The Griffin Tate Group, Inc.

Training the World in Project Management

Train. Apply. Succeed.

About The Griffin Tate Group, Inc. image
Mission
The Griffin Tate Group provides instruction and guidance for people involved in projects, to increase success rates, customer satisfaction, and reduce rework.
Vision
To inspire and empower individuals and organizations to achieve superior project results through professional growth and development centered on integrity and respect.

  • Our focus on hard and soft skills for individuals and teams provides immediate value and lasting competencies.
  • Founded in 1994 by Karen Tate, MBA, PMP, PMI Fellow and former member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) Global Board of Directors
  • Griffin Tate is a Charter, Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute (PMI®)

About the Workshop - 1 or 2 days in length

This basic Project Management course covers the broad range of skills needed to plan and manage most projects. Project Management Fundamentals introduces the principles and tools of project management to project managers and practitioners, and stresses the importance of effective project management, leadership and strong team dynamics.


Course Objectives

This course is an excellent introduction to project management that also provides powerful techniques and worksheets to enable participants to immediately plan and manage their portion of the project work. Aligned with A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), the easy-to-use method is applicable for most projects.

Table of Contents

Course ModulesTopics
Introduction
  • Overview
  • Ground Rules
  • Roles & Responsibilities
  • PM Process Overview
1. Initiation: The Charter
  • Project Charter
  • Kickoff Meeting
  • Parking Lot
  • Issues List
2. Planning: Project Scope
  • Scope Description
  • Deliverables Table
  • SMART Acceptance Criteria
  • Final & Interim Deliverables
  • Work Breakdown Structure
3. Planning: Project Risk
  • Project Risk Definitions
  • Brainstorming – virtual & in-person for risk identification
  • Project Risk Analysis – Scope, Schedule, Cost
4. Planning: Scheduling
  • Project Schedule Definitions
  • Milestone Schedule
  • Schedule Risk Analysis
  • Deliverables Schedule
5. Planning: Effort & Cost
  • Effort Estimate
  • Cost Estimate
  • Executive Summary Project Management Plan
  • Project Planning Checklist
6. Execution
  • Monitoring & Control
  • Project Team Meetings
  • Project Status Report
  • Meeting Evaluation
7. Closeout
  • Project Closeout Report
  • Customer Satisfaction & Feedback
  • Project Lessons Learned
8. Worksheets
  • Project Worksheets 
  • PowerPoint Deck / Status Report
  • Thinking Styles

Who Should Attend:

  • Project Managers
  • Subproject Team Leaders
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Stakeholders

Project Management Fundamentals includes a participant workbook and a copy of the Griffin Tate Group's best-selling book, The Project Management Memory Jogger™.

Workshop Description - 2 or 3 days in length

This comprehensive course covers the broad range of skills needed to plan and manage projects of all types and sizes. Essential Skills for Managing Projects is ideal for project managers, subproject leaders, team members and project stakeholders. Experienced project managers as well as new project managers will benefit by learning through application of CORE PM (Collaborative, Organized, Results-Focused, Easy) methodology in an interactive case-study-based exercise:

Based on The Project Management Memory Jogger, a pocket guide for project teams.

Aligned with the internationally accepted standards outlined in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Project Management Institute, Inc.

Course Objectives

In this course, participants learn a simple, powerful, collaborative method to organize, plan, and manage projects from beginning to end using proven techniques to efficiently and effectively define project plans and progress. Participants will:

  • Create a project charter
  • Define the scope of the project, project deliverables and acceptance criteria
  • Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) with clear accountability
  • Develop schedules: interdependent and milestones
  • Create a project budget & project effort estimate
  • Assess risk and develop responses to reduce risk in a fun, credible, and creative way 
  • Manage project change to prevent scope creep, project progress and issue project status reports
  • Closeout the project 

