E15 Laura Barnard from PMO Strategies and Laura Vela from Vela Consulting LLC
In this episode of Project Management Office Hours, Joe Pusz, PMO Joe has a great discussion with special guests Laura Barnard, Founder of PMO Strategies and Laura Vela, Principal Consultant with Vela Consulting, LLC. During this fast-paced hour long broadcast we hear the Lauras discuss the passion they have for their work, how they started their organizations and several useful nuggets that help us to know them better as well as learn how to become better PMs and PMO Leaders!
Laura Barnard started her business after 15 years working within corporate PMOs. Listen as she tells us how her passion to make an impact and help others lead her to starting PMO Strategies and IMPACT by Laura. There are limited resources available for PMO leaders to help grow and advance your careers and this drove Laura to host the PMO IMPACT Summit. She organized this virtual summit bringing together 40 of the top PMO leaders across the globe to share experiences, best practices, and lessons learned. Visit the PMO IMPACT Summit site to see all the great presentations delivered by these PMO leaders, including one from me – Improve Project Management Results by Repairing Your Plumbing!
We learned some insider secrets from Laura Vela on leading ERP Implementations and projects within the Healthcare space. Listen in to hear Laura share with us how to navigate the challenges of healthcare patient centered decision making. We also hear the benefits of modernizing technology but challenges healthcare organizations face when bringing such dramatic changes to their organization. Laura also shares the back-story which led her to start her own organization and the unique services they provide!
Thank you to our Sponsor, THE PMO SQUAD. Deploy the SQUAD to rescue your PMO or Projects. Serving clients across the United States, THE PMO SQUAD, quickly deploys Project Management experts to assist with PMO startups and improvements, Project Managers to lead your key Projects, customized Project Management Coaching and Training, and Support selecting and implementing Project Management Software. They are focused exclusively on PMOs and Project Management. Deploy the SQUAD!
Tune in for upcoming shows with Project Management leaders discussing a wide range of current topics and events! Our next show will be September 19th.
PMO Strategies is a training and consulting firm that helps leaders transform PMOs into hyper-focused IMPACT-driven engines to maximize return on investment for every project in the organization. Their goal is to ensure that PMO leaders and executives have the resources they need to create a sustainable PMO solution that becomes an integral part of organizational strategy realization.
Their approach is different than the typical “big consulting” cookie cutter approach that costs a lot of money, takes a long time to implement, and often misses the mark on what matters most. 
Instead, they create a right-sized solution, leveraging their own best practices and training programs, to ensure that the journey continues long beyond the engagement, thereby creating a sustainable and manageable solution that business leaders support.
Laura Barnard is the Founder of PMO Strategies and Project Management for Change, a nonprofit.
Laura has been helping business leaders get the results they crave using the power of project management for the last 24 years. She spent 15 of those years as a PMO leader on the inside and the last 5 helping businesses accelerate their growth through her consulting practice and training programs.
She runs several training and membership programs to help you grow your PM and PMO competency with a deliberate focus on driving high-IMPACT outcomes on every project.
Laura shares her insights and stories in her blog titled, “I wish I had me when I was you… ” where she is shaking up the way the industry thinks about our role in driving strategy realization. Laura welcomes you to join her community of IMPACT Drivers. You can learn more at IMPACTbyLaura.com.
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Vela Consulting, LLC is a boutique consulting company focused on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. With 25 years in the professional consulting services industry, we understand how to assist organizations drive value and efficiency from Information Technology. We have learned the difference is in improving not just IT systems, but also the way business is done, and most importantly, engaging people to use technology to work efficiently.
We engage specifically where your organization needs help. Whether you are in the planning stages of a new program and need some general advice, or you are looking for expertise to lead a large 
scale program, we scale our services to fit your timeline and business objectives.
Our passion, flexibility and experience are key drivers for our clients’ success. We are business transformation leaders that drive results through comprehensive solutions engaging people, process and technology. Our team is comprised of specialists to deliver the right services for your organization.
Laura Vela is a Business Transformation leader that drives results through comprehensive solutions engaging people, process and technology. Her expertise includes: – ERP Systems Planning, Selection and Implementation, – Operational Leadership, – Organizational Change Management, and – Business Process Management.
She is recognized as an effective change agent for technology and business solutions in the context of a client’s existing operating environment, budget, culture and competitive landscape. She is known as a deliberate decision-maker and excellent fact finder with strong use of data and analytics to understand real issues and take action that ensures resources are focused on the right strategy.
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn.
ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HOURS SERIES
Project Management Office Hours is intended to provide Project Management professionals a place to drop in and discuss Success Stories, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned. Project Management Consultant Joy Gumz has shared with us, “Operations keep the lights on, strategy provides the light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.”
Each of us has a unique story to tell, but collectively we share a message that organizations who embrace Project Management Best Practices perform better than those which don’t. Organizations which align Projects to Strategy perform better. Organizations with Engage Executive Sponsors deliver better results. Organizations which measure Project Management performance outperform those which don’t.
During our Project Management Office Hours, we hear directly from Industry leaders how to make an impact in our profession. How we, collectively, will Advance Project Management Best Practices, One Listener at a time!
Project Management Office Hours is powered by The PMO SQUAD.
ABOUT YOUR HOST
Joe Pusz started THE PMO SQUAD to bring real world PMO Leadership experience to the consulting space and to advocate for Project Management through his blog PMOJOE.com. The old saying is “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Following this mindset Joe left Corporate America in 2013 to start THE PMO SQUAD and work with fellow Natural Born Project Managers to advance Project Management Best Practices.
THE PMO SQUAD focuses exclusively on PMO and Project Management consulting. Corporate America is full of Accidental Project Managers running projects who haven’t been trained to be PMs. To help solve this problem THE PMO SQUAD is on the Leading Edge with PMO As a Service. PMO As a Service allows our clients to focus on their respective core competencies while THE PMO SQUAD delivers Project Management expertise. Contact Joe at 678-591-7868. Follow The PMO Squad on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
