The Project Management Podcast™

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Rich Maltzman and Jim Stewart

Planning your project right from the start is a big factor for future success. It’s definitely not everything, but doing the planning right goes a long way. And most planning is done in meetings. And that again means that you really want to make sure that those meetings deliver.

That is where the book How to Facilitate Productive Project Planning Meetings - A Practical Guide to Ensuring Project Success can help. It was written by Rich Maltzman (LinkedIn Profile) and Jim Stewart (LinkedIn Profile), and yes, it does indeed contain Goblins.

We have chosen to focus on chapter 6 “The Zen of Facilitation”. We talk about what is wrong with the way many planning meetings are being facilitated today, what facilitation and facilitative style means, and we have many good tips for you. And yes… we will talk about the goblins.

Lastly here is what one reviewer on Amazon wrote: This book read [sic] better than a textbook as it was full of humor and step-by-step tips for immediate application. The authors provide insight on Agile project planning, tips on facilitating status meetings and lessons learned meetings, and even their appendices provide additional information on topics such as Project Management 101, meeting war stories, and access to their templates.

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Cynthia Dionisio, Mike Griffiths and Stephen Townsend

At the Project Management Institute (PMI)® Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, I had the opportunity to attend two workshops to help in the development of A Guide to The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) -- Seventh edition.

Yes, you read that right: Seventh Edition. And here is what PMI® wrote about the workshop:

The workshop was led by Cynthia Dionisio, Mike Griffiths, and Stephen Townsend. Cyndi and Mike are the co-leads for the new PMBOK® Guide Seventh Edition and Stephen represents PMI. And in addition to attending the workshop, I also got the opportunity to sit down with them and learn what we can expect from the new guide. (My best guess is that it will be published sometime in 2021).

In the interview we talk about

• the move from process-based to principles-based standards,
• what will happen to the domains and knowledge-areas,
• how the next guide will cover the entire delivery spectrum,
• why it will be much shorter than the current edition, and
• what each member of the team hopes that the seventh edition will be able to achieve.

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Cindy Anderson, VP Brand Management at PMI

Today, we welcome Cindy Anderson (LinkedIn Profile) who is the VP, Brand Management at Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

This interview was recorded at the PMI® Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. We'll talk about the elements of PMI's new brand and the fact that there is a lot more to it than "just" a new logo. And that's an important distinction. While the new logo is what most of us see, the new brand and its slogan/positioning "Powering the Project Economy" are so much more than just a few new visual assets.

In the interview, we talk about how the new brand was developed and how it affects the many stakeholders around the world.

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Sunil Prashara, President and CEO of PMI

Today, we welcome Sunil Prashara (LinkedIn Profile) who is the President and CEO of Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

This interview was recorded at the PMI® Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. We discuss Sunil's responsibilities within PMI, how project management is changing the world, delve into PMI's transformational journey and touch upon how PMI members can help the organization succeed in today's constantly evolving environment.

Here is what one of my colleagues had to say after listening to the interview:

Bravo! That was an awesome interview! I was very impressed with Sunil, on many levels. He is a true visionary who knows himself and the changing world around him. He is an excellent speaker who understands project management, PMI, and it’s potential future.

This is an interview that many people will listen to and say, "Wow! This is where the future of project management and PMI is headed and it’s inspiring."

Jonathan Hebert, PMP, CSM, PMI-ACP

I cannot agree more with what Jonathan is saying. This is one of our best podcast interviews.

In the interview we also mention The CEO Corner and Straight Talk with Sunil, where he invites PMI staff to talk about what's going on behind the scenes at PMI. Check it out!

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Ricardo Viana Vargas, Executive Director, Brightline

There's no shortage of great ideas, whether you are going through a transformation or adapting to digital innovation, but not every great idea becomes a reality. Pinpointing 'why' is at the core of the Brightline initiative's mission.

Brightline (www.brightline.org) is a new strategic arm of Project Management Institute (PMI)®. And as stated on the website: "The Brightline™ Initiative delivers insights and solutions that empower leaders to successfully transform their organization’s vision into reality through strategic initiative management."

