People And Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

There's nothing easy about rescuing a problem project. There's a reason why they're called problem projects! Todd's book is reasonably good at outlining a framework for how to approach the problem project when you inevitably will be tasked with doing so. In this special premium edition, I want to share some coaching for you based on lessons from Todd's book. First, let me encourage you to not back away from the problem projects. I talked with Todd about that early in the discussion. Though it may not be fun, per se, there's something engaging about the problem-solving of a problem project. If you can develop a reputation of taking on the chaos, bringing it under control, and delivering the project, it really is your chance to shine. It used to drive me crazy when I'd hear people say, "It's not a problem, it's an opportunity!" Let's call it what it is: it's a problem! However, it is an opportunity as well. Remember that when you're tempted to try and dodge a recovery effort. Second, I have to ask: Do you have

Total Duration 33:53 Download episode 57 Lead projects long enough and eventually you'll have to deal with the problem project. Whether you were involved with the project from the beginning or inheriting problems from someone else, the reality is we need to be able to rescue the problem project. That's not only true--it's also the name of a new book from Todd C. Williams, PMP. In this episode I talk with Todd about ideas and recommendations from his book Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure. You can learn more about Todd by visiting http://ecaminc.com/. His blog Back From Red can be found at http://ecaminc.com/index.php/blog. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week!

Total Duration 25:33 Download episode 56 One of the great challenges of business is how to go from idea to delivery. It's easy to talk about ideas but turning those into a finished product requires much more than talk. It can be daunting to deliver. There's the risk of failure. There's the fear of unknowns--of surprises that can create obstacles to success. Going from idea to delivery is truly challenging! Ultimately project management is about how to deliver results but leaders of projects and teams need more than just work breakdown structures and Gantt charts. One of my favorite books of this year provides great insights for all of us who seek to lead and deliver. I recently had the real privilege of spending some time with Peter Sims, author of a great new book entitled Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries, and look forward to sharing that discussion with you in this episode. You can learn more about Peter by visiting http://petersims.com. Thank you for joining me for this

Ever get a crazy idea and decide to act on it? Too often I just sit on the idea instead of taking action. In late May I had a crazy idea: to produce a Father's Day Rap with some friends. Though Father's Day is in the rear view mirror, I thought I'd share yours truly making a fool of myself trying to lay down some rap tunes. After all, it's good to be humbled, isn't it? {youtube}IOwWlw5zPcc{/youtube} Regardless of your aspirations to rap or not, here's my question for you.... What's a crazy idea you've had lately but not acted on? Why not make it happen? Too often we're held back because we're afraid we will fail. I appreciated Peter Bregman's recent HBR post that recommends we don't ask, "Will I succeed?"  Rather, a better question is "Is it worth the risk?"  I'm not worried about succeeding as a rap artist or cinematographer.  And I certainly realize there's a risk of acting so silly, publishing it on YouTube, and letting you know about it!  But was it worth the risk? It was a great memory, not the least of

Thank you for joining us for this special premium edition of The People and Projects Podcast. Whether we're trying to change ourselves, our teams, or others around us, there's nothing particularly easy about it. Oh, there are models that are helpful and then there's basic common sense, but when all of this flies into the face of reality, making lasting change is truly challenging. I don't know if it was obvious or not from my interview with Kerry Patterson but I am very excited about their new book Change Anything. I really like that they have proven through research that willpower isn't the answer. In fact, it's a trap. Instead, there are proven strategies that each of us can customize to help us making changes that last. In this premium episode, I want to highlight a few of the points from Change Anything that I particularly resonated with and that could help you make lasting change. First, there's great wisdom in their advice about being both the scientist and the subject. The scientific method is an inter

Total Duration 27:07 Download episode 55 So let me ask you a question: How strong is your willpower? When you want to make a change, how successful are you at not only making it but also sustaining it? Whether at work or outside, whether personally or with a group of people, learning how to effectively change is critical. And it needs to start with us individually. One of my favorite books of the year just came out. It's entitled Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success and it is from the authors of Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, and Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. I had the real pleasure of talking with author Kerry Patterson earlier this month and look forward to sharing that interview with you in this episode. You can learn more about Kerry's organization by visiting http://www.vitalsmarts.com. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week!

Total Duration 40:48 Download episode 54 I recorded this episode on the road this week, while in Las Vegas speaking at the Agile Development Practices and Better Software Conference. I greatly enjoy talking with the people from many different companies about the challenges they face on their projects and teams. Here's a recurring them I hear from leaders who are responsible for delivering projects.... "Should we ship or delay?" "Keep trying or ask for help?" "Invest in a new product or milk the existing cash cow another year?" Whether you're leading teams or projects, we're often faced with what seems like unpleasant trade-offs. It's not a matter of which option is the best. Sometimes it feels like we need to figure out which option is the least evil! Success with a project, team, or even organization can come down to how effectively we lead when we're seemingly stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. To help us navigate these situations I turned to Dr. Roger L. Martin. Roger has been named one of

Total Duration 23:55 Download episode 53 In this episode I continue my conversation with Professor John Kotter. If you haven't listened to the first part of this interview, make sure to check that episode out! Our focus in this cast is on John's most recent book entitled Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down. To learn more about John's organization, check out http://www.kotterinternational.com/. You can follow John's Harvard Business Review blog at http://blogs.hbr.org/kotter/. You know, if you were a premium subscriber to the People and Projects Podcast, you could now listen to some special coaching advice that I share after each interview with my guests. Each premium episode is designed to help you improve your ability to lead and deliver by taking the next step in applying the learning from our standard podcast episodes. Thank you for joining us for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week!

