Projects

Those who successfully run publications could probably qualify for a PMP certificate. Why? Because the editor or publisher is responsible for keeping the content, personnel, messaging, accounting, billing, brand, deadlines, distribution, budgeting, manufacturing, facilities, and IT, on track on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

 If any of the steps are missed or behind schedule, the entire operation must be adjusted to finish on time, on budget, and accurately. Otherwise, you face an angry mob, public ridicule, bankruptcy, jail, and possibly bodily harm. I know very few project managers who face this type of pressure.

 I successfully manage multiple publications. My longest run was with The Winged M, a glossy monthly magazine averaging 80 pages plus a 40-page quarterly class catalog. I successfully managed the magazine for more than 20 years, never failing to deliver an issue on time and on budget.

My career The Winged M, and MAC, began when I was hired as the communications specialist. I was promoted four times including Communications Director. By the time I left, I had a team of six that operated as an internal agency and was responsible for:
  • a monthly magazine with $600,000 in annual sales
  • a public website serving as the external face of the club
  • a members-only website with hundreds of pages, schedules, and documents, where members also completed thousands of registrations and reservations monthly, and managed their personal and family information and schedules
  • public relations
  • nearly 1,000 marketing projects annually
  • more than a 1,000 email campaigns annually
  • digital and print posters
  • digital displays
  • restaurant menus
  • social media channels
  • a standardized brochure system for more than 50 programs
  • event brochures
  • postcards
  • branding and graphic standards
  • portrait, event, product, and sports photography
  • content management systems
  • three computer servers, two with integrated databases
  • cloud and subscription-based software
  • more than a dozen desktop computers
Nearly all these marketing and communication projects were initiated through a custom web-based request system that automatically generated a unique project number, collected and stored submitted files, and general information (date, time, cost, reservations, description, deadline, target market, etc) in unique folders, verified the submission and then alerted a custom set of managers or directors, and the communications department, of the request.

 The request system included instructions for each content box, with some being required based on rules triggered by other content boxes. The request system was available to anyone on the network and used primarily by seven departments. The requests were organized, tracked and then marked completed and archived by the communications department.

 Some projects were as simple as creating an event poster while others involved a coordinated campaign pushed through an array of digital and print channels.

 My job was to evaluate the processes and channels, manage the workflow and tools, and step in if a project was behind, stalled, underfunded, or needed additional coordination or that executive push.

 The communications department's budget was more than $1,000,000 and the work done by the communications department directly influenced every purchase in the club as well as influencing member satisfaction across the entire organization.