Stretch projects

"Everybody stretch for growth and development!"
Photo credit: Tom at HK 2006

Ever hear of the 70-20-10 learning model?  Its principle is the percent of time allocated to any given learning activity: 70% of your learning can come from real-life or on-the-job experiences (aka stretch projects), 20% can come from others like coaches, mentors or sponsors, and the last 10% is in the classroom. Read more.

Companies recognize the value of having people work on stretch projects, both core and non-core to the business, because it gives new skills to their employees giving their companies a competitive advantage. You should always be aware of why you're doing any project or task and create value for yourself while doing them. The key message here is to accept them openly and face them head on, because these small steps will lead to bigger and brighter opportunities!  Here are a few scenarios that will help you recognize if and when you're in a stretch project.

• You've been asked to run a project that will improve your project management skills, when in fact your core job is that of a developer or tester.
• There is a re-organization in your group that certain tasks fall on you that you've never done before.
• You're asked to lead a business turnaround or implement a process change in your group.
• You've just been elected to the NAAAP Board of Directors making policy and funding decisions.

Could you now see what you're doing is fulfilling on some higher goal for the company as well as yourself? If not and wanting additional development, then ask yourself if you're in a rut. If so, a good thing to do is to seek advice from a collegue or mentor 2 levels up. As a guideline, for most professionals it takes roughly 2-3 years, and as quickly as 18 months, to master a given role and once done are encouraged to look for newer, more challenging roles within their organization as they'll have a greater potential in contributing their new skills to contribute to the success of their company or even get promoted.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you back again.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Community Service: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Washington and Alaska

Congratulations to David Eam, NAAAP Seattle's Community Service Chair for organizing this event and the 15 volunteers who showed up to cook and serve dinner to 80 people living at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, a charity foundation which supports seriously ill children and their families. It provides a "home-away-from-home" to help families through a difficult time. Housing is provided to the families of any seriously ill children who live more than 30 miles away while undergoing treatment at Seattle Children's hospital.

Moreover, Community service is an important compenent of NAAAP Seattle. We know that giving back to those in need is a core value of leaders. Doing so makes the community we live and work in be all the more livable, so I encourage you to volunteer at the next available opportunity as it's also a rewarding experience. NAAAP Seattle has volunteer opportunities throughout the year and leading companies will often match your time and donation because they know the value of giving back.

Here are some pictures of the event along with the food. We served an appetizer, three courses and a dessert, which I tried to coax the recipes for my own use but was denied. The reason? Because it was CONFIDENTIAL :)

Thanks again to everyone who donated their time and their skills. I hope to see everyone at our next event.

Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Links:

• Ronald McDonald Charity of Washington and Alaska: http://www.rmhcseattle.org/