The Biggest Cause of Most Project Failures

As a former senior executive of Synchrony in Costa Mesa, Delaena Kalevor helped launch several points of sale and digital products. One of Delaena Kalevor's responsibilities at Synchrony was project management, and part of being a successful project manager is avoiding major causes of project failures. A lack of clear goals is commonly agreed as the biggest one.

According to KPMG, seven out of 10 organizations have experienced a failed project in the last 12 months. In the United States alone, project failures cost organizations $122 million for every $1 billion that is invested. In a 2017 study conducted by the Project Management Institute’s Pulse of the Profession, 37 percent of executive leaders claimed that a lack of clear goals was the primary reason behind their project failures.

One of the biggest responsibilities of a project manager is to plan the project, which gives it clearly-defined goals, as well as timelines and budgets. Without clear goals, there are no performance indicators to measure if the project is heading towards success. This means that it would be hard, if not impossible, to tell if work is complete or leading to a waste of time and resources.

A Brief History of Soccer

An experienced financial executive, Delaena Kalevor recently served as the VP of strategic initiatives with California-based Synchrony and is now an independent consultant working with institutional investors. Outside his career in finance Delaena Kalevor enjoys sports, including soccer.

The sport of soccer, commonly known as football in most parts of the world, is perhaps the most popular sport played in the world today. This sport has an incredibly long history, with some experts even dating its origins back to ancient times, as far back as 2500 BCE. It appears that in these times, the Greeks, Chinese, and even Egyptians participated in various types of games that involved balls that were moved by the foot. However, in many of these games, hands and sticks were also used to control the ball. Of these ancient games, the most relevant to modern-day soccer is an ancient Chinese game known as Tsu'Chu, played during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE).

Following this Chinese game, which may have originally served as a training exercise for soldiers, other similar games began to develop around the world. Eventually, modern-day soccer began to emerge and be codified in the public schools of Great Britain in the early part of the 19th century. It is the English, as well, who are credited with developing the first standardized rules for the game with the development of the Cambridge Rules in 1863, including banning the use of the hands and prohibiting tripping your opponents. These were picked up by the Football Association, newly formed at the time, which still runs the English FA Cup to this day.

Interestingly, the term “association football” was originally developed in England to differentiate this sport from similar games that had already been established, like rugby football. Eventually, a short-hand of this term became common, “soccer,” meaning “one who plays association football,” as “socca” was a common abbreviation for association at the time. However, today most of the world calls this sport football (with the exception mainly of the United States).

Three of the Most Popular Soccer Leagues in the World

The recipient of a bachelor's degree in accounting and an MBA in finance from the University of Ghana Business School and University of Rochester, respectively, Delaena Kalevor is an Irvine, California-based finance executive with nearly 15 years of business development experience. Outside of his professional endeavors, Delaena Kalevor enjoys playing and watching soccer.

There are dozens of prominent soccer leagues throughout the world, but these are three of the most popular:

English Premier League (EPL)

The EPL has the largest global audience among all professional soccer leagues. An estimated 643 million households watched games during the 2018-19 season. Moreover, the league is broadcast in more than 200 countries. It has 20 teams and leads all other leagues in total revenue.

Serie A

Launched in 1929, Serie A is the premier soccer league in Italy and includes popular teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Juventus. Teams compete for the Coppa Campioni d'Italia, which has been the league's top prize since 1961.

Bundesliga

Germany's domestic league is known as the Bundesliga. It has 18 teams and runs from August to May, with each team playing 34 games. The league brought in more than $4.3 billion in revenue in 2018. Some of the most successful clubs are Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Schalke 04.

 

Unsecured Lending Explained

Delaena Kalevor holds an MBA in finance from the University of Rochester, where he merited several awards, including the Prince Family Foundation Scholarship and Product Innovation Award. Delaena Kalevor is the current VP of strategic initiatives at Synchrony, where he oversees program management, strategy development, project management, and development of unsecured lending products.

Unsecured loans or personal loans are loans that are issued based on the borrower's creditworthiness without requiring collateral or a security deposit. If the borrower defaults, there is no asset that can be seized to repay the loan.

Unsecured loans typically have higher interest rates than secured personal loans. Since the loan is not backed up with an asset, borrowers must possess high credit scores to qualify for unsecured loans. Credit scores are a reflection of the borrower's creditworthiness. Lenders typically determine credit score by evaluating the loan applicant's credit history and proof of income using a debt-to-income ratio formula.

In some cases, lenders will require borrowers with low credit scores to provide a consigner, who will bear the legal obligation to cover the debt if the borrower defaults on the loan.

There are three forms of unsecured loans: personal loans, student loans, and unsecured credit cards. Personal loans are often issued by banks, online lenders, or credit unions. Student loans are available from the Department of Education and various private sources. Credit cards are classified as unsecured loans because the user borrows money each time they make a charge and are also referred to as revolving credit.

Common Charcoal Grilling Mistakes to Avoid

As an independent consultant for institutional investors, Delaena Kalevor spent over 6 years at Synchrony as the vice president of strategic initiatives and payment solutions. In his free time, Delaena Kalevor enjoys playing soccer, writing, and grilling on a charcoal grill.

