Episode 100 – 100 Down, More to Come

The Podcast for Project Managers by Project Managers. As we celebrate 100 episodes we thank our listeners who have joined us for the journey. In this podcast Nick expands on some lessons he has learned about project management from his time on Velociteach’s Manage This. Table of Contents 00:06 … Celebrating 100 Episodes 03:29 … Nick’s New Adventure 07:00 … Reviewing Past Conversations 08:33 … Conducting Effective Meetings 10:13 … Virtual Team Communication 14:38 … Being Transparent and Maximizing Potential 17:59 … The Essential Components 19:27 … Importance of Integrity 22:45 … Building Blocks of a Project 24:24 … Dealing with Stress 25:34 … Cybersecurity: Creating Awareness 28:44 … Story from a Vietnam Veteran 31:55 … Learning Superior Processes 35:12 … Stimulate Progress and Maintain Excellence 39:00 … Great Leaders Bring Calm to Chaos 43:14 … Nick Signing Off Celebrating 100 Episodes NICK WALKER:  Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers.  We are so proud and so excited to mark our 100th episode.  Everybody’s here to celebrate:  Andy Crowe and Bill Yates, producer Wendy Grounds, engineer Andie Leeds.  And we’re so glad you have joined us for the celebration, too, but also for joining us and supporting us in our Manage This journey over the past several years. Andy, I’m going to ask you, go back in time, tell us the story behind the podcast.  What was your vision for the podcast then, and has that changed over the years? ANDY CROWE:  Well, Nick, that’s an interesting question.  You know, if you go back in time, I used to be on the project management speaking circuit quite a lot. And so one of the things that always happened is people would come up and say, “I’ve been listening to these CDs”  we used to produce CDs, now they’re digital downloads.  But Bill Yates and Louis Alderman and I were on there, and people would come up and say, you know what, “I’ve been driving around in the car, I’ve been listening to that.”  One person said that when their child misbehaved in the car, that they would actually make them listen to 30 minutes of that. NICK WALKER:  Oh, cruel and unusual punishment. ANDY CROWE:  It was a really funny interchange. BILL YATES:  I’ll get feedback on that one. ANDY CROWE:  One of the things that I figured out during that series of conversations, though, is people would always come up afterward. And so they didn’t want to talk about what I had spoken on that evening at the project management meeting, they wanted to talk about the audio series that we did. And I told Bill, I said, you know, there’s a few things.  Number one, project management is a really difficult job for a lot of people because you’re effecting change, and the world resists change.  So you have people trying to create something that doesn’t exist, to make something different, and this gives us a chance just to have a conversation with people.  Every couple of weeks we get a chance to talk, and it is, it is a conversation, so I like to think of it that way. You know, so we get feedback from listeners, and we try and incorporate that into where we’re going.  But that was the whole goal is just to engage people, and part of it to say, look, we know it’s a tough job.  There are easier ways to make a living than being a project manager.  And at the same time people who do that for a living, a lot of times it’s more of a calling than a profession. So it’s something that you, you know, you can’t imagine doing anything else, it’s a chance for us to engage with people, and that’s the whole goal.  You know, we don’t monetize this podcast, we don’t sell ads, we don’t ask for donations, we’re doing it because we love this profession, too. BILL YATES:  It’s a way for us to connect with our tribe.  When I think about some of the podcasts that have meant the most to me, it’s when people are going through some of the same struggles that I have as a project manager.  Nick, I haven’t really looked at the map, but I know we’ve had, I think, just about all the continents.  We’ve had guests from all over, you know, Australia.  We had Colin, I think he joined us like 11:00 p.m. his time. NICK WALKER:  Oh, man, yeah, yeah. BILL YATES:  It was something extreme, I know, from the U.K. and from other places.  So it’s so interesting to hear perspectives from all different industries in all different locations and the struggles that they have. ANDY CROWE:  We still, I think, probably are missing Antarctica.  But I bet you, I bet you... BILL YATES:  There’s someone out there. ANDY CROWE:  There is someone out there.  I guarantee there’s a researcher.  If they’ve got good Internet, we’ll make it happen. BILL YATES:  Yeah. Nick’s New Adventure NICK WALKER:  And as the outsider, you know, in this bunch, you know, not being a project manager... BILL YATES:  What, you’re not a project manager? NICK WALKER:  Well, you know, I’ve learned something from this podcast.  