Bringing ROI and Project Management into Everyday Life

Recently, Michelle LaBrosse, CEO of Cheetah Learning, presented the keynote address “ROI – From Talk to Action,” to the AT&T Project Management Network (PMN). In it she expresses the need to use return on investment (ROI) thinking in all parts of a person’s life.

“When we think of ROI, we often think in terms of financial returns,” she said. “But by doing this, we are missing the big picture. Each and every one of us has five sources of capital: monetary, social, infrastructure, knowledge, and brand. When you learn how to utilize all of these sources of capital, you can increase the ROI in every aspect of your life. When you only focus on your monetary sources of capital, you are missing 80% of how else you could be creating tremendous value in your life.”

This is solid advice, and LaBrosse is no stranger to Project Management. In fact, the Project Management Institute (PMI) named her one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the World.” She also holds two engineering degrees (from Syracuse University and the University of Dayton) as well as a degree from the Owner President Manager (OPM) program at Harvard Business School.

As for Cheetah Learning, LaBrosse started the company 14 years ago. Today it is well known for its Project Management Education and certification. As a Registered Education Provider (REP), Cheetah offers global and online education, courses, exams and continuous development courses in PM for certification maintenance. In 2008, PMI awarded Cheetah with the “Project Management Institute Professional Development Provider of the Year” award.

Speaking of ROI, Cheetah states that many companies want certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) to fill PM roles as they seem to get more bang for their buck; and with a median salary over $100,000 it is no surprise that many people want to get their PM certification from a REP.

With all of this experience, LaBrosse is able to share a lot of good advice. According to an AT&T representative, “This event had an outstanding turnout of over 400 participants. I also received an unprecedented amount of extremely positive feedback on both the program content and the way Michelle presented it.” It is therefore no surprise that LaBrosse has been asked to speak to the PMN five times to date.

Source Cheetah Learning.