Of The People, For The People, By The People
Originally Published In Iowabiz.com on July 2007
President Abraham Lincoln had to be emotional about this speech. This was more than a vested interest; he was leader and lives were lost under his leadership. And here he was... standing on the very ground where a fierce battle had been fought.
I've always been fascinated by the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was reminding his audience that a mere "four score and seven years ago" they were fighting to become a nation. Now they were a nation divided. It was a nation that, in under a century, had lost sight of the goals and ambitions they had fought so hard to gain. The sense of a unified vision was diminished.
In our projects, we don't lose lives. We do, occasionally, lose livelihood. We don't communicate our goals. We lose sight of our vision. We fight among ourselves. We "turn over resources." Projects are more than just line items on budgets. Projects are more than the creation of a cool software driven plan. Projects are more than a weekly meeting followed by a status report that nobody reads. Projects are about people. The dreams are the product OF THE PEOPLE. The tasks for completed BY THE PEOPLE. The benefits of the project are FOR THE PEOPLE.
When we lose sight of that fundamental truth... well... then the project probably isn't worth fighting for, is it?
On this Independence Day, have a safe and fun celebration with your friends and family... and remember those who have sacrificed for our freedom.
Happy 4th of July and Carpe Factum!
It's finals week at 
Do you know who Bob Probst was?
Two blogs down, two to go. OK, nothing like that, but two of the four blogs for whom I write either have ended or will end soon. A while back, I mentioned I was going to be writing for processgeek.com for Troy Worman. I exchanged emails with Troy last week about that website's demise. It appears as though Iowabiz.com is coming to an end as well (change in strategy of our corporate sponsor). Again, not surprising. For Iowabiz, I'm actually going to be "recycling" many of my posts over here. The readership on Iowabiz never really attained the same level as my readership, and (quite frankly) I wrote some pretty good stuff on project management over there, and I'd like to ensure it lives on somewhere.
I just received a very welcomed and wonderful email from 
Go Dogs Go! Handle the ball
"No prophet is accepted in his own village." -Jesus (Luke 4:24)
Tonight begins a new semester at 
t's pretty simple. Instead of writing 2007, you write 2008. That's all there really is to transitioning to a new year, right?
Happy Holidays from your friends at Carpe Factum, Inc.
I love the blogosphere. Anybody who's been reading these posts for a while should understand the passion with which I've approached these relationships, the writing, and the reading. What's even more enjoyable is watching the relationships evolve and grow. For example, after over a year of commenting back and forth and sending occasional emails, 
What I'm so excited about this year are all of the friendships and relationships that have developed and fortified. This month alone, I've been reminded of how lucky I am to know so many great people... but not just know them... to call them friends. Some people say that social media will replace traditional relationships... to which I say, "PHOOEY!"
I'm thankful that a guy like 
So, last night I'm busily preparing for my 
It's been a while since I've done my last MOST post. I decided when I started these that I would only post one that I thought would be interesting and engaging.