Not enough to pass the PMP exam.  I’ll have to rely on your book for that.  But the things that I’ve learned, you know, go so far beyond the language and the acronyms, you know, WBS, CAPM, Agile, Scrum, Kanban boards – frankly, I’m still not sure what those last two are all about. ANDY CROWE:  You’re talking a good game, though, pal. BILL YATES:  That’s it, yeah, you’re selling the sizzle. NICK WALKER:  But as I mentioned, it’s such a big field, but it’s also inspired me in my professional life, in my personal life, recognizing that so much of what I do really is kind of project management.  My wife and I just finished one of the biggest projects of our life, so we’ve spent months trying to get a house ready to sell, getting the house on the market, negotiating with buyers, coordinating a move.  That was a big project, and the inspiration that I’ve gotten, not just from you guys, but also from our guests, I think actually helped us be more of a success in that project than we would have otherwise.  BILL YATES:  Nick, tell us more about this move. So this is a pivot point for us with Manage This.  What exactly are you guys doing?  Where are you headed? NICK WALKER:  Well, we have been living in the Atlanta metropolitan area for the last 20 years, I’ve been working at the Weather Channel as an on-camera meteorologist.  I’ve been here for the last few years working with you guys. So the time has come for us to make a transition into a new season of our life.  Our grandkids live up in the Nashville area, so our plan is to get closer to them.  My son and daughter-in-law have three kids, and soon to be a fourth one because they’re adopting a deaf child from China. And so we want to be part of that, we want to be a bigger part of the kids’ growing up. And so the time has come, I think, to say goodbye to television, to broadcasting, and just be a part of their lives more. BILL YATES:  This is going to be a wonderful chapter.  I’m so excited for you guys and proud of the move you guys are making, it’s not a selfish move at all.  We’re going to miss you here at Manage This. ANDY CROWE:  Very much. NICK WALKER:  Well, I appreciate that.  Can I just say what an education this has been, also it’s been a privilege to be associated with such an organization that’s committed to excellence, committed to helping others be the best they can be.  And so that means a lot to me, to be part of that, you folks are givers, as you mentioned, you know, this podcast isn’t sponsored.  You give of your time, energy, your talents to raise others up, and so I really appreciate that.  And I can see that in how you treat one another and how you treat our guests here on the program, it’s been personally gratifying to me to be a part of this great organization. ANDY CROWE:  Thank you, Nick.  I really appreciate that.  You know, a lot of times at a university they will confer upon someone an honorary degree, and so, Nick, by all the powers vested in me, I hereby name you an Honorary Project Manager. NICK WALKER:  Oh, my goodness. ANDY CROWE:  So now you are, that’s it, you are a project manager, you’re one of the tribe.  And so... NICK WALKER:  It goes on the résumé today. ANDY CROWE:  That’s right.  We’re going to miss you, Nick.  Thank you for everything. Reviewing Past Conversations BILL YATES:  Nick, it’s been fascinating for me just to see what’s resonated with you.  So we’re going to take a look back at some of those podcasts that maybe stood out more to you, some of the guests or some of the topics that we had. NICK WALKER:  It’s hard to really talk about which ones stick in your mind because, you know, you go back, and you look at some of these topics, and we have had some amazing guests.  You know, we talked about Tabetha, who had a star named after her, the most mysterious star in the universe.  We also went down below the seas, talked about underwater vehicles with Oceaneering International,  Wildfires in California, Cataloging space debris, Saving rhinos.  We went in depth in managing the Fukushima disaster, we also talked about managing a major motion picture with “Guardians of the Galaxy.” BILL YATES:  Yeah, with Pez, yeah. NICK WALKER:  So there’s been a lot of fun stuff.  But there’s also been a lot of practical stuff, as well.  We talked about negotiation techniques.  We talked about performance reviews, risk management.  We’ve dealt with Agile a lot, you know, answering the question, “Is Agile right for me?”  We talked about changes in the PMP exam, we answered listeners’ questions. And we talked about using the right software to get the job done.  Conflict management.  All very practical things, so many episodes dealt with such a variety.  You know, I came into this podcast kind of green, not really knowing even what project management was, but realizing that it is all of these things that we talked about, and much more.