You studied hard. You spent good money to assure you were properly prepared. You ignored your friends and family. You stressed for weeks in anticipation. Still doubting your preparation, you faced the inevitable: the PMP Exam. After as many as four grueling hours you were totally spent. You hesitated, for one last review. But the time had come. You pressed the "Finished" key and began the wait. It was only seconds on the clock, but in your mind it seemed like an eternity. But there it was on the screen, the reward for all of your efforts: PASSED!!

The wait was over. Now you could join the over 220,000 people who have experienced the same feeling of relief when that simple word: PASSED flashed on the screen. Now you could return to the office proud of your achievements. You were proud to be among a very select group of professionals who hold the distinction of being a Certified PMP.

Once you got the PMP credential, one of the first orders of business was to plan your strategy for keeping it. After all, you NEVER want to have to sit for the PMP Exam a second time! You realize that over the next three years you will need to collect a minimum of 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs). This expenditure of time and money will demonstrate to the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the world that you are not just a "paper" PMP. You are determined to operate on a Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement by participating in sanctioned training events and/or a variety of volunteer opportunities afforded by your local PMI Chapter--all for the purpose of PDUs and maybe ---just maybe!--- improving your performance on the job.

But, alas, it suddenly becomes a numbers game. You spend time counting PDUs you have earned and planning the next time you can get some to add to the total. The three year clock has started. Like most project management professionals, you are busy and your management isn't willing to give you the time or money to get the PDUs (or learning for that matter) you need.

You NEED PDUs. You become obsessed. Like a drug addict looking for the next "fix", you gotta have PDUs. You can't face that Exam again!! You WON'T face that Exam again!! You become desperate and cry out for help, anyone, anyone? Please, help me! I can't survive without PDUs. Suddenly it seems PDUs have become the end rather than the means to an end. Sad!

During the first eight months of this year, Lambert Consulting Group has provided PDU-worthy project management profession training to 1,477 men and women in nineteen different locations. But, it should be noted that the basis for our very existence in the training arena isn't the infamous PDU. It is, and always has been, about Professional Development for YOU (PDYOU).

We have a "learning obligation" to the students, and we work very hard to assure we deliver. But, the students have an obligation, too. Their responsibility is to take what they learn back to the work place and make a difference. The students need to take charge of their careers. They must find and attend learning programs that will translate to "value-add" on the job. They must look to achieving a level of performance that separates them from the "paper" PMPs.

The truth: it is not about the PDU. It is actually about PDYOU. Think about it. It's your career-why not manage it?

Originally posted on August 29, 2007