Today, we welcome Ricardo Vargas (LinkedIn Profile) who is Brightline's Executive Director.

This interview was recorded one day before the Project Management Institute (PMI)® Global Conference 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. We talk about the history of the initiative, the 10 principles developed to help your organization bridge the costly and wasteful gap between strategy design and delivery, and we look at how you can apply this on your projects. And we also identify issues that prevent strategies to become reality.

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Susanne Madsen, Author

Here is how I started episode 309 back in 2015 when we had Susanne Madsen (www.susannemadsen.com - LinkedIn Profile) on the program to present her book The Power of Project Leadership:

Susanne Madsen is back on the show today to talk about many of the leadership concepts she puts forward in her new book titled The Power of Project Leadership. And we have a lot of great tips for you -- all taken from the book.

Well… she’s back. The second edition is out. And this is what we read about the book on Amazon:

Projects and work environments are becoming increasingly complex, with more stakeholders, dispersed teams and an unprecedented rate of technological change. In order to adapt to this complexity and find new opportunities to innovate and build a high performing team, project managers must shift their mindset to one of project leadership. The Power of Project Leadership explains how to generate positive results for projects and clients while growing as a leader and empowering the team to fully contribute.

The book focuses on 7 keys to help you transform from project manager to project leader. And to help you along on that journey, we are going to open up her book and take a closer look at Key #5 Build Trust with Stakeholders and key #6 Use Powerful techniques.

And just like back in episode 309 we have a lot of great tips for you -- all taken from the book.

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Cornelius Fichtner

Today, we are shining a spotlight on Professional Development Units (PDUs).

More precisely, we are going to review the PMI Talent Triangle™ and how this triangle affects the way that you need to earn your PDUs. And if you are a project manager who holds a certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® then you know about PDUs, because you need them for your certification renewal every three years.

And just to be absolutely clear: you need PDUs only after you have passed your exam. If you are still studying for your certification, then you need what PMI® calls Contact Hours.

So our focus right now is on the PDUs that you need after you pass your exam. Also, I know that most of you are certified Project Management Professionals (PMP)® so I’ve chosen my examples to be primarily about PMP PDUs.

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Sierra Hampton-Simmons

As a project management trainer, I have always focused not only on teaching my students how to pass their exams but also on how to become better at what they are doing. Yes, of course, I want you to pass your exam and become certified but I always strived to ensure that what I teach helps you to better lead your projects and deliver them successfully for your stakeholders.

And that is why I think the changes that the Project Management Institute (PMI)® is making to the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam on July 1st, 2020 is a good change, even though they could have managed the roll-out a bit better.

With this update, PMI® is moving away from the five current and somewhat ‘technical’ domains and shifts the focus of the exam to test a candidate’s knowledge of, and experience in the skills necessary to actually lead and manage a project. Specifically, the three new domains are People, Process, and Business Environment.

But why am I telling you all of this when we have a guest for you who is much more qualified than I am: Sierra Hampton-Simmons (LinkedIn Profile). Sierra has nearly two decades of experience as an expert in Certification Management and joined PMI in late 2013. Currently, she serves as the Portfolio Leader/Head of Certification Products. This means that she is responsible for the entire portfolio of Certification Products including the PMP® exam. So she’s the perfect person to discuss both the background and nature of the changes. You’ll even get to hear that PMI is making changes to the type and style of questions a candidate will see during the exam itself.

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Sierra Hampton-Simmons

Are you by any chance thinking about becoming a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®? Well then, you are in for a treat today because the Project Management Institute (PMI)® is currently in the process of making a number of exciting changes to this exam and we review all of them.

There are some technical change - for example you will encounter two new question types on the exam - and PMI® is also making it easier for everyone who is and will be CAPM® certified if you decide to apply to take the Project Management Professional (PMP)® exam.

And here to talk us through these changes is no other than Sierra Hampton-Simmons (LinkedIn Profile). Sierra has nearly two decades of experience as an expert in Certification Management and joined PMI in late 2013. Currently, she serves as the Portfolio Leader/Head of Certification Products. This means that she is responsible for the entire portfolio of Certification Products including the CAPM certification. So she’s the perfect person to talk to about this.

