Looking back … and forward3. Januar, 2011
I thought now would be a good time to have a brief look back at the year 2010, from my personal perspective. It was fairly interesting, as I started my own business! So far I haven’t regretted this step for one second. I really enjoy working with my customers, plus it allowed me to find a good work / study / life balance: Besides consulting work, I continued with my MBA studies and even had time for my family.
Sure it wasn’t boring but not really hectic either. I was lucky enough to find local projects, which allowed me to work flexible times. Definitely one advantage of not being an operational Project Manager any more.
The year didn’t start too bright though – I had found myself unpleasantly surprised at the amount of reservations in German companies against hiring a young mom. The kind of questions and comments I got to hear were sheer unbelievable. As I was sure of my knowledge and experience, freelancing seemed to be a good solution. And it worked out well! People were then far more interested in my abilities as a professional rather than my private life circumstances.
I made a lot of progress with my MBA studies at the OUBS which were both challenging and interesting. I completed B821 (Financial Strategy), and got my second elective, B822 (Creativity, Innovation and Change) started. Getting closer!
Highlights of the year were definitely the two (very different) conferences I attended: PM-Forum in Berlin and XP Days here in Hamburg. I learned a lot of new things, particularly in the Agile realm, and met many interesting people.
With a good amount of the first quarter under contract already, the year 2011 starts much more comfortable than 2010. I believe it will be another exciting year: I very much look forward to getting the local group of the PMI Agile COP started here in Hamburg. I hope my business network will give me more interesting opportunities to work with clients. I plan to be at the Agile Coach Camp in Rückersbach in June. With some luck, I’ll almost be done with my MBA with only a few months of masters thesis left at the end of this year.
Fingers crossed, and good luck with all of your endeavors in 2011 as well!