Table of Contents

Instruction ModulesTopics
Introduction
  • Overview and Key Terms
  • Ground Rules
  • PM Process Overview
1. Initiation: Project Management Overview & The Charter
  • Project vs Operations
  • Charter
  • Roles, Responsibilities
  • Brainstorming
  • Project Problems
  • PM Process Overview
2. Planning: Working with the Team
  • Kickoff Meeting
  • Parking Lot
  • Issues List
3. Planning: Project Scope
  • Scope Description
  • SMART Acceptance Criteria
  • Deliverables Table
  • Interim Deliverables
  • Project Boundaries Analysis
  • Work Breakdown Structure
4. Planning: Project Risk 
  • Project Risk Definitions
  • Project Risk Analysis - Scope, Schedule, Cost
  • Advanced Project Risk Analysis
5. Planning: Team Membership
  • Team Membership Analysis
6. Planning: Scheduling
  • Project Schedule Definitions
  • Milestone Schedule
  • Deliverables Schedule
  • Schedule Risk Analysis
  • Contingency
  • Quality Plan
  • Scheduling Software
7. Planning: Effort & Cost
  • Effort Estimate
  • Cost Estimate
  • Procurement Plan
  • Communication Plan
  • Organizational Change Management
  • Project Change Management
  • Assemble the Plan
  • Project Management Plan / Leadership Summary
  • Project Planning Checklist
8. Execution
  • Project Team Meetings
  • Project Status Report
  • Meeting Evaluation
  • Customer Sponsor Review Meeting
9. Closeout
  • Customer Sponsor Satisfaction & Feedback Survey
  • Lessons Learned
  • Project Closeout Report
  • Final Project Status Report
Worksheets
  • Project Worksheets 

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

  • Project managers
  • Subproject leaders
  • Project team members
  • Project stakeholders

Essential Skills for Managing Projects includes a participant workbook and a copy of The Griffin Tate Group's best-selling book, The Project Management Memory Jogger™.

Workshop Description - 1 day in length

Emotional intelligence (EI) the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

EI impacts your ability to succeed in all aspects of life. In a climate where project teams face unprecedented pressure to accomplish more with less, EI is an absolutely essential component of strong project leadership. Without the ability to motivate and engage team members, even the most practiced and detail-minded leader will fail. This all-day, interactive course covers the EI essentials – introducing key concepts, leadership styles, the role of EI in effective leadership, the four domains of EI and related competencies, and exercises for building EI.

Course Objectives

  • Understand the elements of Emotional Intelligence
  • Define emotional intelligence, domains and competencies
  • Recognize thinking styles
  • Use communication skills to strengthen and improve your E.I. competencies
  • Recognize an amygdala highjack and how to mitigate the effects
  • Perform a self-assessment of your Emotional Intelligence and develop a personal action plan 

Table of Contents

Module IIntroduction
Module 1Understanding Thinking Styles
Module 2Emotional Intelligence Domains and Competencies
Module 3Emotional Intelligence Domains and Competencies
Module 4Emotional Intelligence Skills
Module 5Emotional Intelligence Self Assessments & Personal Action Plan

Who should attend:

  • Project Managers
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Stakeholders
  • Project Sponsors

Emotional Intelligence and Success includes a participant workbook and a copy of the Griffin Tate Group's best-selling book, The Project Management Memory Jogger™.

Workshop Description - 2 or 3 days in length

According to experts, project leadership isn't just about project management techniques. It is also about the ability of the project manager to motivate the project team, build and maintain relationships and ensure commitment to the project. This workshop is highly interactive, providing participants with the processes that build new skills - ones that can be immediately applied to real project work in real project teams.

