As I have stated before – I’m an avid reader. Every 3 months I receive an employee evaluation, and during each of my evaluations I reference the business books that I have been reading as I continue to develop myself professionally. During one of my latest evaluations it was suggested by my manager that I start a book club within my department to not only further develop my management/leadership skills, but to give all interested parties the ability to add to their professional development plans as well. It took me all of 5 seconds to think about it. The book club was born!

Picking the First Book – Good to Great

Choosing the first book was even easier than deciding to start the club. I had just finished reading a fairly short and easy to read book that I dog-eared throughout. Each of those pages were marked because I could directly relate the words on these pages to something that I had experienced at work. The book that I chose? Good to Great by Jim Collins.

The Great Parts

At less than 300 pages, the book was the perfect size for the club to read over the course of our 4 sessions and each session covered enough content that we continuously had engaging discussions that completely filled our hour and a half time slots. It was clear from the amount of information in the book’s appendix that Jim Collin’s and his team did an enormous amount of research when writing this book. In doing so they identified several key characteristics that help to propel a good company into greatness. These characteristics are clearly explained throughout the book and were referenced frequently to help backup people’s opinions during our discussions.

The book uses several phrases and concepts that just stay with you. The most notable one is “on the bus”, a phrase that is supposed to serve as a comparison of a bus and the members of your organization. Before you can begin to move your bus/organization in the right direction it is necessary to ensure that “the right people are in the right seat”. After reading this book it’s all too common to hear people reference “the bus” in our all-staff meetings. Some other concepts that provoked conversations were “Level 5 Leaders” and “The Hedgehog Concept”.

The Not So Great Parts

While the book received favorable reviews from all book club participants, there are still some notable shortcomings that are worth mentioning. The most glaring issue with the book is that many of the companies profiled as great companies are now experiencing difficult times or have gone out of business completely. The concepts of the book are what really matters, but it’s like an annoying thorn in your side every time you read something about Circuit City and Fannie Mae. It’s evident that Collins and his team knew this would limit the lifespan of this book’s validity and have released another book, How The Mighty Fall, that addresses the downfall of theses companies.

The other issue that I have with this book is it’s one size fits all attitude toward success. Every business is different and sometimes achieving success is complex and needs to be respected as such otherwise you’re just going to be setting yourself up for disappointment.

I Recommend This Book

I’ve read enough business books to know that I’m not going to find one that answers all of my questions and propels me into the awaiting arms of a VC or help me become a VP by 5 o’clock Friday. That being said, I’ve read enough to know that Good to Great is a worthwhile read and would comfortably recommend it to you. Just as I did to 14 of my closest professional peers. Buy it, read it, and pass it along, but most importantly – Come back and let me know what you think!

What’s Next For The Book Club?

Thankfully, the book club was a big hit and we’ve already started reading our next book. After polling the group we’ve finally decided on Why Business People Speak Like Idiots. Stay tuned. The review will be coming within the next week or so.

So many things have happened to me this year that I know that I’m going to leave things out, but here’s my best attempt at grabbing some of the more memorable events (Remember: You’re memory tends to go as you get older too) that happened while I was 27. I just know I’m going to have to edit this as things start coming back to me…

Being 27: The Good

• Project Management at Work

  As you may have seen in my July post, I’m now a member of the Project Management team at my company and am loving every second of it. There’s a lot of growing that I have to do in this position and I’m facing new challenges daily (Who would have ever thought that coordinating everyone’s schedule for a meeting would be one of them?), and I cannot wait to see what opportunities and challenges come my way this year.

• Building Relationships

  This past year has been all about building and maintaining relationships for me. You never know when fate is going to step in and take someone that you love away from you, so why not REALLY make the most of the time we have? This past year made my family my best friends, and my best friends have become family. I’m still not sure why I’m surrounded by so many wonderful people in my life, but I’m going to take advantage of this blessing.

  I have also decided to let go of the past. People who have previously wronged me are forgiven. It’s time to move on. After all, everyone deserves a second chance. Right?

Being 27: The Bad

• PMP Certification

  I have been wanting to get my project management certification for about 2 years now, but I’m still not there. My initial goal was to obtain it this past summer, but the seasons have changed and I’m still without that ever important piece of paper that validates the knowledge and skills I possess. I remain undeterred and am currently on track to obtain it before the end of 2009.

