Project Management Happy Hour

Tech startups drive the technology around us, and a good bit of the economy. They use creativity, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to solve problems and build the world of tomorrow. But how do they do that? Is it really like the “Shark Tank” or “Dragon’s Den” tv shows? Today we are joined by a real-life tech founder who has successfully built his company and introduced a new tool to the market - a PM tool, no less! Pete Bernardo, founder of Punchlist tells us about the project behind founding a startup and bringing his product to market. And, no, it’s not quite like the TV show :-)  AND you can get your first month free & 10% off the price of Punchlist by signing up here and using the coupon code: PMHAPPYHOUR   OUR AMAZING GUEST: Pete Bernardo, Founder of Punchlist Pete Bernardo is the Founder & CEO of Punchlist, the #1 client feedback layer over your creative work. Pete is also a TechStars Atlanta Mentor, a father of two, and an occasional pizza maker.  Former EVP of Product & Growth at Three Five Two, Pete has 20 years of design & development experience across clients like CNN, Porsche, American Express, and Microsoft.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petebernardo/     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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com 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.

When the first Covid vaccinations were released, massive vaccination sites were launched, seemingly overnight, to vaccinate millions of people. If you volunteered or were vaccinated at one of these sites, you may have witnessed how huge, sophisticated and well run these sites were. But how did they do that? How (and who) planned, organized, stood up and ran these massive sites vaccinating thousands of people a day - at a time when you couldn’t even hardly hold an in-person meeting?  Kim volunteered at one of these early sites at a football stadium parking lot with dozens of lanes of people getting vaccinated, thousands and thousands a day. Since then, we’ve been trying to find someone to come on the show and talk about how these were organized so well, so quickly. And he had no luck doing so - until now!  Our guest, Aaron Bellinger, was project manager for one of these emergency Covid vaccination sites and walks us through how the whole process went down, from conception to execution, operation and tear-down. It’s an impressive, once-in-a-lifetime project that affected the lives of thousands.    OUR AMAZING GUEST: Aaron Bellinger, PMP Aaron Bellinger was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ where he lives with his beautiful wife Tanya and their sweet dog Ollie. Aaron has an extensive background in project management where most of his experience was gained “on the job”. His first job was roofing houses with his dad where he learned you can survive 110 degree days outdoors. Aaron also helped business users with technical computer hardware support which gave him great insight into the “customer”. Most recently Aaron has been a project manager in a healthcare environment where he is helping improve end user experiences and serving his community for impact. It didn’t take Aaron long to realize that by asking “do you want it good, fast or cheap, pick two”, he could turn anyone’s plan into action ensuring he executed for impact and mitigated risk with a purpose.  Aaron is a certified Project Management Professional who believes that a defined scope will set you up for success.  When Aaron isn’t Project Managing something at work, he is taking his truck off road, SCUBA diving, or competing in the United States Practical Shooting Association matches at the gun range in a fierce, blasting competition.    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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com 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.

This episode is based on feedback we’ve had from our member 1:1 coaching sessions, one of the benefits we provide our PM Happy Hour members. Many PM’s find themselves in a position where they are the first project manager in their organization. Whether you are a newbie or an experienced pro, this will be a challenge. The organization probably has a low (or no) level of project management maturity, no organizational concept of what project management is or how to make projects succeed, and probably as many different expectations of what a PM should and shouldn’t do as there are people in the organization. Where do you even start?! Before you whip out your PMBOK or Agile Practice guide and start reading it to your team, let’s step back a moment and talk about how to approach this situation pragmatically. And let’s do it with one of our favorite PMO mentors Joe Pusz, “PMO Joe!”  In this episode, we talk with PMO Joe about how to approach you new role as the pioneer project manager in your organization and how to set yourself, your team and your organization up for success - in the short and long term. OUR AMAZING GUEST: JOE PUSZ, “PMO JOE” Joe Pusz, PMO Joe is an internationally recognized leader in the Project Management and PMO community. He is a frequent Keynote Speaker, Author, Project Management Innovator and was recently named one of the Top 8 PMO Influencers in the World by the PMO Global Alliance. He is the Founder and President of THE PMO SQUAD, a Phoenix based PMO and Project Management Consulting firm serving clients across the United States. He is host of the Project Management Office Hours Radio Show and Podcast providing Project Management Leaders a voice within our community. Now in the 5th season the show has over 40 million plays and downloads featuring guests from around the world. Joe is also Co-Founder of VPMMA, the Veteran Project Manager Mentor Alliance which is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization assisting Veterans seeking to transition into civilian Project Management careers. Joe is the Founder of The PMO Leader global community.  The site is the only global ecommerce community for PMO Leaders and teams to share content, gain knowledge and exchange experiences. He is a Judge for the Global PMO Awards, a member of the PMI Executive Roundtable on PMOs, and is a long-time member of the Project Management Institute. He has been a PMI Volunteer, Sponsor and Mentor. Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/joepusz/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-pmo-squad/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-management-office-hours/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/vpmma/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-pmo-leader/ https://twitter.com/THEPMOSQUAD https://www.instagram.com/thepmosquad/   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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