Course Objectives:

  • Accelerate the performance of the team throughout the life of the project
  • Work with diverse thinking and learning styles
  • Avoid and/or resolve conflict
  • Provide constructive feedback
  • Hold effective meetings
  • Improve Team Decision Making
  • Obtain Support from Project Sponsors and Management

Table Of Contents:

Instruction ModulesTopics

1) Influence: Emotional Intelligence
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Leadership Styles
  • Emotional Intelligence Areas of Competence, Domains, and Competencies
2) Communication: Effective & Active Listening
  • ABC Game
  • Effective Listening versus Hearing
  • Communication Filters
  • Active Listening
  • Questioning
  • Visual Communications
3) Communication: Constructive Feedback
  • Ineffective feedback
  • Receiving Feedback
  • Using effective/active listening with constructive feedback
4) Influence: Understanding Thinking Styles
  • Diversity Game
  • Thinking Styles and Preferences
  • Learning Styles
5) Influence: Managing Up – Change, Power, and Influence
  • Understanding Power
  • Influence
  • Managing Up
6) Collaboration: Conflict Resolution
  • Conflict Handling Modes
  • Resolution Process Model
  • Conflict Resolution
7) Collaboration: Team Decision Making Tools
  • Affinity Diagram
  • Interrelationship Digraph
  • Multi-voting
  • Nominal Group Technique
  • Prioritization Matrix
8) Collaboration: Tools for Effective Meetings
  • Ground Rules
  • Virtual Team Meeting Tips
  • Common Disruptive Situation Responses
  • Evaluate Your Meeting
9) Appendix
  • Project Management Tools
  • Leadership Theories and Definitions
  • Generational Differences

Who should attend

  • Project Managers
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Stakeholders
  • Project Sponsors

Project Leadership includes a participant workbook and a copy of the Griffin Tate Group's The Project Management Memory Jogger, and The Advanced Project Management Memory Jogger™ .



Workshop Description - 2 days in length

It only takes one challenging project to understand the importance of effective leadership and strong team dynamics. You need soft skills to meet the hard measures that determine project success.

If you've ever struggled with:

  • Motivating team members
  • Influencing decision makers
  • Strengthening key relationships
  • Resolving conflicts
  • Making swift and sound decisions
  • Communicating clearly and concisely

It's time to take command of your projects!

Learn how to earn the respect, support and commitment of project sponsors, stakeholders and team members. Create a culture of accountability, Increase your personal, professional, and political power.

Course Objectives

  • Develop a plan to increase your personal, professional, and political power
  • Use the language of management to get your point across crisply and clearly to sell your decisions and ideas to stakeholders
  • Analyze difficult situations to achieve the right balance of your head and your heart as appropriate
  • Create a plan to build, maintain and/or improve your relationships with stakeholders, customers, management, and the project team
  • Identify how to resolve conflict in a positive and confident manner
  • Apply the criteria of effective decision making to navigate the environment surrounding tough situations

What You Will Learn

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will learn how to earn respect, support, and commitment from:

  • Project sponsors,
  • Management,
  • Project stakeholders,
  • Project team members

while creating and maintaining a culture of accountability and respect.

According to experts, successful project managers use the right balance of their hearts and their heads – applying project management tools and techniques to skillfully plan and execute projects while expressing care, concern, and consideration for the people they work with to build and maintain positive relationships.

It is easier to measure project success by the numbers, completion dates, and project costs than it is to measure the motivation of the team and one's ability to influence and solve problems with harmony. Learn how to gain the support of stakeholders and increase your credibility with the right blend of facts and self-confidence.

Course Overview

  • Module i Introduction
  • Module 1 Understanding Your Project
  • Module 2 Framework for Taking Command – Emotional Intelligence
  • Module 3 Identify and Analyze the Players
  • Module 4 Tools & Techniques for Effective Interactions
  • Module 5 Using the Language of Management Effectively
  • Module 6 Using Your Power Directly and Respectfully
  • Module 7 Planning Your Path Forward
  • Module 8 Appendix

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

  • Project Managers
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Leaders
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Stakeholders

Take Command of Your Projects includes a participant workbook and a copy of the Griffin Tate Group's best-selling book,  "The Project Management Memory Jogger™"

