Have you ever had to justify the value of Project Management in your organization? Doh! So do we. Listen in as we share our best responses to, “is PM really needed?” You don’t have to justify the existence of the Finance team. Or Sales & Marketing. Or Executive Management. So why do we have to justify the existence of Project Management? This w ...…

Many companies employ personality assessments to help their team members understand their strengths or communication styles. Are these a waste of time? Or do they have value we can leverage as PMs? Today we are joined by Fai Mo, long time project manager and manager of project managers. Fai will share his experience in leveraging one type of as ...…

As we gorge on our kid’s leftover Halloween candy, we answer a number of Listener questions left on our Facebook and Linkedin pages. What are some good ways to describe PM-ish duties on a resume/CV? What are some tips on holding someone accountable? How do you create a timeline for a project with a new technology you don’t know about? When and ...…

“What are we even doing in this project?” If you’ve ever asked yourself (or been asked) this question, go back to your Project Charter right now! The Project Charter is a keystone project artifact, authorizing the very existing and base assumptions and structure of your project. It can be called many things - a statement of work, a project init ...…

This episode we are joined at Happy Hour by prominent PM thought leader, Naomi Caetti. We chat with Naomi about what it takes to transition from being “just” a Project Manager to a Leader - both for your project and your organization. Check out this episode to learn how to take your game to the next level! OUR AMAZING GUEST NAOMI CAIETTI Naomi ...…

This episode, we get the great opportunity to speak with Hussain Bandukwala, PMO Coach and founder of the PMO Virtual Summit this October. Hussain helps us understand what a PMO really is (and should be), then shares some great insights into the career path of someone who wants to be a PMO leader. Some great tools Hussain shared are linked here ...…

Whether you are an "accidental" Project Manager or eager to get into the field, the PM Happy Hour membership can help you with your "How to PM" questions! We focus on practical advice and tips and make it easy (maybe even fun) to listen to! Promo warning - This episode we share a bit about our PM Happy Hour Membership! What the heck are you wai ...…

Project Management Happy Hour means Painless PDUs and dare we say, "FUN!" PDUs! Check out this video podcast to find out more. Promo warning - This episode we share a bit about our PM Happy Hour Membership! What the heck are you waiting for?! Join the Project Management Happy Hour Membership and be part of the community! If you join by October ...…

This episode, Kim shares some lessons from his time studying martial arts studies with some amazing instructors that apply to Project Management! And no, they do not include giving that troublesome stakeholder a spin-kick to the head :-) But they do include lessons on how to assert yourself, how to focus on the important things in the moment an ...…

This episode, Kate and Kim talk about their favorite Project Managers from the big screen and small screen - and what lessons we can take away from them. From big-screen capers to everybody’s favorite movie PM (who is “here to put you BACK on schedule, commander"... because the sponsor is not as forgiving as he is… :-) ) Laughs aside, media are ...…

This episode, we are excited to have Elise Stevens, podcaster, speaker and PM thought leader join us on our show! Elise shares what she learned in undertaking the task to interview 50 women in Project Management over 50 days, and gives us some great tips to help us support our fellow PM’s ABOUT OUR AMAZING GUEST, ELISE STEVENS For over two deca ...…

Project Managers can be categorized as “internal” project managers, who deliver projects for stakeholders within their own organizations, or “external” project managers, who delivery projects to customers outside their organization. Although both are project managers, there are some very important differences between the skill sets they use. Bu ...…

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! Continuing our deep dive int ...…

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! Continuing our deep dive int ...…

Controlling your project scope is one of the most important things we can do as project managers - but so easy to let slip. Don’t let Scope Creep sneak up on you! In this episode we talk about scope creep and discuss ways to keep your scope on track - and how to handle it if your scope needs to change. JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all pod ...…

Management escalation, oh, no! When issues get escalated to our managers and executive stakeholders, our hearts sink, a sweat breaks out and we start to freak out. But should we? Maybe we should "flip the script" and think of escalations as good and even necessary - when done correctly. In today’s show, Kate and Kim talk frankly about managemen ...…

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! In this episode, Kate walks ...…