OK, originally this was going to be an April Fool’s goof podcast, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and maybe a bit educational. But, nope, it’s not your usual PMHH episode, and DEFINITELY not your typical PM podcast. So, if you are looking for something serious and academic, this episode is not the one for you. Kate will be your dungeon master in this fun (and, yeah, weird) episode! Kate walks Kim through building his PM character, then takes him through a tabletop RPG (role playing game) of managing a project. Is it as dorky as it sounds? YES!! “Roll your negotiation check.”  Will Kim be able to complete his quest? Or will the Dragons, Facilities Managers and other monsters stop his party in their tracks?  I don’t know about you, but I think Kate needs to start hosting public versions of these! Talk about a fun way to PDU! Give us a shout if you think so too!  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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.  

PMs are accountable for project success. As such, we are keenly aware when things are failing! And because most PM’s are process and goal oriented, we can think of a lot of ways to improve an organization. But how do you propose a change in a way that gets support - instead of damnation? If you don’t do it right, pitching a change can sound a lot like giving a bunch of other people more work to do, or telling everyone else that they’ve been doing it ‘wrong’ for the last 10 years, and you as a fresh-faced PM is here to tell them how to do it right.  In this episode, we’re going to try to help you learn from our hard lessons learned and effectively pitch changes to help your organization succeed the way you know it can.  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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone followed all the processes we built? If everyone on our team followed the PMBOK or SCRUM methodologies perfectly every single time and every estimate we ever received was perfectly accurate?  Of course that doesn’t happen. But did you ever stop to think - why? Well, our guest today has. Dr. Josh Ramirez has combed the scientific literature on human behavior and combined that with his love of project management to help explain why people do the things they do - and don’t. Today he shares with us how to use human psychology to change the way we approach project delivery to account for the weird ways humans behave. OUR AMAZING GUEST DR. JOSH RAMIREZ Dr. Josh Ramirez is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Neuro & Behavioral Project Management Building an organization (www.nbpmi.com) that is working on redesigning project management with behavioral, social, cognitive, and neuroscience, toward an emerging field of Behavioral Project Management. In addition, he is currently researching application of science to project management to build a foundation of project science under existing practices. The future of project management is in redesigning around the beings that predict and deliver projects: humans.  He is also co-author of NeuralPlan with Dr. Shari De Baets, and an adjunct professor of project management, with experience that includes business operations management, project management, and project controls, including work at several national laboratories and other projects throughout the U.S. Department of Energy complex, as well as private sector project work.  Read more about Josh’s great contributions to PM here: The Institute for Neuro & Behavioral Project Management: https://www.nbpmi.com/  Behavioral PM Membership Site: behavioralpm.com (new membership site) https://www.behavioralpm.com/  Neural Plan: https://www.neural-plan.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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

“I am in way over my head.”  “I have no business doing this job” “I am totally not worthy of this role” “There is no way I’m qualified to do this”  Have you ever told this to yourself? You may be infected with Imposter Syndrome! That’s OK - all highly capable people, especially project managers, find themselves with this affliction at one time or another - and again and again :-)  Not only can Imposter Syndrome take the fun and motivation out of your job, we see it holding many professionals back from their potential. So, get treatment today!  We were going to do an episode on Imposter syndrome, but then thought, are we really qualified to do that? Seems like it would take someone with much more experience than us to do it. :-) In this episode, Kate and Kim share their experience dealing with their own Imposter Syndrome, and share how we deal with it and over come it, and how we coach our mentees to shine in spite of self doubt. Get after it!    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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

