Episode 553: Revenge of the Risk Register (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

We welcome back Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas for a project risk management conversation that connects movie moments with practical project leadership. Dawn and Jerry, co-editors of Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success, focus on the chapters they personally wrote and use them to examine how project managers identify early warning signs, assess uncertainty, choose risk responses, and handle the human side of risk. Jerry uses Star Wars to explain fast risk assessment, OODA loops, situational awareness, risk response planning, and the difference between risk as threat and risk as opportunity. Dawn uses The Italian Job to discuss trust, hidden resistance, team pressure, stakeholder behavior, sabotage, and what happens when a new person joins an already established team. Together, they make a practical point for project managers: risk management cannot live only in a register. It has to show up in conversations, sponsor alignment, team formation, stakeholder engagement, and regular project decisions.

The discussion starts with signals before trouble, including the moments when a team senses that something feels wrong but cannot yet prove it. Jerry recommends assessing and investigating risks based on urgency, while Dawn points to behaviors such as people not showing up, going silent, or acting out of alignment with the project. From there, the conversation moves into the gap between planning and reality. A good plan helps, but it does not remove uncertainty. Project managers still need fallback thinking, clear values, and enough situational awareness to know when to proceed and when to pause.

The episode also brings risk into the people side of project work, where difficult stakeholders, stressed stakeholders, and actual saboteurs require different responses. Dawn explains how project managers can build trust when a new team member joins and how effective sponsorship can help someone earn credibility. Jerry closes with a practical recommendation: focus risk response planning on high-probability, high-impact items and include risk assessment in status or stage gate meetings. In other words, the risk register should not become documentation theater. Nobody needs another spreadsheet pretending everything is fine.

In This Episode, You Will Learn

• Early warning signs - How project managers can respond when a team senses trouble before there is proof.
• Risk as opportunity - How a threat can also create unexpected value when the team sees both sides of the situation.
• Risk response mistakes - Why transfer and passive acceptance still require monitoring, ownership, and follow-through.
• People-related risks - How to distinguish difficult stakeholders, stressed stakeholders, and actual saboteurs.
• Risk reviews that lead to decisions - How to make risk assessment part of status meetings or stage gate discussions.

Resources Mentioned

• Projectland Goes to the Movies - The featured book discussed throughout the episode, examining project management lessons found in popular films.

Quotes from This Episode

• "The bottom line is Han knew his skills. He knew the enemy's weaknesses. It was a risk, but it was also an opportunity." - Jerry Manas
• "If something feels off, it absolutely could be even within members of your own team." - Dawn Mahan
• "The biggest project risk is not the plan, but it is instead the people pretending that the plan is fine." - Cornelius Fichtner

Connect with Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas

• LinkedIn (Dawn Mahan): https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnmahan/
• LinkedIn (Jerry Manas): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmanas/

Time-Stamped Show Notes

• [00:00] - Why risk gets personal for project managers.
• [01:36] - Spotting early warning signs before trouble starts.
• [07:27] - When the project plan meets reality.
• [11:30] - Choosing the right risk response.
• [13:58] - Aligning stakeholders around project risk.
• [15:23] - Difficult stakeholders, stress, and sabotage.
• [18:28] - Helping new team members earn trust.
• [25:09] - Keeping confidence high after risk decisions.
• [29:35] - Turning the risk register into action.
• [31:29] - Closing, book, and PDU details.

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