While the term “mastermind group” was coined in the 20’s, it has been used by business leaders, writers, artists and philosophers going back much further to develop new ideas, themselves and accomplish amazing things. In this episode, we get some coaching from a Mastermind Master, J.R. Russell on how to facilitate a mastermind group - and we do ...…

Here’s a short episode inspired by the mathematical study of Game Theory! Not only can “moving last” (or latter) put you in a strong strategic position, but can also make you a better listener. We’ll also talk about some of the downsides of “sequential” turns in meetings, and how to keep that from stifling honest feedback using the Delphi metho ...…

A lot of Project Management is about communicating and managing people. And one of our most frequently used tools for this is the meeting. In this episode we share some tips our best practices for making meetings productive - and not wasting yours and everyone else's time. Based on popular demand, Kate and Kim share some of their top productivi ...…

Getting started in a new organization, new customer, or new parts of your current org can be tough, especially since managing a project usually means you need to navigate all those waters like a pro - out of the gate. But how do you do that? How do you “get to know” the organization quickly and effectively so you can get the show on the road? T ...…

Negotiation is part of what we do every day - from negotiating for the best project resources to negotiating what you and your significant other are going to have for dinner. But for those of us who don’t feel like natural negotiators, how can we learn to negotiate in a way that helps us address our needs while not risking the long term relatio ...…

Negotiation is part of what we do every day - from negotiating for the best project resources to negotiating what you and your significant other are going to have for dinner. But for those of us who don’t feel like natural negotiators, how can we learn to negotiate in a way that helps us address our needs while not risking the long term relatio ...…

How do you get people to get stuff done when you have no "authority?" That’s a lot of the art of Project Management! In today’s episode, we walk through a few of Kate and Kim’s secret weapons that you can use to get things done even when you don’t have formal authority. This entire podcast was inspired by a great question from one of our PM Hap ...…

It can be challenging enough to deliver a project with tough timelines, budgets and limited resources. But what happens when your project is high profile? I mean, REALLY high profile? High profile in that your stakeholders include business executives, regulatory agencies, and heads of governments who do not align on key issues? And what if, at ...…

Oh, this was a fun one :-) Kate and I share a happy hour with you as we think back on all the things we wish we knew when we started project management. We trade lessons-learned back and forth - and we’re sure you can identify with some of these! Warning in advance - audio quality isn’t the best in my kitchen, and we do digress a bit, but it’s ...…

How do you make sense of (and get your stakeholders to understand) a 200-line project plan? Or how about a program with 6 workstreams, each with 200 line project plans? How do you make a useful schedule for a smaller schedule, maybe for a personal project that you can share with “non-pm’s” that they can make sense of? This week we discuss using ...…

Creative projects can be very fulfilling and provide tremendous value to any organization. But, they can also be very susceptible to scope creep. For those of us used to dealing in data-driven GANTT charts and Risk reports, how can we effectively approach a project with creative deliverables? Especially if we are not sure what those deliverable ...…

Hello Happy Hour! A quick announcement to let everyone know that our Project Management Happy Hour Membership is now LIVE! Join now to get access to all our benefits! And for a limited time, the membership is HALF PRICE! Sign up and you lock that price in forever Click here to find out more! Or browse to pmhappyhour.com/membership…

A big differentiator between projects that succeed and projects that fail is the engagement and commitment of the Project Manager. Are they just going through the motions? Or are they taking charge? In this short “Appetizer” episode, we share some tasty bites which might help you re-think how you approach leadership in your project. PM HAPPY HO ...…

*SO* much about project success is dependent on communication that we love to have communication experts on the show. Today’s guests, authors of the new book, “How to avoid a huge Leadersh*t,” will talk us through practical methods and examples for how to use narrative to effectively communicate - from introducing yourself to a group of people, ...…

In today’s episode, Phoenix-based head of The PMO Squad, Joe Pusz (also known in the PM community as PMO Joe) will share his knowledge on Mentorship with us. In addition to his deep experience on the topic, his organization partners with Vets to PM, a mentorship program which pairs US Veterans with experienced PMs to help them enter the PM fiel ...…