While there are many benefits to charcoal grilling, it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are a few common mistakes to avoid next time you fire up your charcoal grill:

1. Using Lighter Fluid

Using lighter fluid to start your charcoal grill can leave a chemical flavor on your food. Instead, light the coals with a chimney starter. Pack the bottom of the starter with newspaper, fill the rest with charcoal, and light the bottom. Let the coals heat up for 15 to 20 minutes, and then pour them into your grill’s base.

2. Cooking the Wrong Foods

With charcoal grills, the charcoal is your direct heat source and cooks food similar to the high heat settings on a gas grill. Because of this, it’s easy to burn or overcook foods that are not suited for high-heat cooking, such as hot dogs, sausages, and some fruits. This doesn’t mean you have to avoid these foods, but make sure to pay extra attention to the cook time for foods that only need indirect heat.

3. Forgetting the Grill Vents

Manipulating the top and bottom grill vents on your charcoal grill gives you a lot of control over the grill’s temperature. The more open you leave them, the hotter your grill will get. This will cook the food faster, but you’ll need to be extra careful so that you don’t burn what’s on the grate.

Maximizing the Healthy Benefits of Charcoal Grill Cooking

 

A business leader who holds a master of business administration degree from the University of Rochester and recently served 7 years as vice president of strategic initiatives with Synchrony Financial, Delaena Kalevor currently advises institutional investor clients as an independent consultant in Irvine, California. Outside of the professional environment, Delaena Kalevor is an avid charcoal grill cook.

When compared to other forms of cooking that flavor food by adding fat or allowing grease to pool, grilling is a relatively healthy option. However, grilling also presents significant health risks. For one thing, Americans tend to gravitate toward high-fat and high-calorie foods such as hamburgers and sausages when grilling. Charcoal grilling also releases the potentially cancer-causing compounds polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which collect on meat as it cooks.

To make charcoal grilling as healthy as possible, wise cooks will opt for fruit and vegetables while staying away from fatty meats. Not only are fruits and vegetables inherently healthier than meats, but they also don’t produce or collect PAHs and HCAs. When grilling meat, cooks can cut down on PAHs and HCAs by avoiding charring or removing charred sections. They can also reduce PAH and HCA levels by starting the cooking process in the microwave and grilling on tin foil to prevent dripping.

Solving the Problem of Scarce Natural Resources among Nations

A former participant in GE’s Experienced Commercial Leadership Program (ECLP), Delaena Kalevor most recently served as vice president of strategic initiatives at Synchrony Financial. Delaena Kalevor has an MBA from Simon School, University of Rochester and possesses experience in business leadership, strategy, and wealth management. Among other interests, he focuses on world issues, particularly global economics. One global economic challenge is finding a solution to the long-term problem of scarce natural resources.

Natural resources are scarce, given their finite nature and confinement to specific geographical locations. Thus, they're only readily accessible to a few. This scarcity creates competition between those who have particular resources and those who do not. Taking proactive steps can help combat this imbalance. One such measure is to prioritize human resources over natural resources. Human capital has the potential to facilitate economic growth and national prosperity. This can be accomplished via programs to end extreme property and equitably distribute resources among citizens.

Another measure that could help solve the problem of scarce natural resources is globalization. This growing interdependence among countries has led to economic growth and prosperity in some nations. However, in other countries, economic stability is threatened by civil unrest, conflict, and competition over scarce natural resources. Sustainable globalization management and conflict resolution are essential to ending the tussle over limited natural resources.

How Charcoal Grilling Enhances the Flavor of Meat

An independent business consultant in Irvine, California, Delaena Kalevor serves a range of clients in the payments and general financial services industries. When he isn’t working, Delaena Kalevor loves to cook on his charcoal grill.

When it comes to taste, charcoal imparts the smoky flavor that most passionate grilling enthusiasts prefer to the cleaner, bacon-like flavor of cooking over gas. However, the true reason for the special flavor of charcoal-grilled meat lies in the meat itself, rather than the briquets that cook it.

The secret lies in the fatty drippings that emanate from the meat to hit the hot charcoal and combust with a burst of smoke and flame. Full of oil, sugar, and protein (as well as fat), these drippings vaporize upon contact before rising off the grill to reintegrate within the meat in a remarkably delicious way.

Skilled chefs can manipulate the taste of charcoal-grilled meat in a variety of ways. For example, incorporating plain wood chips of hickory or other tree species can both enhance and change final meat flavor profiles.

Verizon Announces New Card in Partnership with Synchrony

Finance and marketing professional Delaena Kalevor holds an MBA from the University of Rochester. An analytical-minded problem-solver focused on credit and risk management, Delaena Kalevor previously served as vice president of strategic initiatives at Synchrony, a top 10 card issuer in the United States.

On Jan. 23, 2020, Verizon announced it was partnering with Synchrony to launch a premier credit card designed for its customers. Synchrony would be Verizon’s exclusive partner in the new venture.

Verizon boasts a consumer base exceeding 150 million. The new card would extend Verizon’s commitment to offering these customers the best possible experiences beyond communications, according to the company’s CEO, Ronan Dunne.

For Synchrony, the partnership is an opportunity to diversify its business. The new venture would open up a base outside its core retail market and would establish the company as a premier card issuer for consumer brands making their foray into the credit card space. Synchrony has worked with other prominent brands, including Amazon and Old Navy.