Workshop Description – 1 or 2 days in length

This workshop is for project managers and project team members who want to prevent rework, chaos and unsatisfied customers by managing the uncertainty that exists in all projects. This course was developed to help participants gain a comprehensive understanding of how to assist project sponsors in determining risk limits/ risk thresholds. Participants in this workshop learn to identify, analyze, quantify and monitor risks, determine the risk responses and manage a contingency reserve.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Assist sponsor in determining risk limits or risk thresholds
  • Identify and categorize the different types of risk that apply to a project
  • Identify, Analyze, Evaluate, Monitor and Manage risks through the 4 project phases (Initiation, Planning, Execution and Close Out) and respond accordingly
  • Select and use appropriate risk analysis tools and techniques for prioritization sensitivity analysis and probabilistic determination of risks.
  • Develop a risk management plan to communicate and track risks throughout the life of the project.
  • Determine the appropriate response to manage risks
  • Manage a contingency reserve (schedule, effort hours and money)
  • Document all risk information during and upon conclusion of the project
  • Learn how to improve your risk assessments from the actual risk results

Table of Contents 

IntroIntroduction
Module 1Introduction to Risk
Module 2Step 1 Define the Risk Limit
Module 3Step 2 Identify Risk and Opportunities
Module 4 Step 3 Analyze Risk
Module 5Step 4 Determine Risk Response
Module 6 Step 5 Monitor Risk and Manage Change
Module 7Step 5 (cont.) Schedule and Budget Risk
Module 8Step 6 Close Out Risk
Module 9Risk Forms

Who should attend:

  • Project Managers
  • Subproject Leaders
  • Project Team Members
  • Project Stakeholders
  • Project Sponsors

Workshop materials includes a participant workbook and a copy of "The Risk Management Memory Jogger™.

Train the Trainer image
When the need arises to maximize in-house resources for project management training, contact us. The Griffin Tate Group’s Train the Trainer (TTT) program qualifies individuals to teach the “Essential Skills for Managing Projects” and “Project Management Fundamentals" inside their organizations. This is a cost saving option that enables just-in-time training, jump starting new projects, integration with existing project methods and technical processes, and customization.
The TTT program is led by specially trained and qualified TGTG instructors. It includes comprehensive course materials and a copy of our best selling book, the Project Management Memory Jogger ™.
By licensing your internal trainers to teach the project management workshops we deliver through our on-site training and public workshops, we help you manage training costs while tailoring training to your organizational needs, and ultimately, those of your customers and clients. Our practical TTT process has helped major corporations around the world. The licensing process is simple. It is less restrictive and less expensive than similar, available offerings.

Follow these easy steps to qualify:
  1. Attend one of our workshops
  2. Apply for the TTT Program.
  3. Your Internal Trainer completes our TTT program requirements.
  4. Sign the license agreement.
  5. Start teaching and adding value to your organization
For more information on our Train-The-Trainer program, contact us.

Karen Tate, MBA, PMI, PMI Fellow

President and Founder

President and founder of The Griffin Tate Group, Inc. (TGTG), Karen Tate is an internationally recognized expert in the field of project management and is the co-author several project management books.

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Robin Snyder

Operations Manager

Robin Snyder, operations manager, brings 20+ years of success helping organizations achieve greater efficiency through project management to her role. A pivotal member of the Griffin Tate Group since 2002, she oversees all aspects of the group’s functional processes and documentation procedures – from drafting and development through to execution

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  • 2200 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45206, USA
  • Located at The Edgecliff, in East Walnut Hills.

Project Management Memory Jogger

Contains simple, step by step processes that work to help you and your team create successful projects.

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The Risk Management Memory Jogger

How do you deal with risk? Risk is everywhere...in your work, home, and an ever-present factor in new ventures, financial investments, work projects, and all types of events.

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Perfect Phrases for Project Management

A tool to help you define objectives, understand processes and communicate to team members with clarity to ensure that every project is completed on time and on budget.

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The Advanced Project Management Memory Jogger

Complementing our leading resource, the Project Management Memory Jogger™, this book focuses on advanced project management and leadership skills.

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The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Project Management Course

Schedule and coordinate projects seamlessly, start to finish! In today's ultracompetitive world of business, those in charge want results on time and on budget--and they're turning to project managers to deliver. Skilled project managers are in high demand, and the profession is growing at an unprecedented rate.

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