In today’s short-format “Appetiser” episode, we have a tasty little nugget to share about building trust. Trust is essential for building effective working relationships with your team, sponsors and stakeholders. But how do you do it? In today’s show, we talk about a couple specific techniques you can use to build - or repair- trust. TIMESTAMPS ...…

Everyone has something go wrong on their projects at some point. As much as we dread breaking the news, how we communicate these problems to our stakeholders can have a greater impact on our project and long term business relationships than the problems themselves. In today’s episode we share our own horror stories about project calamities, and ...…

Although touched on in the PMBOK, most of us have little exposure to Monte Carlo analysis – which is a shame! Monte Carlo analysis can add a new level of credibility to our planning when the stakes are high by backing it with real science and statistical models. In this episode, we demystify this tool, discuss its benefits, when it is appropria ...…

There is enough to deal with in project management without gender issues making it even tougher. So, today we openly talk about challenges women can face in the workplace. Rather than hit you with a bunch of statistics (which are also important), Kate will share some real-life examples of challenges she’s faced, and we talk openly about ways to ...…

This episode, we talk about an old stand-by in the PM world, the RAID Log. RAID Logs (Risks, Actions, Issues and Decisions) are an essential tool that every PM needs in their toolbox. Heck, you can effectively run an entire project from one! If you have never heard of them before, you need to check in – whether you have a small project or a maj ...…

Microsoft Project Professional client is a staple in the industry, and is probably where most of learned what a GANTT chart is. But what about the online version for teams, Project Server? It seems to be the default PPM solution organizations think about when considering PPM, but Is it really all that? Anecdotally, a lot of organizations fail w ...…

We all run into those little “Yellow Lights” on projects – those moments when you think, “wait a minute… that’s not right.” All too often, we “floor it” and try to get through the light before it gets red - only to end up in a head-on collision! Today, we take a lesson from Mahan Khalsa’s great book, “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play” for how t ...…

Today we have our first Appetizer episode. What’s an appetizer? These are short format episodes – 15 minutes – in between our main shows where we hit on short, informative topics. These topics are too small to fill up a full show, or we want to see if there is enough interest from you, our PM Happy Hour listeners , to turn them into full episod ...…

You depend on them and, let’s be honest, sometimes you abuse them. This week we talk to Ollie Hunter, the enterprise architect for a leading e-commerce firm in Europe. Ollie will share life from an architect’s perspective, and help us understand how we, as project leaders, can develop better relationships with our architects, and enable them so ...…

This week we plunge into Project Communications – the most common cause of project failure. We are joined by Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss, authors of the book “B.S., Incorporated.” Over happy hour, they share 5 insightful “tough love” tips on project communication, the way that only a BFF would. Thanks Jennifer and Michael! OUR AMAZING GUESTS ...…

This week we talk about a tough subject – how to handle an outside senior stakeholder who wants to exert influence on your project. This can be very tough when that influence is contrary to decisions already agreed in the project by senior stakeholders, or if that influence is uninformed. In this episode, Kate outlines a formula that she uses t ...…

Join us for our new podcast, the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes (plus this bonus!) , we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project. If you haven’t listened to episodes 1-5, you might want to check those out first J Question 1 helped us define success for the project, ...…

Join us for our new podcast, the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes, we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project, whether you are: Kicking off a fresh new project Taking over an in-flight project Scoping out a new project opportunity Performing an assessment of a projec ...…

Join us for our new podcast, the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes, we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project, whether you are: Kicking off a fresh new project Taking over an in-flight project Scoping out a new project opportunity Performing an assessment of a projec ...…

Join us for our new podcast, the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes, we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project, whether you are: Kicking off a fresh new project Taking over an in-flight project Scoping out a new project opportunity Performing an assessment of a projec ...…

Join us for the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes, we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project, whether you are: Kicking off a fresh new project Taking over an in-flight project Scoping out a new project opportunity Performing an assessment of a project that may be in ...…

Cheers! Join your hosts Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson for our new podcast, the Project Management Happy Hour! In our first 5 pilot episodes, we are going to look at the first 5 questions you need to ask whenever starting a new project, whether you are: Kicking off a fresh new project Taking over an in-flight project Scoping out a new project ...…