The same way sports teams have coaches to help optimize their performance, organizations can engage PM coaches to help their project management team win.  In this episode, we are joined by Heather Gates, a PM coach who has worked to help develop project managers across many organizations. In this episode, Heather shares a few of her top coaching tips in some key areas: Self Awareness Communication  Time Management Stakeholder Management Cross functional Collaboration About our amazing guest, Heather Gates Heather Gates is an entrepreneur, consultant and certified project manager who values collaboration, productivity and service. As a former NCAA Kodak All-American in basketball and amateur beach volleyball player who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio USA, Heather has established a global reputation for being a diligent and thoughtful leader while advocating for effective project management amongst her peers, colleagues, project teams, and customers. Certified as a women's business enterprise (WBE) from WECONNECT International in its first year, Heather launched PM Rehab in 2020, now branded ConnectingPM, and has the mission to provide real-time project management learning experiences and support services that help companies retain existing project professionals and optimize traditional business functions. Using relatable scenarios, Heather sheds light on how individuals and businesses can quickly introduce effective and quality project management for their projects, teams and customers. If you are interested in getting coaching from Heather or would like to learn more about what she does, you can reach her and her team at https://connecting-pm.com  or via email at info@connecting-pm.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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

Did you ever watch the credits at the end of a movie and think, “wow, that’s a lot of people?” You’re right. Hundreds or thousands of people engaged to deliver a massive, multi-million dollar project that is a feature film. How do they do that?  Our guest today walks us through the project behind a feature film: how do they plan a movie? How do they get funding? Who is really the PM in charge of pulling this thing off? (hint: it’s not the director) This episode is a trial of a new format, “The Project Behind It” where we explore the projects behind the amazing every-day things around us. Like the format and want to see more? Let us know!  About our amazing guest, Eli Aultman Eli Aultman is a production and development executive in film and television and an award winning independent producer whose projects have premiered at festivals such as SXSW, TriBeCa, Slamdance, and XOXO.  Their credits include projects in both the Star Wars and Marvel universes. They are a cofounder of Doubletake Entertainment, which leverages strategic partnerships with foreign governing bodies and private equity to develop and finance cutting-edge location-based entertainment, audiovisual content, and interactive media, and they are currently working as a consultant in the emerging field of virtual production. They hold a Juris Doctor in Intellectual Property from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics from Macalester College. You can find out more about Eli via IMDb, LinkedIn, and Clubhouse 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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.

We are joined again by one of our favorite guests, Tim Creasey, Organizational Change Wizard. This time he shares 12 different methods for creating better alignment with your team and your stakeholders. In this first part of a 2 part episode, we share the first 6 of these hacks to help get two people on the same page.   7- Marathon Measures 8- Context and Contrast 9- Zoom 10- Top of Mind Not Top Priority 11- Progress Over Perfection 12- Time and Place   If you missed part 1, you can find it here. About our amazing guest, Tim Creasey An author, researcher, change expert and human, Tim focuses on the people-side of change with process, wit and vigor. Tim’s work forms the foundation of the world’s largest body of knowledge on change management. His role as Chief Innovation Officer at Prosci gives him unparalleled insight into change management challenges, trends and futures. Having spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the globe, Tim is authentic, knowledgeable and unassumingly funny. He enables audiences with valuable data and actionable information.   And here are some links to some of Tim’s other amazing content: 8 Alignment Hacks That Enhance Change Management Today While formal approaches to Change Management are a must for people-dependent projects and complex transformations, sometimes simple adjustments can help teams and colleagues remove roadblocks and enable rapid change during uncertain times. Why Change Management People are the common denominator for achieving project success and business outcomes and the research is clear: Initiatives with excellent change management are six times more likely to succeed. Taking Charge of Change Training Program Prosci’s Taking Charge of Change 1-day program will help you get started on delivering change success through people. Tim’s LinkedIn Profile Connect with Tim on LinkedIn and keep the change management conversation going!   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 podcast@pmhappyhour.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/pmhapyhour 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.