Scott Berkun, bestselling author and popular speaker, discusses his experience as a program manager at Microsoft, including a chaotic meeting and a disastrous project. He shares lessons learned in anticipation and facilitation, and emphasizes the importance of embracing failure and learning from mistakes.
Anticipation and facilitation are crucial for successful project management, emphasizing the importance of focusing on relationships, character, and providing clarity.
Project managers should proactively step in and manage challenging situations in meetings by regaining focus, assigning questions, and seeking further discussion, while understanding that failure is an inevitable part of the journey and provides valuable learning opportunities.
Deep dives
The Importance of Anticipation and Facilitation in Effective Project Management
The podcast episode discusses the crucial role of anticipation and facilitation in project management. The guest speaker, Scott Bergen, shares his experience at Microsoft where he encountered a meeting that quickly escalated into chaos. Despite feeling devastated and overwhelmed, Scott learned the importance of anticipating potential challenges and facilitating effective communication among team members. He emphasizes the need for project managers to focus on relationships, character, and providing clarity to prevent such failures. The episode highlights the value of visual manifestations, such as lists or low-fidelity sketches, to reduce misunderstandings and facilitate productive discussions.
Empowering PMs to Manage Challenging Situations
The podcast explores the challenges that project managers face when questions lead to more questions, arguments, and tensions in the room. The guest speakers discuss the importance of stepping in and taking control of such situations, even when feeling junior or outnumbered. They suggest techniques, such as calling for a time-out to regain focus or assigning questions to the appropriate person for follow-up. It is emphasized that failure to have all the answers does not make a project manager incompetent, and seeking answers or acknowledging the need for further discussion is encouraged. The episode encourages project managers to strive for reason, actively listen, and reframe conversations to effectively manage meetings and achieve project goals.
The Complexity of Failure and Building Resilience
The episode delves into the complex relationship with failure. While failure is often seen as something to be avoided, the discussion highlights the inevitability of failure in any meaningful endeavor. The guest speakers emphasize that failure provides valuable learning opportunities, helping individuals grow and develop resilience. They recognize that failure is not the end of the journey but an opportunity to recover and find solutions, even if it requires reframing the situation or seeking alternative perspectives. The episode encourages embracing failure as a natural part of progress and focusing on the recovery process as a way to build trust and earn respect from colleagues and stakeholders.