Who am I?

Creating something from scratch is a great feeling - seeing it come to life, watching it take on a life of its own is incredibly rewarding. But having a vision to see what something could become is more than just a dream.

This collection is made up of stories about great ideas that floundered because they forgot that it takes a team. This is not a "how to" book or a "let me tell you how it should be tackled" guide. It started as a way for me to put down my frustrations and try to work through the difficulties I was seeing, attempting to come up with better ways to achieve our goals.

Complacency and rework are common themes amongst projects that fail. It isn't failures without learning that brings down great ideas - it's being afraid to fail because it might fail, and not knowing how to pick up the pieces and learn from mistakes quickly that lead to a project being cancelled.

The Endless Cycle

Projects involve backing, promised timelines, concrete deliverables, team collaboration, meetings, meetings, meetings, estimates, reports, budgets, approvals, inspections, signoffs, maintenance - the sentence could run on forever if you let it.

In all the projects I've been involved in, I have always come to the same conclusion about who loses the thread: it's when we stop asking "what are you doing?" It's an excellent question and one that I have long struggled to give a good enough answer to.

My Role in the Process

I don't start the fire, so to speak - I don't light the fuse. But I do sit there and watch, ensuring we don't lose track of:

• Deliverables and timelines
• Team collaboration
• Meetings (while minimizing meetings about meetings)
• Supporting the reporting process
• Facilitating budgets, approvals, inspections, and signoffs

I feel like I am the process. I make sure the timeline runs smoothly, protect the team behind the scenes, and help others shine. My job is not to know how something is done, but how to get a group of people to do it.

My Journey Through Different Industries

From Hospitality to Construction

My first real experience with project management was in construction. But let me go back further than that - before I got into construction management, I was working on my degree and waitressing at dark pubs, clubs, catering, fine dining establishments in Chicago. I was working on my business degree and worked at pretty much every type of restaurant except for fast food (though I did work at Wendy's for a couple months when I was 16).

Working in hospitality taught me valuable lessons about working in an ever-changing environment with lots of unknowns. In the food industry, like any industry that serves the public, you have to be prepared for whatever comes at you. And if you're not prepared, you better be ready to learn quickly.

Lessons from the Trenches

What I learned from my hospitality background carried over into project management and construction. You get what you give, and you better be prepared for whatever is coming at you. The construction industry taught me about concrete deliverables, timelines, team collaboration, and the importance of communication.

The Reality of Project Management

In all the projects I've been involved in, I've always come to the same conclusion about who loses the thread: it's when we stop asking "what are you doing?" It's an excellent question and one that I have long struggled to give a good enough answer to.

I don't start the fire, so to speak - I don't light the fuse. But I do sit there and watch, making sure we don't lose track of:

• Deliverables
• Team collaboration
• Meetings (while minimizing meetings about meetings)
• Reporting and budgets
• Approvals and inspections
• Sign-offs and maintenance

My Role as a Facilitator

I feel like I'm the process - making sure the timeline runs smooth, protecting the team behind the scenes, helping others shine. My job is not to know how something is done, but how to get a group of people to do it.

This approach has served me well across different industries and project types. Whether it's construction, software development, or any other field, the fundamentals remain the same: clear communication, realistic expectations, and keeping the team focused on what matters most.

The Common Thread

The sentence about project challenges could run on forever if you let it - budgets, approvals, inspections, sign-offs, maintenance. But at the end of the day, it comes down to people working together toward a common goal.

That's what this journey has taught me, and that's what I bring to every project and every team I work with.