Total Duration 26:35 Download episode 52 When was the last time you wanted to make a change at work? Maybe it was an approach on a project or something bigger, like wanting to introduce a new way of doing projects, such as using principles from agile project management. Chances are you faced some resistance to your proposed changes. Yet one of our key responsibilities is to lead change, even when our ideas are getting shot down. Well, to give us insight on this topic, you could argue one of the best people in the world to talk to is Professor John Kotter. John's most recent book is entitled Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down and is a great follow-on to his classic books on change. I had the opportunity to spend some extended time talking with John earlier this year and look forward to sharing that discussion with you over the course of two episodes. For our premium subscribers, your extra coaching podcast episode will come out with the second cast. In this first cast, John and I focus on t

Total Duration 30:48 Download episode 51 Last week I facilitated a tutorial and delivered a new keynote to over 800 people at the STAREAST conference in Orlando. It had been a while since our family had visited Florida so I had the opportunity to bring my wife and three children along, which was great! Between speaking engagements we had the opportunity to spend time at Disney and if you've spent any time at a Disney park, chances are customer service and quality come to mind. People at Disney know how to be great on the job. They are patient with demanding customers and seemingly cool under the heat of the Florida sun. What does it take to be great on the job? As it turns out, there's a book by that name out this week by Jodi Glickman. I had the opportunity to catch up with Jodi recently and look forward to sharing that interview about her book with you this week. Learn more about Jodi's organization at http://greatonthejob.com. You can also find her HBR posts at http://blogs.hbr.org/glickman. Thank you fo

Total Duration 16:30 Download episode 50 In our last episode I began a discussion with Dr. David Hillson from the U.K. regarding risks and risk attitudes. In this episode, David and I continue that conversation with a focus on how we can help our organizations take the next step in implementing risk management practices. David recommended a couple specific books in this discussion, including Exploiting Future Uncertainty and Managing Risk in Projects. Also, you may want to check out Dr. Hillson's newest book The Failure Files: Perspectives on Failure. Thank you for joining us for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Have a great week!

Total Duration 22:09 Download episode 49 What comes to mind when you think of the term "risk"? In our workshops and keynotes regarding project management, the topic of risk inevitably is talked about, and in those discussions it's clear that one's views and attitudes about risk significantly impact how a project is managed. A problem with risk is when we lose perspective on it. For example, "I won't get out of bed today because something bad could happen." But then there's flip side as well, where we leap from the platform exclaiming, "I hope the bungee cord is attached!" Whether at work or in life, there are an endless number of things we could worry about, and I know plenty of leaders that admit they are good worriers! It's been said that one of the best antidotes for anxiety is action, and a way to move your team and project from worrying to action is risk management. To talk about this issue I went to one of the clearest and most prolific voices on the topic, Dr. David Hillson. I've split my discussion w

If you're a PMP, you know that getting your 60 PDU's every three years is a requirement. Now it's actually not that difficult to get your 60, especially if you don't wait until the last month to get them! Did you know that you can rack up free PDU's just listening to The People and Projects Podcast? And the great news is that PMI has recently increased the number of Self-Directed Learning PDU's you can claim in each cycle, from 15 to 30. Make your life easier and save some money. Earn free PDU's while you listen to each episode of The People and Projects Podcast. Follow this link to find out exactly how to claim your PDUs for this podcast: http://www.peopleandprojectspodcast.com/index.php/resources-for-project-managers/earn-30-free-pdus.html By the way, here are a couple additional ideas for getting free or low cost PDU's: If you work as a project manager at least 6 months out of the year, you can claim 5 Category F PDU's each calendar year. If you volunteer with your PMI chapter or donate project management

If you've ever sat through one of my workshops or keynotes on leadership or project management, you've likely clued into the fact that I have a rather low tolerance for the purely academic. By that I mean ideas, models, and theories that sound great on a white board but are seemingly impossible to be practically applied in the real world. When it comes to management, it's easy to find books that pontificate theory. But every once in a while you come across one that is a breath of fresh air, where the author says it how it is instead of how it should be. An example of one of those books is the latest from Professor Henry Mintzberg, entitled Management? It's Not What You Think! It's a thought-provoking, at times irreverent look at this craft we call management. To give you a taste of what you'll find in this new book, I'm excited to share a recent discussion I had with Henry in this episode. Learn more about Henry at http://www.mintzberg.com and http://www.coachingourselves.com. I am so excited to be rollin

