People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

Total Duration 51:30 Download episode 275 Do Project Managers Need Fans? So what are you a fan of? Hmmm. Maybe a sports team comes to mind. Or a musical artist. For example, I’m going through a Chance the Rapper phase right now—really enjoying his music. I’m a fan. Maybe it’s a local restaurant or a celebrity or, ahem, a podcast host. Ha! But when we think of fandom, we often think of someone famous, or a famous brand. But could it be that leaders of projects could get benefit from learning about how fandom works? That’s the premise of today’s episode. We’re hearing from David Meerman Scott today about his book new Fanocracy. It’s a book that probably wouldn’t have otherwise come up on your radar screen since it would appear it’s directed more towards brand managers and marketers. But how about this? What if you could turn your stakeholders into fans of what your team is creating? Further, what if your team members were walking billboards for your company and your products? The science around fandom might just be more relevant to you than initially apparent, which is why we’re talking with David today. Learn more about David and his services at https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership RAY GUN - FASTERFASTERBRIGHTER by Blue Dot Sessions is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License 1400 by Yung Kartz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License

Total Duration 49:42 Download episode 274 Earlier this year we started using a time tracking solution called Hubstaff and, I have to tell you, it’s amazing. They now offer a project management app called Hubstaff Tasks. It utilizes the best parts of Agile to help you and your team get work done in a way that removes the hassle and just makes sense. Hubstaff Tasks utilizes Kanban boards like so many other PM tools out there but they’ve added extra features like automated workflows that let you move projects through the workflow and automatically assign tasks to whoever needs to work on them next, all with one click. Hubstaff Tasks also has a Sprints feature that allows you to organize all your tasks into a true agile weekly Sprint. Oh, and here’s a new feature they just added where you can set daily Standups to cover the three golden questions in the agile world: “What did you work on today?”, “What will you work on tomorrow?”, “Have you run into any roadblocks?” Hubstaff Tasks only launched this past June and there are already thousands of organizations already using it. And here’s the cool thing: since they’re still so new, anyone can start using Hubstaff Tasks today completely free, regardless of team size. Head over to hubstafftasks.com/projects to learn more. Thanks! It's About Leadership I often say in our project management workshops that they’re really leadership workshops cloaked as project management workshops. I say that because so much of our ability to successfully lead projects doesn’t come down to our ability to define and calculate the critical path. It isn’t just having a project charter. It’s more about how to facilitate and influence stakeholders to get an agreed-upon charter. It’s not about having the perfect risk register format. It’s about fostering a culture that allows risks to be talked about and dealt with. My guest today is J. Scott, author of The Irreverent Guide to Project Management. J shares some helpful insights in this episode about how to lead and deliver. Learn more about J and his company at https://120vc.com/who-we-are/. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership LUXE by Jahazzar under a Attribution-ShareAlike License NO PANTS FRIDAY by Lee Rosevere is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License

Total Duration 31:28 Download episode 273 Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks! OK, We're Not Spies, But... I don’t know about you, but I like a good spy movie. Start a Jason Bourne movie and I’ll sit and enjoy it all night long. My guest today is Jason Hanson, a former CIA spy who has written some intriguing books about applying spy skills to those of us who aren’t spies. In this episode, we talk about his most recent book, which is entitled Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business. And though you and I aren’t spies--or at least that’s our story and we’re sticking with it--there are lessons that can be applied by those of us who are responsible for leading teams and projects. Learn more about Jason at https://spyescapeandevasion.com/jason-hanson-biography/. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership SPY GLASS from https://filmmusic.io by Kevin Macleod License: CC BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ SPY GROOVE from https://filmmusic.io by Kevin Macleod License: CC BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Two people. Both go through stressful situations. One seems to go through it well. The other crumbles. Why is that? I'm wrapping up a 2-week speaking tour in Europe with UN leaders. In this 3-minute video (plus a quick blooper), I share a lesson about stress and resilience from a discussion with one of these leaders who attributes her stressful job to greater resilience. Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What's a situation that was stressful but helped develop resilience in you? What advice would you share with someone newer in their career about how to face stressful situations? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Interested in helping your chapter, association, or leaders learn how to build resilience? Contact me to learn more about our keynotes and workshops! Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 4:53 Download episode 272

This tour guide was so good I almost wanted to move to Turino. I'm on a two week speaking tour in Europe with the UN. In this brief video, I share a lesson about influence from our tour guide in Turin, Italy. Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What's an experience where the messenger made it so easy to buy into the message? What did the messenger do to be so effective? What's your take on the balance of facts & emotion? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Interested in helping your chapter, association, or leaders learn how to improve their influence? Contact me to learn more about our keynotes and workshops! Thanks!) Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 2:59 Download episode 271