• Personal Trainer Certification

  Physical fitness is a large part of my life. If I don’t make it to the gym at least 3 nights a week I start to feel a tad grumpy. I wanted to become a certified personal trainer immediately after receiving my PMP certification. Unfortunately, I still have neither. Let’s hope I turn 29 with both of them under my belt.

• Poor Mr. Connery

  Lastly, in the early hours of a cold winter morning I bounded head-on (very slowly) over a rather large curb in my Lincoln MKZ (Mr. Connery). All 4 tires popped upon impact, and I continued to hurdle down a grassy hillside into the drive-thru of a Kentucky Fried Chicken. My wintery adventure came to a rather abrupt halt with the MKZ’s passenger side window parallel to the drive through speaker. KFC’s are not open this early in the morning so my resting place was of no benefit to me. My little offroad excursion ended up costing me 5 hours of missed work and $1200 in repairs, but it could have been much worse. No major parts or pieces of the car were harmed and I narrowly missed hitting a traffic pole as I bound over the curb by less than a foot. Had any of that happened this would have landed in the ugly section.

Being 27: The Ugly

• Truebluetitan

  I’m a bad blogger. Plain and simple. There’s about a million things that I know I want to write about, but it seems to take me forever to write a post so I usually end up not writing them and feeling bad about it later. Over the course of this past year I gave Truebluetitan a new snazzy coat of paint in hopes that it would stir my creative juices, but unfortunately, it didn’t. The result? I wrote a measly 9 posts for Truebluetitan while I was 27. Now I know that many of you are probably reaching for your unsubscribe button after reading that, but I’m giving myself 1 last chance to raise TBT from the ashes. It was once a site worth visiting. It will become that once again. Either that, or it’s plug get’s pulled. I have a year to prove to you, and myself, how important Truebluetitan is to me.

• Being an Entrepreneur

  Life sometimes behaves like a pendulum. At least that’s what mine does. A little over a year ago, being an Entrepreneur was my only job. I lived solely off of the income from my projects. I didn’t make a lot, and it was incredibly stressful, but, my God, was it fun. Nowadays my projects sit on a shelf. Some are revived and some die (ArrivalAlert).

  At the core of everything that is me, I am an entrepreneur, and though some days go by where I may not act like it, I cannot deny the fact that it’s who I am. Though this past year doesn’t do a great job of reflecting that I have a feeling that it’s all about to change.

I’m 28 Years Old Today

When my father was 28 years old he grew into the man that he is today. It was the birth of his rags to riches story which is what continues to inspire me every day. And while I love this life of mine, I am not yet the man that I know I was born to be. This year changes everything.

Despite the lack of updates with regards to Project Management, it’s still very much a part of my every day life. When the opportunity presents itself, I work on project tasks at work. In the evening I’m designing and implementing some Web properties that I’m awfully proud of, and when I have free time (why does that always make me laugh?), I crack open my PMP Exam Prep book by Rita Mulcahy and pour over the materials to ensure that I’ll be ready when it comes time to take the test.

That’s right, despite the end of June deadline, I’m still without my certification. It’s not common for me to miss my goals/deadlines, but sometimes things just don’t work out like we had initially planned. If we’re lucky, they work out better.

Project Management & the Day Job

My workplace is growing and evolving in various ways…good ways. Those that want to make a difference are working to do so and their attitudes are contagious. Change is in the air and has already been characterized by some as “refreshing”. I’m glad to say that I’m part of that change, and as of this past Wednesday, my responsibilities have shifted to Project Management. Now, I can honestly say that I enjoyed my previous role, but there is no hiding the fact that I’m excited: New office. New responsibilities. Renewed PMP focus!

Part of the requirements for obtaining a PMP Certification is that the applicant must have “experience during which at least 4,500 hours were spent leading and directing project tasks”. Now, I haven’t compiled “the list” yet (and I think I meet the requirements already), but it’s great to know that I’ll be able to tack on additional hours daily.

This is a role that I see myself growing in to, and really hope to set aside some real time to relate my experiences to the PMP Certification teachings/process on this site. However, I’m not quite sure how this will all play out, but isn’t that what really makes life interesting?

Turning A Hobby Into Income

Over the past year I have been blessed with several opportunities to photograph some special events and occasions in the Pittsburgh area. It’s one of those things that kind of just fell into my lap that I have taken and run with and has turned my photography hobby into an unexpected amateur-professional source of income.

