Articles
Bagels, Pizza, & Big Ideas: SNEC’s Strategy Saturday
by Deborah Ketai, PMP, PMI-RMP
Who would dedicate an entire October Saturday to strategic planning for our chapter?
Thirty-four SNEC members, that’s who!
These highly motivated folks gathered at the University of Hartford’s Barney School of Business, harnessing their collective brainpower to figure out how we can better serve our constituents.
The theme of the meeting was Dream Big… Follow Through… for Our Members.
Dream Big: Attendees brainstormed how to identify and meet the needs of eight personas, or stakeholder groups, listed below. Although individuals may fall into more than one category, each persona has distinct characteristics and pain points.
• Seasoned Project Professionals
• Early Career / Unofficial PMs
• IT Professionals (including Agilists)
• Students
• Retirees
• Project Professionals in Transition
• Corporate / Senior Leaders
• Institutions of Higher Education
Between last year’s strategic planning meeting and this one, we’ve identified a total of over 160 “gaps”—ways in which our chapter could better serve its stakeholders.
Follow Through: Over the past year, the Board restructured its portfolios and committees to better support work identified at the 2024 meeting. In the next month, they’ll discuss and rank the gaps, considering the time and volunteer effort needed for implementation, and then assign the top ones to the portfolios and committees, reaching out for additional volunteers to support the work.
For Our Members: If you missed the meeting, it’s not too late to get in on the excitement! Watch this newsletter, emails, and meetings for progress reports and calls for volunteers.
Together, let’s make this the best possible chapter for its members and the southern New England community.
Rohit Sarde records key points as a breakout group brainstorms how SNEC could fulfill the needs of early career and unofficial PMs.
L to R: Rania Elsheikh, Mona Heredia, Priya Santhanam, Sara Nasshan, and Jaidaa Tahoun gather around one of the high-tops to keep the conversation going after the meeting.