It's not a newsflash that most of us need more sleep. The question is "How?" One of our most-requested keynotes is called Help for the Crazy Busy. In this brief video, I share a story and lesson related to the keynote and sleep. Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! How many hours of sleep would you say you get on average? What do you do that helps you get the sleep you need? What advice would you share with someone who feels like they just can't get more sleep? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Interested in helping your executive leaders learn more about agile and their role in fostering project success? Contact me to learn more about our keynotes and workshops! Thanks!) Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 3:46 Download episode 270

Total Duration 49:56 Download episode 269 Project managers, you're not just here for the free PDUs, right? You're looking for ways to improve your ability to lead! This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks! Leading in an Age of Distractions We live in an age of distractions. Back in episode 144, we talked with Cal Newport about his book Deep Work. In episode 177 we talked with Adam Alter about his book Irresistible. Both books provide helpful insights into how to stay focused when we’re surrounded by so many distractions. As much as I benefited from those books and the discussions with the authors, I recently came across a book that I personally think is even more effective at giving us tangible skills to deal with the distractions around us. The title is Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, by Nir Eyal. In this discussion with Nir, you’ll get an insightful look at what distraction is and what’s really causing it--spoiler alert--it’s not just the tech we’re surrounded by. Nir will make it clear why just banning all tech and going back to brick phone is not the answer. That’s good! He’ll discuss a deeply researched technique called ACT that I’ve been personally using to help overcome distractions. And, if you’re a parent, he shares some ideas on how to help your kids to become indistractable. I consider Indistractable a must-read, and I can’t wait to share that discussion with you today. Learn more about Nir at https://nirandfar.com/. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership RAMBLING by Blue Dot Sessions Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. GREAT GREAT LENGTHS by Blue Dot Sessions Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.

Total Duration 1:02:07 Download episode 268 Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks! We're All Project Managers (And Salespeople) For years I've been on a mission to help people realize we're all project managers. Regardless of title, if you have a job, you have deadlines you have to hit, with multiple steps required to get there. Maybe not by title, but by role, we're all project managers. It's a basic skill set we all need. In this episode, we talk with Oren Klaff about his newest book, Flip the Script: Getting People to Think Your Idea Is Their Idea. Oren made his mark in the book world with his blockbuster Pitch Anything. Flip the Script picks up where Pitch Anything left off, and today the bundle of energy and ideas that is Oren Klaff is here to share some ideas for how you can be more persuasive. Learn more about Oren at https://pitchanything.com/. During the episode, I mention some previous discussions, including: Episode 157 with Dr. Robert Cialdini about influence Episode 88 with Dan Pink about selling skills Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership NO PANTS FRIDAY by Lee Rosevere Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License. CRYSTAL ECHOES by Sergey Cheremisinov Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Wasted time. Wasted energy. Wasted stress. In our project and organizational environments, we're surrounded by waste. In this < 3-minute video, I share some thoughts from a recent keynote to a group of global leaders regarding agile. When you look at the world through the lens of eliminating waste, there's no shortage of opportunities. Good project management practices seek to eliminate waste, regardless of whether you're using a formal agile approach or not. Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What are some examples of where you've seen waste recently? Whether within your organization or--as I share in the video--somewhere in the general public, such as an airport. Where do you see opportunities to reduce waste? And what are some lessons you've learned about identifying and eliminating waste? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Interested in helping your executive leaders learn more about agile and their role in fostering project success? Contact me to learn more about our keynotes and workshops! Thanks!) Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Strategic and Business Management Total Duration 2:54 Download episode 267

Total Duration 41:55 Download episode 266 Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL: Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks! Unlocking Creativity Most of us are in situations where we regularly face challenges that require creative approaches. Yet here’s an interesting dynamic that I’ve observed with organizations and teams. Managers often say that they want their teams to be creative--to think outside the box--so to speak. Yet when the creative ideas are presented, the leaders effectively shut them down. We want innovation but we don’t. That’s kind of weird, right? We're joined again today by one of my favorite guests, Mike Roberto. Mike's most recent book is entitled Unlocking Creativity, and, in typical Mike Roberto fashion, it's packed with evidence-based insights that are entertaining to read. Learn more about Mike at his very active blog at http://michael-roberto.blogspot.com/. Also, check out our previous discussions with Mike: Episode 14, about his book Know What You Don't Know. Episode 61, about becoming a better problem finder. Episode 99, about making better decisions. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership CREATIVE DESTRUCTION by Nihilore Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

