been working on?

LL: I'm working on research for test and math anxiety, to further augment our techniques in dealing with learners who are affected by anxiety.

CN: When did you get interested in the work you do?

LL: As an independent consultant, I was subcontracted to teach a ten-day class on project management, and wanted to improve the class in order to have more open eyes in the afternoon. I started to think about courses I've attended in the past, and what kept my interest in them. I started experimenting right away, and got some great results. I still run into people who remember the class and the materials.

CN: What is the most challenging part of your job?

LL: Balance in the classroom, in presenting material to a wide range of learners whose experience and comprehension may cover the spectrum.

CN: Would you like to improve anything about yourself in your career, or is there anything more you'd like to learn?

LL: Every class I teach provides an opportunity for improvement and learning.

CN: Is there anyone who has been a mentor to you, or someone who has influenced you?

LL: My husband and good friends have always believed in me, and encouraged me to try the things I didn't think were possible. Michelle (LaBrosse) taught me that it's okay to bring the passion of laughter and life to the workplace.

CN: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

LL: In a position to give back to my community, and to feel that I've made a difference.

CN: What do you do for escape?

LL: I kind of live my escape. I have a small vineyard that has (hopefully!) just produced its first drinkable wine. I have three horses and a small herd of cattle, allowing me to be a part-time cowgirl. 

My husband shares my interests and enjoys our travels together. At home, I weave material for reupholstering furniture, and create mosaic bowls for garden ornaments -- my way of giving stuff a second life!

CN: Of all your accomplishments, what makes you the proudest?

LL: My son, Ryan.

CN: Is there anything you'd like to be able to do, something you've dreamed of?

LL: I have a really long list, but this year I'd like to learn cement sculpture.

CN: What's most important in life?

LL: Family, friends, animals, laughter, and health.

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Dear Cheetah

Q: As a Project Manager, I frequently deal with team members who are angry and frustrated because of situations that naturally come up within the process of a project. When this happens, I tend to take it way too personally, and because of this I have a hard time handling the conflict that occurs within the project team. How can I better deal with angry team members, without feeling like they are directly attacking me? Is there any way I can turn this conflict into something positive?

A: No matter what project, sometimes people do have angry outbursts that can be destructive to the team relationship. When someone is behaving negatively, how do you refrain from responding in kind? In helping project teams communicate, the first way to resolve conflict is to take the observer role. In this role, try to understand the point of view of the person with the negative behavior. Do not make any judgments about what the person is saying; just listen. Encourage the angry person to blow off steam, and ultimately they will begin to see the situation differently.

That being said, do not take negative behavior personally. There could be a number of reasons why someone is angry, none of which has anything to do with you. By staying calm and remaining in the observer role, you will serve as a role model for your team members by showing them an effective way to handle people who are having a difficult time. When you finally do respond to an angry team member, do so with insight and sensitivity. It is a good idea to repeat what the person has said to you, turning the words into positive intentions. Positive intent can sometimes be extracted from apparently difficult behavior. 

The perceived behavior of a difficult team member, and possible positive intent behind his or her behavior could be delineated as follows:

Controlling? -- Takes over and acts pushy
...Or Motivated? -- Pushes ahead to get the job done

Perfectionist? -- Criticizes every conceivable flaw and potential error
...Or Achiever? -- Tries to do the job right

Needs approval? -- Brown noses or curry favors
...Or Seeks a connection? -- Wants to get along

Attention getting? -- Shows off to outshine others
...Or Seeks appreciation? -- Wants to be fairly recognized

Conflict can be an opportunity to learn good habits that will enable your team members to better work together as a team for the next project. Take any conflict that arises as a learning experience -- if you do this with every project, you'll find that your projects will run smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. When you put a positive spin on things, you may even welcome conflict as a way to bring your project closer to its fruition. 

Have a problem that needs solving? Need some help with your most recent project? Bogged down and burned out? 

Let the experts at Cheetah help you get things straight - write us at email@cheetahlearning.com today, and we'll attempt to answer your question by publishing it in a future newsletter.  

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Featured PMP® 

In each issue, Cheetah News features a newly certified PMP®, who shares his or her ideas, insight, and experience with potential PMP®s considering certification.

James Bahel, PMP, took and passed the PMP® exam on December 19th this past year. His career has included project and program management experiences within the government, both in the commercial sector and in government consulting. His most recent experience includes managing new product development for a commercial competitive intelligence startup, as well as his current job as deputy project manager for a program divided into several sub-projects.

James was eager to become a certified Project Manager, and with the encouragement of his employer, he began the certification process. "My company values PMI® certification," James asserts, "and believes it is an important value differentiator within our market space." The approaches to organization, problem-solving, and management put forward by PMI® are critical to the success of his company's customers, James states. 

Cheetah's approach offered James the knowledge base he needed to pass the exam, and a reasonable timeframe in which to do it -- all critical factors that he wasn't finding anywhere else. "While I understood the fundamentals of Project Management, I was having a hard time understanding both what PMI® was looking for in their approach, and how the knowledge contained in the PMBOK® fits together," James says. "Studying it on my own was proving frustrating and was taking up more of my time than I wanted." 

In preparation, James read the PMBOK® and purchased other preparatory materials offered by other companies. However, he found that he was not able to sufficiently learn on his own what he needed to know in order to pass the PMP® exam. "The Cheetah approach proved to be perfect for me, as it was time-efficient and extremely effective. Cheetah provided me with a structured, guided method to understanding the PMI® approach to management, and provided seasoned instructors who not only helped me understand how the PMBOK® fits together, but also helped me to think my way through and to understand what PMI® expects," says James. 

James found that the Cheetah memory map was invaluable in helping him to prepare for the exam. "The first two days of class I really didn’t get it and was quite frustrated," James recalls. "But by mid-day on day three, the memory map suddenly fit together, and I found I could review and understand the PMBOK® in less than an hour.

"The one most important thing that the Cheetah staff impressed on me was that the 'PMI® way' and what we experience in our everyday lives may, and probably will, differ significantly -- and it's important to remember that during the exam process," James says. To illustrate, he offers: "If I asked most people how fast they should drive on a major highway, the typical answer is probably going to be between 65 and 70; however, that’s a 'real-world' answer. The driver’s manual, which is your guiding document in this case, clearly states that the maximum speed is 55, depending on the highway. So the correct answer, in this case, is 55. This analogy then applies to the way the test will use the PMBOK® as its guiding document." 

James advises that candidates must remember to put aside real world influences, and to understand that PMI® wants to be sure you know the right thing to do based on their teachings. "Some people have a harder time with that than others," James says. "Keeping an open mind to the PMI® approach is the best thing a person can do for the exam."

When asked for some last words of wisdom, James imparts: "Taking the Cheetah course alone will not make you a project manager. Real-world experience and learning make you a project manager. But once you have gained that perspective, I think Cheetah is invaluable, and perhaps the best method available for learning what PMI® expects from a PMP®."

James Bahel, PMP, currently works as a project manager providing system development, enterprise architecture design, and other high-level IT solutions to customers throughout the U.S. intelligence community.