The Podcast for Project Managers by Project Managers. Table of Contents 01:06 … Meet Kendall 03:27 … PM4Change 04:31 … Finding the Gap 08:05 … PMDOS Event Procedure 11:39 … Organization Support 12:19 … Benefits to the PM 14:48 … Networking 17:33 … Meet Selena 18:16 … Local Launch PMDOS 21:34 … Student Mentoring 24:05 … PMI Atlanta Chapter PMDOS 24:54 … Lessons Learned 28:25 … Success Story 30:32 … PM Point of View Podcast 31:53 … Closing KENDALL LOTT:  We have skills.  The skills are needed.  The talents are useful, but talents don’t count, you can’t let them be fallow.  You have to use them. NICK WALKER:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  Every two weeks we meet to discuss what really matters to you as a professional project manager.  It’s a time we set aside to offer some expertise and advice from some of our fellow professionals in the field.  We let them tell their stories in the hopes that you’ll be encouraged and challenged in your own sphere of influence. I’m your host, Nick Walker, and with me is our chief influencer, Bill Yates,  and Bill, I’m looking forward to hearing what our guests have to say about a subject that’s become increasingly on my radar, and that is volunteering.  Which, as you and I have talked about, addresses a common problem. BILL YATES:  Right.  The common problem, not-for-profits often have a compelling vision but those leaders need help planning and executing.  So I’m really interested to see what our guests have to say about that. Meet Kendall NICK WALKER:  So we have two guests to help us in the studio today who are going to talk about an organization that provides opportunities for project management professionals to participate in community volunteering. Our first guest is J. Kendall Lott.  Kendall is the CEO/President of M Powered Strategies, Inc. A change management consulting firm in Washington, DC. Supporting organizations in public service.  He’s the executive director of the Project Management Day of Service, the Chairman of the Board of the PM for Change nonprofit organization. And the host and producer of the PM Point of View podcast.  Kendall, thanks so much for joining us here on Manage This today. KENDALL LOTT:  Glad to be here. NICK WALKER: So tell us a little bit about yourself to get us started here. And why volunteering is such a passion for you. KENDALL LOTT:  Huh.  That is a super good question, I think what brought me here that’s related to that is I am a returned Peace Corps volunteer, back in the ‘80s. So I got started in public service through the graces of the federal government. I greatly appreciate the taxpayers that make that program possible, I think it’s good for the country, and it’s good for me.  It was a chance to get kind of involved, and I really enjoyed it. One of my other pieces later was when I wanted to become a project manager and realized there was a whole institute around it, with chapters, I needed to kind of get out and get to meet people. But I did it for a very personal reason, I think that’s where we get a lot of volunteers, you’ve got to have your own hook for something right, and I realized I needed to meet people. So I showed up at the Washington, DC Chapter, PMIWDC, my home chapter, and they had, frankly, they had a disaster at their registration desk.  So me being Kendall, I showed up and said, what, this is like the biggest chapter, and this is all these project managers, and they can’t run a registration desk?  And I raised my voice. So we know what happened then, they’re like, congratulations, you just volunteered to solve that, and I got to participate and learn to keep my mouth shut.  No, I learned to help out, and I really enjoyed engaging with other professionals.  So that was a bit of a twist on the volunteer environment right, and I volunteered for the chapter for about 15 years and ended up on the board and eventually became the vice chair,