Is project management "the art of creating the illusion that any outcome is the result of a series of predetermined, deliberate acts when, in fact, it was dumb luck"? In Harold Kerzner's classic book on project management, he suggests that many companies run their projects with that mindset. In this 3-minute video, I share a lesson from a drone experiment and include a reference to the "leader attribution error"--something I learned when interviewing the late Harvard professor J. Richard Hackman back in episode 33. (earn some free PDUs by listening). Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What are your thoughts about the leader attribution error? Do leaders tend to get more credit than they deserve when things go well--and more blame than they deserve when things go poorly? What's the role of dumb luck when it comes to delivering projects? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Please give us feedback about The People and Projects Podcast! Take our Listener Survey at https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/ListenerSurvey. Thank you! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 3:14 Download episode 265

Are there shortcuts? It's a rare week that goes by without seeing a post here on LinkedIn reminding us that success is a game of grit and grind, hard work and perseverance, and all of that is true. But are there shortcuts? In this brief video, I share a lesson told to me by a workshop participant today. It calls back to lessons we've hit in previous episodes with guests such as Shane Snow, Marc Effron, Liz Wiseman, Eric Barker, and Whitney Johnson (check those out and earn some free PDUs by listening). Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What do you think about this idea that you grow faster by spending intentional time with those who are more experienced than you? What are some things you've done to accelerate your growth? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Please give us feedback about The People and Projects Podcast! Take our Listener Survey at https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/ListenerSurvey. Thank you! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 2:41 Download episode 264

Hey, you know that conflict you have going on? It's a pain, right? Sucking the life out of you, perhaps? I spoke with a group of leaders today at a Chicago company that I love. One idea during our discussion? When faced with conflict, keep a laser focus on this one principle: don't make the conflict worse. Try to resolve it. Try to make it better. But don't make it worse. In this brief video, I share a couple of ways we unwittingly make conflicts worse. Conflict is inevitable. We don't have to love it, but if we aspire to lead teams and projects, we need to learn to deal with it effectively. Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What are examples of how people make conflicts worse? What's one piece of advice you'd share with a new leader to help them better deal with conflict? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Please give us feedback about The People and Projects Podcast! Take our Listener Survey at https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/ListenerSurvey. Thank you! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 1:54 Download episode 263

Is it possible for someone in a leadership position to nearly destroy a company in less than 2 years? Yep. The leader at one of my clients eventually got walked out, but not before leaving the company stripped of some of their best people (and leaving the remaining employees shell-shocked from the experience). In this short video, I share some lessons for us to wrestle with as leaders. That leader was blind to his impact, but could it be that--hopefully at a different level--we have our blind spots as well? Let Me Hear From You! I'd love to hear from you! What are examples you've seen of leaders not understanding the impact they have on their teams? What were the results? Further, what do you do as a leader to try to better understand the impact you have on others? What advice would you have for new leaders? Let's connect on LinkedIn and discuss! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Check out the discussion on this post on LinkedIn here. Also, what have you been learning lately? What are you reading? Please e-mail me (show [AT] PeopleAndProjectsPodcast [DOT] com) or leave a message on our Listener Feedback Line (847-550-3747). I look forward to hearing from you! Please give us feedback about The People and Projects Podcast! Take our Listener Survey at https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/ListenerSurvey. Thank you! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week! Talent Triangle: Leadership Total Duration 3:27 Download episode 262

Total Duration 56:46 Download episode 261   Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks! The Case for Generalists Have you heard someone referred to as a jack of all trades, master of none? It’s typically not meant as a compliment--it’s that they tend to know about a lot of things, but none of those things deeply. And the implication is that we often value specialization--the one who is the deep expert. That’s the person to be. Expertise is good and can certainly pay off. But today’s guest makes a compelling argument for why generalists triumph in a specialized world. David Epstein is a New York Times bestselling author and has come out with what is for me one of the top books of this season. It’s entitled Range, and it’s a book that takes the whole 10,000 hours to develop expertise idea and blows it apart. I consider it a must-read book. You'll be glad you did. Learn more about David at his website https://www.davidepstein.com/the-range/. Some additional resources include: You can watch the debate between David and Malcolm Gladwell here. David mentions Herminia Ibarra during our discussion. You can catch our interview with Herminia in episode 130. Let's Stay In Touch! I hear from listeners almost every day and I love it! How about you and I connect on LinkedIn? Go to https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/LinkedIn and send me an invite! Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Leadership FLUFFING A DUCK and CELEBRATION by Kevin Macleod Licensed under a Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License. JACK OF ALL TRADES by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN available on YouTube