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This is a special episode of The PM Podcast in which we are sharing a video from The PM Coaching Podcast.

In this interview, Dan Ryan, MBA, PMP, (https://www.pmexamcoach.com/podcast - LinkedIn Profile) interviews Cornelius Fichtner, PMP.

Some of the topics are:

• Cornelius's background and life story
• What changes are coming to Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam in December 2019
• What is the best way to pass pmp exam
• And also some of the differentiators between PMP and other exams

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Dr Jim Young, PMP, FNZIM

Today, I don’t have a full interview for you. I have something better. I have a free book on how to manage small and medium-sized projects for you.

The free eBook you are going to get is titled "Managing Smaller and Medium-Sized Projects" and was written by Dr Jim Young, PMP, FNZIM (http://www.skillpower.co.nz/ - LinkedIn Profile).

If you use a podcast app to download and listen to our interviews, then the book has very likely already been downloaded by the app for you. It is a PDF document and you should see it as a separate episode of your subscription of The PM Podcast. If not, then please click on the download button above.

Click to view and download the PDF eBook now...

This free eBook "Managing Smaller and Medium-Sized Projects" was written by Dr Jim Young, PMP, FNZIM.

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Cornelius Fichtner

Today, we are shining a spotlight on Professional Development Units (PDUs).

More precisely, I’m going to give you a relatively short overview of the CCR Handbook, which defines all the policies around PDUs. And if you are a project manager who holds a certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® then you know about PDUs, because you need them for your certification renewal every three years.

And just to be absolutely clear: you need PDUs only after you have passed your exam. If you are still studying for your certification, then you need what PMI® calls Contact Hours.

So our focus right now is on the PDUs that you need after you pass your exam, and, because so many of you are Project Management Professional (PMP)® certificate holders, our examples will be primarily about PMP PDUs.

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Dev Ramcharan, PMP, CSM, CCTC

This is the third and final of three interviews in which Dev Ramcharan (LinkedIn Profile) from AROUCA Career Coaching helps you to optimize and boost your career. In this interview we focus on the late career phase and also touch upon consulting.

Allow me to repeat my recommendation on listening to this series of interviews one final time: You will get the most out of this series of interviews if you listen to them in sequence, no matter if you are currently in your early career, mid career or late career. This is because each of the three interviews contains many nuggets of wisdom applicable to any career stage. And of course... Dev’s Career Optimization Package can be found on The PM Podcast website. Just go to www.pm-podcast.com/career and download the free version first.

In this final interview you learn that the late career is really the peak of your experience, knowledge and wisdom. As well as the money you earn. But at the same time, this is also the moment to think back to the time when you started out in your career, and now you need to help out and mentor an eager young project manager at the start of his or her career.

The one unexpected topic that you will also hear about is adversity in the sense of getting laid off or overlooked for a promotion during any of the stages in your career. Dev shows you that you can use adversity as your ally to move your career forward. And finally Dev closes with his suggestions for a structured approach to personal growth.

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Dev Ramcharan, PMP, CSM, CCTC

This is the second of three interviews in which Dev Ramcharan (LinkedIn Profile) from AROUCA Career Coaching helps you to optimize and boost your career. In this interview we focus on the mid-career phase, which starts about 2-3 years into your life as a project manager.

In this interview you learn that there is an early mid-career and also a late mid-career, and that both require a different optimization approach. We talk about when and how often you should update the Career Optimization Package and how to perform a career risk assessment.

As part of this interview, Dev also recommends the following two books:

• Carol S. Dweck: Mindset - The New Psychology of Success
• Kegan / Lahey: Immunity to Change

My recommendation is still the same: To get the most out of this you should listen to all three interviews in sequence, no matter if you are currently in your early career, mid career or late career. And don’t forget to get Dev’s Career Optimization Package from The PM Podcast website. Just go to www.pm-podcast.com/career and download the free version first.