Hey, quick note: This episode is sponsored by the STAREAST 2011 Conference. STAREAST is the premier gathering place for software testers, developers, and managers to interact and learn how to improve software-testing practices. This year's line-up features over 100 learning and networking opportunities. Come join me for a new keynote at STAREAST this year. It's entitled "How to Win Friends and Influence People--and Deliver Quality Software". Go to http://www.sqe.com/go?SE11Kaufman and use the code AKSE and save up to $400 on registrations prior to March 4, 2011. Come join me at STAREAST! I look forward to seeing you there! So, let me ask you.... Are you a student of your profession? Conferences are a great way to invest in your learning--it's one way to remain a student. But how else do you make sure you continue to learn? Listening to this podcast is a clear way to keep growing, and each month we have more premium subscribers who get additional content that supplements these episodes with more personalized c

I have to tell you: I love running a small company. Two years ago I was interviewed by Coach Ian Scott, my friend and colleague from the UK, for his very popular podcast on iTunes. After the interview I decided, "Hey, I could do that!" And within days, the People and Projects Podcast was birthed, with this being our 44th episode. Being the owner of a small company, it was easy to make that decision. For our upcoming Leadership Fast Track program, we're going to do one-on-coaching and workshops using collaborative technologies, allowing you to participate regardless of where you call home. My small company allows me to make fast decisions to offer solutions like that, to turn on a dime, so to speak, if desired. Yet being small--as in a small number of employees--doesn't always work that way. In today's interview I'll tell the story of a small company that doesn't act small. You may work for yourself, for a small company, or for a huge multinational organization. I'm convinced that your ability to act like a s

Hopefully you've already had a chance to listen to the first part of my interview with Tony Schwartz. In this second part, Tony talks about the concept of pulsing, and gets very transparent about his struggle to implement these ideas. Enjoy Part 2 of my discussion with Tony Schwartz, author of Be Excellent at Anything (NOTE: This book used to be entitled The Way We're Working Isn't Working). I wholeheartedly recommend you get a copy of Tony's book. It's a great way to take the next step in making a radical difference in your own performance as well as that of your team. Also, make sure to check out his websites (http://www.TheEnergyProject.com and http://www.TakeBackYourLunch.com). Hey, there's another way to take the next step in your performance! In the coming months you'll be hearing about our Leadership Fast Track program, which will be launching in Q2 of this year. The Leadership Fast Track program is designed to help accelerate your ability to lead and deliver. You'll participate in a series of practica

Let me take a guess... You don't have time to listen to this podcast episode. Oh, you're listening to it, but perhaps you're driving or trying to do e-mail--hopefully not both--while you do it! We're so busy, and the overall toll on us and our productivity can be overwhelming, which made me think of Tony Schwartz's book Be Excellent at Anything (NOTE: This book used by entitled The Way We're Working Isn't Working). Tony is a gifted writer and speaker and an expert on helping us perform at our best. I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Tony and have divided the interview into two podcast episodes. For my premium subscribers, make sure to check out your premium feed for some additional coaching related my discussion with Tony. So, I invite you to turn off your handheld, shut down any distractions, and enjoy learning from one of the freshest voices out there on performance and productivity, Tony Schwartz. You can learn more about Tony at The Energy Project (http://www.theenergyproject.com). Also

In case you missed it in our last episode, I have a special Christmas gift for all my podcast listeners. You've heard me talk about Premium Subscriptions in recent months, and many have joined. But perhaps you've been holding out. Well here's my Christmas gift to you. Become an annual premium subscriber before January 1, 2011 and my gift to you is a free license of our new e-learning offering entitled "The Dirty Little Secret of Business". This program, which normally sells for $97, is yours for free when you become a premium subscriber by the end of this year. Throughout the year premium subscribers get:* discounts on products* automatic entry into drawings* free participation in webinars* additional materials with episodes, and * the opportunity to participate live on my interviews with experts. I’d love to have you join the growing number of premium subscribers to The People and Projects Podcast! Here's where you can learn more: http://bit.ly/PremiumSubscribe. Thanks! From all of us who help produce each p

We're now at that time of year when there are often many social gatherings, whether with family, friends, or work associates. Do you look forward to these times of family gatherings and holiday parties? Or do you dread them? Or how about this: What do you think of when I say the term "networking"? If your first response was TCP/IP or Ethernet, you have even more work than I expected! But kidding aside, when you think of networking in terms of developing relationships, what comes to mind? Frankly, for many years I knew I should be networking more but I tended to see it as a rather sleazy endeavor--an activity that people did just to get stuff from other people. Yet in a struggling and unpredictable economy, there are more reasons than ever to actively develop relationships. The problem is that most relationship-building books seem to be written for extroverts. But what about the rest of us? Well, to arm you for the holiday season and to help you come up with a relationship building strategy for the year ahead