As a part of my project close-out celebration of the “get the kids into college” project, I decided to celebrate by going back to school myself.  So, here I am in Parma, Italy, at the Academia Barilla cooking school through Sur La Table—two organizations that really understand the community around cooking and the foodies like me who want to experience culture through cooking. 

During this cooking program, many Italians have professed to me they aren't good at project management. As I kept hearing this, I realized their perception is based on the stereotype of project management:  That it’s only about getting there on time and not about the quality or the end result. When you look at project management as a whole—time, cost, and quality—then you find the people of Parma are exceptionally good at it. Let’s explore what I experienced as the five key ways Parma and project management are a perfect marriage.

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