Project Management Happy Hour

In this episode, Kat and Kim talk to Erik Rueter about design thinking in our projects.  What’s design thinking, you may be thinking? Design thinking is a methodology that focuses on the end users of a system when we are problem solving. Erik will share 5 different design thinking methods for understanding user needs in a way that not only helps your project provide better deliverables but can also help build a better project team.   About our amazing guest, Erik Rueter Erik K. Rueter, PMP, PMI-ACP, has over 20 years of experience in diverse industries, including tech startups, academia, healthcare, and entertainment. Currently, he serves as a senior project manager at the American Marketing Association and has held multiple senior staff positions at various organizations. Erik holds a BA in neuroscience from Wesleyan University, with further education in digital design, Irish studies, and MicroMasters in Design Thinking and Project Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also certified in diversity and inclusion by Cornell. Erik's contributions to the field include co-authoring papers on health inequity, lecturing at Boston and Emerson Colleges, and advocating for diversity and inclusion with organizations like Medtronic, VSP, and the San Antonio Spurs. He has spoken, in person and virtually, at PMI Greece, PMI Michiana, and PMI Western Michigan, among others. He has appeared on podcasts such as “Confessions of a Higher Education CMO”; and “I Wanna Work There!” and contributed to “The Evolution of the PMO”, a key resource for project managers. He founded Human-Centered Success LLC to promote inclusive leadership which is National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce certified as an LGBTQIA+-owned business. Residing outside Pittsburgh with his husband and two dachshunds, Erik enjoys marathons, gaming, and sharing his insights. Contact: [email protected]. To learn more about the amazing things Erik is up to:  Check out his website at: www.humancenteredsuccess.com Learn about solution delivery: Mastering Solution Delivery Erik’s Upcoming Speaking Engagement: PMI Global Summit 2024 Rock Lobster Leadership: Lessons from The B-52s Resilience and Relatability: A New Paradigm for Project Leadership (With Jake McGaffin and Olivia Montgomery)   JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership STUMP THE PM’S! We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Linkedin and we’ll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we’ll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.  

Although an essential part of our project-driven world, most project leaders didn’t set out to be one. For many of us, our first steps into project leadership won’t come with an official title. So, if we are not ‘officially’ project managers, how are we supposed to lead the project?  There are a lot of answers to this question, but one approach all project leaders need to master is the art of managing with informal authority. Without being people’s ‘boss,’ we need to pull a team of seemingly random people, give them common purpose, build a team and help them successfully deliver a project.  But, seriously, what really is ‘informal authority?’ What’s involved and how can I master this mystical art? To help us understand this superpower, we are joined on this episode by Kory Kogon, author of the book, “Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager.” Kory takes us through the 5 pillars of informal authority which include:  Demonstrate respect Listen first Clarify expectations Extend trust Practice accountability About our amazing guest, Kory Kogon Kory is FranklinCovey’s Vice President, Content Development, and a Senior Leadership Consultant. She is a co-author of the #4 Wall Street Journal bestseller, The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity, in addition to Project Management Essentials for the Unofficial Project Manager, and Presentation Advantage. Kory has been featured on Inc.com and in its Productivity Playbook online series, on Fast Company.com, Forbes.com, and in Investor’s Business Daily. She has also appeared on NBC’s TODAY with Hoda Kotb. Kory has over 25 years of business expertise from frontline positions to serving as an executive team member for a global franchise organization. This provides her a unique perspective on the application of FranklinCovey’s world-renowned content within organizations. Kory not only understands the strategy and principles necessary to build great leaders, systems, and winning cultures, but she understands how FranklinCovey’s blended learning offerings deliver practical solutions that enable the behavior changes required for transformational results in organizations with both formal and informal leaders. To learn more about the amazing things Kory is doing and to get her great book: Book: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager | FranklinCovey Learn about the Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager Course: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager™ | FranklinCovey About Kory Kogon: FranklinCovey Speaker: Kory Kogon | FranklinCovey Connect to Kory Kogon on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kory-kogon   JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership STUMP THE PM’S! We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Linkedin and we’ll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we’ll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.  

For the first time, Kate and Kim find an Agilist brave enough to join them on the podcast to talk about some really hard questions about working Agile vs Waterfall. Let’s get it on! We ask the questions that PM’s want to ask - frustrated, annoyed PM’s who are told to work “agile” by people who maybe don’t even understand Agile - or Waterfall, for that matter. In this refreshingly honest talk about the reality of ways of working, Kate, Kim and their guest Agilist, David Asch, talk in real-world terms about Agile, Predictive and the reality in-between. About our amazing (and brave) guest, David Asch David Asch has a 36-year career in startup and mid-stage commercial software companies. He’s worked in various industries, including transportation, supply chain, retail analytics, scientific marketing, blockchain, and secure communications. From his experience with the challenges and successes of delivering software over a long career, David founded 10xPrinciples, a management/organizational consulting company, to help technology companies navigate the transition from startup to mid-stage.  During a time of rapid growth and change, teams typically find that the ”wearing many hats” culture from their startup days is no longer the best approach to honoring commitments. David helps these companies weave Agile practices into the fabric of their cultures. David’s recognized expertise in companywide Agile-driven management makes him invaluable to clients who need to implement Agile principles and methodologies into their unique business environments. Get David’s book, The Agile Enterprise: Applying Agile Principles to Drive Organizational Success, on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Agile-Enterprise-Applying-Principles-Organizational/dp/1637425473/  Connect to him on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidasch1/  And check out his website: https://10xPrinciples.com    JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership STUMP THE PM’S! We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Linkedin and we’ll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we’ll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.  

Project Management is weird. You can have the same job title and be a very tactical execution-minded project manager - which is the way most of us start. Or you can be a strategic part of the leadership team, recognized for your ability to help executives make their vision a reality.  So, how do you develop yourself from tactical implementer to strategic partner?  This episode we are joined by two experienced leaders, Ralph Kliem and Gregg Richie, who have made this transition, and rose to provide pivotal strategic partnership roles with executive teams to help them develop Disaster Recovery capabilities. In fact, they wrote the book on it: Business Continuity Planning: A Project Management Approach. Ralph and Gregg will talk us through how to step beyond the mindset of a tactical project manager and engage with our leadership teams as a strategic partner. About our amazing guests, Ralph Kliem and Gregg Richie Ralph Kliem, M.A.,PMP, CBCP, is the author or co-author of twenty books, including the Management Lessons of the Great Explorers; Political Risk Management and the Global Supply Chain; Business Continuity Planning; and Leading High Performance Projects. He has also published in the Project Management Journal and PM Network.  He managed numerous business continuity projects and programs for major airplane programs at The Boeing Company as well as financial, operational auditing, and information systems projects. He is now retired after over 40 years in the private and public sectors.  Gregg D. Richie, has over 40 years of experience in project management.  His education includes a MBA with a specialization in Project Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, a BS in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and a Master’s Certificate in Applied Project Management from Villanova University. He has managed, participated in, or consulted on more than 1200 projects in his career, and  He authored three books on Microsoft Project.  As a retired member of the US Navy SEABEES, he uses real-world experiences in teaching project management concepts. You can follow or connect with Gregg at:   @GreggDRichie https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggrichie/   You can find their book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Business-Continuity-Planning-Management-Approach/dp/1482251787/  JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership STUMP THE PM’S! We love to hear about your tough PM issues, so please hit us up at [email protected] or on Linkedin and we’ll see if we can help you. If we use your question, we’ll send you a PM Happy Hour coaster you can enjoy at your next happy hour.