Shoot Like A Pro Without Spending Like One

While I’ve made some good money shooting these events, it’s not going to replace my day job any time soon. Unfortunately, photography, whether pursued as a hobby or as a career, can be incredibly expensive. Digital SLR cameras can cost as much as decent cars and the amount of accessories that you want/need can easily break the bank.

Luckily, there is a way to shoot like a pro without laying down a large chunk of coin: BorrowLenses.com. I recently read about them on twitter and after several reaffirmations from fellow photographers I decided to rent some equipment from them for an upcoming event. I’m glad I did.

My experience with BorrowLenses.com was great from the get-go. Their site, while a little aged looking, was incredibly easy to navigate and I felt that their inventory contained just about everything that I would need in the immediate future. On top of it all their prices were fair. After many hours mulling over what to get I decided that a Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Fisheye and a Canon 430EX Speedlite w/E-TTL II would meet my needs perfectly. Due to my procrastination I had to request next day shipping and was quite pleased when the equipment arrived on-time and in perfect condition. My rented Lens and flash were packaged ever so snugly and I was out and shooting with them in no time.

I’m extremely happy that BorrowLenses.com exists and will definitely be a returning customer. If I ever need special equipment for an upcoming event or want to try a lens before I buy it I know where I’m heading first. It’s a great way for photographers like me to get their hands on higher quality, expensive equipment without going into debt. As we all know: debt is bad…m’kay. :)

What’s Your Experience?

Do you have any experience with BorrowLenses.com or another company like them? If so, was it as pleasant as mine? I’d love to hear your thoughts/opinions.

I know that if I’m going to get out debt and stay out debt then I need to be mindful of my budget. Being the avid gadget junky that I am, I wanted an application to keep track of everything for me. Luckily, there are no shortage of applications out there that make this possible. But let’s face it, not all are created equally.

Spreadsheets are old school. There are far too many better alternatives out there to consider. Intuit makes a program that’s been around forever, but there’s nothing intuitive about Quickbooks interface. Despite being a Mac addict, there’s no denying the fact that Microsoft Money is a great application. I used to use it religiously when I was a PC user, but it only runs on Windows and as we’ve already established: I’m a Mac Addict.

Minty, Fresh Finances

In September 2007, Mint.com a FREE online money management application broke onto the scenes. The creator, Aaron Patze, developed the site to create a more effortless way to manage money after finding the marketplace’s current offerings to be a tad stale. Just 18 months after Mint’s initial release, over 1 million people have signed up making it the fastest-growing personal finance software ever. Aaron hit the mark.

The Internet? My Finances? That’s Scary.

The Internet is a scary place, and a fool and their money are frequently parted by one scam or another when it comes to the online world. It’s fair for people to be a little timid about seeing all of their assets in front of them online, but I’ve been an advocate of Mint for quite some time now and trust their security. Here’s why:

1. Mint uses bank-level security encryption,
2. You’re anonymous,
3. You can’t transfer money; just view it, and
4. Mint.com quickly alerts you of suspicious activity on your account(s).
5. The list goes on and on. You can read more about it here.

Proud Member Since 2007

I’ve been a minty member almost since the beginning and have loved it since. Who wants to spend several hours a week inputting and categorizing their purchases and income. BAH! That’s for the birds. Mint makes short work of all of this. I pay for everything with my debit card and it all gets categorized intelligently. At the beginning of every month I setup my budget and at the end I make sure I’m in check: painless.

Wait! It gets better: Mint also evaluates your financial habits and recommends ways for you to save. The icing on the cake is that they’re constantly evolving. In 2008, the site went under the knife and came out looking great and working even better. That same year they also unveiled their FREE iPhone app.

2009 looks to be chalk full of minty-goodness as well. The company just launched a beta of their first advice feature, called Financial Fitness. It uses money-saving principles to help it’s user-base make wiser financial decisions. I can’t wait to try it out. Hello…can you hear me Mint? ;)

How Do You Track Your Budget?

So there you have it. Give Mint.com a try. It’s the answer my budgeting woes, and if you’re looking for a solution there’s more than one reason why this might just be yours too. Did I mention that it’s FREE? If it isn’t a good fit for you, I’d love to hear why? Also, what are you using and how?

