by Mike Ososki, PMP – PMI Atlanta Events Writer

Some of us report to work with self-limiting thoughts of being only an employee for an employer. In our so-called perfect world, we’d rather not be there “doing what we have to” to make a living. This kind of grudging mindset and spirit can contribute significantly to daily unhappiness.

Making the slight but highly impactful shift to think of our employer as a customer can bring great benefit. It’s the healthier perspective and more positive lens that independent entrepreneurs and good consultants see through all the time.

Here are some great examples of thought shifts you may consider:

We were privileged at last month’s chapter meeting to hear from Mr. Chris Kopp, who successfully made that liberating shift some years ago, metamorphosing from chicken to lion. He encouraged us to “run your career like a business, without quitting your job,” practicing entrepreneurship inside your organization.

If you want to do this well, you must understand what your company offers and increase the ROI. Look at it from 4 perspectives: Operations, Marketing, Finance, And Sales.

In Operations, what you do is what your employer customer pays for. Seek to simplify, eliminate, automate, and delegate. Ask questions like, “What should we be doing that we’re not doing?,” and vice-versa. 

Marketing is who you reach. It attracts and engages your company customers, generates leads and builds a positive brand image. You reach those who know about what you do. Your audience is ready for you to say something. Do it!

Sales is how you grow, and this happens through opportunity, experience and revenue. It’s the process of generating revenue by selling your services to your customers employer. Grow your skill set to be rare, in-demand and valuable, like this bear did:

And finally, Finance is what you earn and how you thrive. It ensures availability of funds, assesses profitability and supports strategic decision-making.  Know how much your company is worth. Download the PMI Salary Survey and use the tool. Visit Glassdoor and utilize AI.

Another useful tool is www.Project-Central.com, a business profitability, productivity and efficiency firm that can make you look great.

Ancient wisdom : The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. Then 2nd best time is today.

by Mike Ososki, PMP – PMI Atlanta Events Writer

Thank you, Brittany Williams, Antoine Odom, Ron Grant, and ~25 participants! After about a year hiatus, PMI Atlanta’s Special Interest Entertainment Forum group is back, covering a wide range of entertainment-related industries—film, TV, radio, events, music, sports, theater, gaming, fashion and more—it’s a lot.

The spirit of our meeting was wide open, headlined with “Your Voice in the Spotlight.” Questions were asked and polls taken about:

• Content Formats, such as webinars, panels, podcasts, case studies, workshops, et
• Key Topics, like AI, Agile, Risk, Immersive Experiences, Sustainability, etc
• Ideal Speakers—from which industry? Tech? Creative? Live events?

Plus, plenty of open discussion and Q&A.

When you consider these industries, it’s usually from the consumer perspective, having most to do with your personal and specific interests in their various product offerings. Your mind doesn’t go to project management. But please know for sure that the boatloads of content, product and value we get from these ventures would not happen without our kind of high-quality PM skills.

Think of the world of entertainment as an elite club. In the higher levels, it absolutely is, with powerful potential fame and fortune in play. For most of us, it feels like it’s on a different planet than IT, healthcare, finance, and other more practical industries. That’s because as consumers, we tend to focus on the final deliverable: the movie, the game, the song, etc. Still, under the hood and before the release of final product, aspects like stakeholders, scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, etc. are always very much a part of the entertainment industry’s inner workings. It’s just

that the PM practices are often handed down “from one club member to another,” and can vary significantly from the prescribed ways of PMI and PMPs.

It would be great to have some project managers who are employed now in the entertainment industry get involved with our Entertainment Forum. Who knows who to help make this happen?

by Mike Ososki, PMP

Jack Cebe has his hands full. As President and CEO of Stitch Inc., his work is to oversee, manage and guide The Stitch, an ambitious community-building reconnection project in the northern heart of downtown Atlanta.

Other cities have had great success with similar projects. The Stitch includes new development, infrastructure, policies, and programs emanating from a new 17-acre iconic, community park that completely covers the 75/85 Downtown Connector. Its vision is to spark a vibrant and family-friendly neighborhood area, with a promise to:

• Ignite an estimated $5B in Private Sector Investment to Redevelop 50+ Acres of Downtown
• Catalyze an estimated 25,000 Multi-Family Homes
• Support other Major Developments by Attracting Permanent Residents to Downtown

The project encompasses a wide variety of attractive amenities:

As you can imagine, the stakeholders and involved parties are many and varied, totaling 6000+ engaged individuals: the local residential community, Stitch, Inc., ADID (Atlanta Downtown Improvement District), CAP (Central Atlanta Progress), GDOT, NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act), a new SSD (Special Services District), engineers, architects, designers, governmental entities, investors, and a myriad of other business and personal interests.

$50M in funding has been secured so far for design and construction, plus $3-4M annually from The Stitch SSD for admin. and operations. Inter-agency agreements to build & operate The Stitch are completed, and Phase-1 is a 5-acre park that can begin construction in mid-2027.

Phase-1 is “the heart of the park,” providing elements such as Downtown Green, Perennial Gardens, Terrace Meander, Piedmont Playground, Shade Pavillion, and Fog Forest—with specialty lighting and interactive play features.

Phase-1 consists of 3 design components:

• Interstate caping structure - delivered by GDOT
• Park features- delivered by Stitch Inc.
• 7 street projects – delivered by ADID

Shovel-ready design & NEPA certification is expected by this summer.

As a unique Special Services District, The Stitch ...