My First Debts

Like a large portion of the students heading off to college, I had to take out student loans. I’m not ashamed that I had to do so, but I never even thought about how long they would stay with me. They were the first debts that I incurred and will be the last that I pay off. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only debts I had for long. Shortly after taking on these loans, I fell victim to my own ignorance. Others were succumbing to the credit card scammers agents on campus and in true lemming fashion, I followed suit.

“What’s so bad about having a credit card?” I thought. I heard others talk about how they were helping them to establish credit and how they were the key to getting a loan for a new car and/or house. I loved new cars and definitely wanted to be able to buy a house in the future so I needed a credit card to build up my credit now, right? It sounded like a pretty solid plan to me and to top it off, I could buy stuff now and pay for it all later, when I had a real job. So I signed up…for more than one.

The Day I Stopped Accruing Debt

Fast forward now to about a year and a half ago. The school loans and credit cards I had in college were still with me, and a couple more snuck into the mix since then. Several new cars had come and gone by now. In fact, there was another new one parked outside. I even had a plush apartment (complete with all the plush amenities one could want) to come home to every night. I was doing well for myself by most standards. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t winning.

It was time to get this debt monkey off of my back. My sole source of income was from self-employment, and it was frustrating to watch my infrequent paychecks get divvied up to pay all of the people that I owed money to. How could I let myself get so comfortable borrowing from others? Me, the guy that practically has anxiety attacks at the thought of borrowing a dime from my parents, was borrowing money from all of these companies? It was time for a financial makeover…

The Total Money Makeover

I’m a big believer in not reinventing the wheel so I went in search of wisdom from those that have been in my shoes before. In the past, I found a gem or two in the form of a podcast on iTunes, so that was my first stop. As luck would have it, iTunes came through in the form of the Dave Ramsey Show and The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Success.

Dave Ramsey, the originator of both, was millions of dollars in debt when he was my age and had to file for bankrupcy. Now, twenty-some years later, he spends his life teaching “you to manage and budget your money, get out of debt, build wealth, and live in financial peace”. Thankfully, after months of listening and reading his teachings, I’m happy to say that my outlook on money hasn’t been the same since.

So What’s In Dave’s Secret Sauce?

Nothing. Dave Ramsey’s debt-free plan is simple. There’s no secret sauce and this isn’t a get rich quick scheme. In fact, it’s more of a get rich slow method, and it takes some people a really long time and a lot of hard work and dedication to undo their mess. The nice thing is that it’s a sure-fire path to financial freedom. The only requirements to succeed? Acknowledging your debt, realizing that it’s manageable, and some good hard work. Dave outlines it in these 7 “baby steps”:

1. Start an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt using a Debt Snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give!

Still skeptical? Don’t believe me? Listen to a handful of shows and see for yourself. Dave offers enough free advice on his show that it’s not even necessary to buy his resources to begin your debt-free journey. Additionally, he advocates tithing, or giving one-tenth of your income back, typically to the church.

Listen in, I’m sure that any skepticism you may have will be lifted. Dave frequently has listeners calling into his show to scream “I’m debt free” when they’ve completed their 2nd baby step. It’s the kind of thing that sticks with you the first time you hear it. Initially I thought “this person sounds insane”, but then I put myself in their shoes and imagined the elated feeling that I’ll have when I’m debt free. It is insane. Insanely awesome.

Town Hall for Hope

Times are tough right now. There’s no denying that. I have friends who have lost their jobs and companies that were once thought to be the backbone of America are now coming to the government begging for handouts. However, there’s still hope. The world is not coming to the end, but today’s popular media make it hard to believe that there’s anything worth feeling warm and fuzzy about.

“I’m an American and I am not participating in this recession.”

I’m tired of it, and so is Dave Ramsey. That’s why he’s reaching out to America by holding a town hall meeting (of sorts) on April 23rd @ 8pm. This nationwide meeting is to provide some realistic insight into the current state of our nation and where we’re going next. Check out his Web site or the groups of people following this event on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites at the bottom of the Web site.

The Day I Got Out Of Debt

This chapter can’t be written yet, but I’m ready to write it. With continued focus on my finances and the support and encouragement of a community like the one built by Dave Ramsey I am sure that I’ll be paying off my debt in the very near future. When I do, be assured that I’ll be writing about it here. I’m literally smiling at the thought of the joy that I will feel when I press the publish button when that day comes.

Are you a fan of Dave Ramsey or are you on a debt-free journey? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts and any details surrounding the trials and tribulations you have faced in the process.