• Targets support from properties and businesses that will accrue direct benefits
• Estimates a 7.5% – 15% value increase for properties within ½ mile
• Captures multifamily residential rental properties not currently assessed by CID
• Is statutorily designed for redevelopment and infrastructure capital or operations needs
• Provides a reliable funding stream over the lifetime of the project
• Does not require a broad referendum or caucus of electors, but a City council action
• Is a proven tool already used for the highly successful Atlanta Beltline & The Battery / Truist Park

It would seem that there is only upside for Atlanta in this significant undertaking.

The next Special Interest Joint Dinner Meeting will be Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Registration will open soon.

By Mike Ososki, PMP

The link between your peak performance, negative stress and gut cannot be denied, as Maria Horstmann communicated well in our January Chapter Meeting at Maggiano's Little Italy's Buckhead location. High performers can’t outwork physiology, and chronic “always-on” stress quietly drains energy and disrupts focus, digestion, mood, and weight regulation.

Maria has first-hand knowledge of this kind of situation. From pre-diabetes with an eating disorder and sugar addiction, she reinvented herself to become a high energy healthy ball of fire with a metabolic health-focus coaching practice that is a walking testament to the results of implementing her counsel.

Two of our primal body modes are to protect and to repair. Protecting is the familiar fight or flight, and repairing is to rest and digest. Our vagal nerves communicate between brain, heart and digestive system, with 80% of all the signals going from gut to brain.

This connection and stress chemistry shifts the body out of repair mode and into protection mode, which is unsustainable long-term. Gut disruption often shows up first as “quiet signals,” such as brain fog, crashes, cravings, poor sleep, and stubborn belly fat. And our microbiome (look it up) is integral to our effective resilience and ongoing performance.

This graph shows the progression from eustress (good) to distress (bad);

Maria advises, “If the war room stays open, recovery shuts down, digestion and microbiome get weaker, and energy gets unreliable.” Don’t let it happen to you.

Here are 3 easy DIY strategies to shift your day:

1. 60-second state shift: Stand up and do some deep breathing between and before meals, and after stress spikes. Your long exhale = downshift.
2. Stabilize energy (no crashes): Eat protein for your first meal, and fiber/color daily with meals. Don’t do coffee-only mornings. Stable blood sugar = stable focus.
3. Recover anchors (boundaries): Take a 10-minute walk after meals (or at least stand up). Plan on caffeine and digital cutoff times for most nights. Recovery is trainable.

Be on the lookout for your personal early warning signals. Gain clarity on a few key lab patterns and build a simple “inputs --> outcomes” plan that fits real workdays so you can guide smart next steps to rebuild reliable energy for work, life and long-term independence.

The Horstmann Method uses a data-driven approach based on functional lab testing. It can investigate, implement and integrate to help you identify stressors that inhibit, disrupt, and prevent your body from optimal functioning. Maria will personalize a plan based on YOUR data/body and using natural healing protocols.

To learn more, check out www.BeFabBeYou.com, then schedule a 20-min Clarity Call with Maria via Zoom. Reach out to her at https://BeFabBeYou.as.me/ClarityCall20Min

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, three members of the PMI Atlanta Social Impact Committee, Minasu Kugblenu, Camolyn Weeks, and Board Director Bennie Leonard, volunteered at the Thanksgiving Food Drive hosted by Reflections of Trinity in partnership with Linked UP Church. The annual event provides food and fresh produce for families across Cobb County, helping ensure that households have what they need for the holiday season.

This opportunity was brought to the committee by Bennie Leonard, and we extend our appreciation for identifying and sharing this meaningful way for our volunteers to serve.

Volunteer Reflections

Minasu Kugblenu (pictured right) joined the morning packing line, describing the experience as “fulfilling and impressive” given the scale and organization of the operation.

“It was inspiring to see so many people coming together with a shared purpose,” Minasu shared. “I was grateful to contribute to an effort that will support families during the holiday season.”

Camolyn Weeks served during the afternoon shift, assisting with breakdown and end-of-day logistics as volunteers wrapped up distribution activities.

Bennie Leonard, who has supported Reflections of Trinity for several years, highlighted the long-running community partnership between the organization and Linked UP Church, which has helped feed thousands of families since the pantry’s founding in 2012.

How This Event Fits into Our Day of Service Strategy

Day of Service is one of SIC’s three strategic pillars, alongside Youth Outreach and Nonprofit Support. It offers chapter members opportunities for hands-on community service that strengthen civic connection and support local organizations. These events allow us to contribute directly to community needs even when the committee is not project managing an engagement.

This Thanksgiving effort is a clear example of how PMI Atlanta members can make an immediate, meaningful impact through short-duration service.

“Together We Can” and SDG 2: Zero Hunger

This event strongly reflects PMI’s Culture Value Together We Can, which emphasizes trusted partnerships, collective action, and working side by side in service of a shared mission. Serving alongside Reflections of Trinity volunteers, church partners, and community members embodies exactly what this value represents.

It also supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG 2: Zero Hunger, which focuses on reducing food insecurity and expanding reliable access to nutritious meals.

Why SIC uses the UN SDGs:
The SDGs provide a globally recognized framework that helps ensure our local volunteer efforts contribute to long-term, sustainable community outcomes.

Gratitude and Looking Forward

We are grateful to Minasu, Camolyn, and Bennie for representing PMI Atlanta at this Day of Service event and to Bennie for bringing the opportunity to the committee. Their service shows how PMI professionals can make a difference, even in small windows of time, when we serve together.

If you are interested in future volunteer opportunities, keep an eye on the PMI Volunteer Portal and upcoming chapter communications.