Skribit: Giving Your Readers A Voice

That’s why I am pleased to announce that a widget has been re-added to Truebluetitan to allow you to suggest topics directly to me. Skribit, the brainchild of Paul Stamatiou, was developed by the entrepreneurial members of Startup Weekend Atlanta and released for public consumption well over a year ago now.

The concept is fairly straightforward. Sign up for an account here, place the widget on the sidebar of your blog decide where you would like the widget to appear on your blog, and instantly your readers may begin suggesting topics directly. In my opinion, blogs that disable user feedback are pointless. After all, isn’t conversation the point of blogging? Sure, everyone wants to have a soapbox that they can occasionally stand up on and shout to the masses, but what fun is it if the masses can’t shout back? Skribit lets you do that.

How Has Skribit Evolved?

Since Skribit’s birth, it’s core functionality has remained mostly unchanged. However, the small touches, like a fresher Web site, a dedicated developer, and a less obtrusive user interface (see that spiffy little tab over there on the left?) have made it feel like less of a beta app stuck in the sidebar and more like an integral piece of anybody’s Web site.

Thanks to skribit, you now have a hand in suggesting what you would like me to write about. So go ahead, leave a suggestion and take the rudder of Truebluetitan. Pick my brain. Challenge me. Let’s take this site to the next step together!

What’s Your Opinion On This Type Of Service?

I’m digging Skribit, but what are your thoughts? More and more services like this seem to be popping up, but do you find them worthwhile? I’m listening. :)

It is with great pleasure that I present to you: Truebluetitan V8. Back from the dark-side, and returning to the familiar white, gray, and blue design that it was once known for, this version of my portfolio site is a more drastic break from the typical blogging interface that you’re used to seeing here.

Tell Me More About The Design

Starting as a break from another Web site that I am currently designing, this look & feel began its life as a couple of gray blocks in Photoshop that quickly blossomed into what you see before you after a couple of long nights and weekends. It would be highly disrespectful if I didn’t lend kudos to the following amazing designs that helped to inspire this site’s current appearance: Trent Walton, Squarespace, Versions, & the Invoice Machine. Thank you folks for making the Web very easy on the eyes.

Enough About The Pretty. Get Down To The Nitty Gritty.

As you can tell by the layout of the main page of this site, I’m now even more focused on the projects that are before me and will provide as much transparency as possible. You will also notice that I have chosen to limit the number of projects that I’m working on to three. I feel that my success rate will drop drastically if I take on any more at one time. As such, I have decided to split my projects into the following categories: Intrapreneur, Personal, and Entrepreneur and each category will always have 1 active project in the works.

If things ever appear to get too quiet around here, then I invite you to check out the lifestream at the bottom of the homepage. There you’ll find my active participation in several of the popular Social Media sites out there today.

A Penny For Your Thoughts?

As with all previous versions of Truebluetitan, the end goal is for me, Rob Schultz, to connect with you as we travel on this journey to becoming an Internet Entrepreneur together. As always, your feedback on the design and direction of the site is greatly appreciated. Please speak up using the comments section below.

Last year around this time I was knee-deep in job searches. Monster, Careerbuilder, and Dice were the first three Web sites that I went to every morning. I was looking for a position with responsibilities mirroring those that I had when I was at IMPAQT as a Search Account Manager. However, a fairly common prerequisite for positions of this type was that I needed to have my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification already. As luck would have it, I was able to land a great job without the certification, but the desire for that certification has never left my mind. That’s why, I’m making it the first Intrapreneurial goal on Truebluetitan.

What Will A PMP Do For You?

The certification is geared towards those that direct cross-functional teams to deliver projects within the constraints of schedule, budget, and scope. My current role within my organization is that of a Business Analyst and there is a professional Business Analyst certification out there, but I aspire for more. As I grow within the organization learn it’s unique intricacies, I hope to be able to expand my responsibilities to include those outlined above. I feel that the PMP will help to validate my knowledge and hopefully I’ll pick up a couple of tidbits here and there as I study for the certification.

When Do You Take The Test?

I’m still in the early stages of researching the certification, but with a lot of studying I’m betting that I’ll be able to obtain the certification before the end of June. As I dive into my studies and learn more about becoming a PMP I’ll update this section, so stay tuned.

Do you have your PMP? Do you think that it’s even worth it for an Entrepreneur? Let’s hear your opinion.