"Why Did I Say Yes?" We've talked in past episodes about how, unless there’s a compelling reason to say No, say Yes--that there are opportunities for growth and learning when we have a bias for Yes. Yet we’ve all ended up in a trap that was set by saying Yes when No would have been a better answer. So how do we navigate that? Well, I'm excited to introduce you to a fantastic new book entitled The Power of Saying No: The New Science of How to Say No that Puts You in Charge of Your Life. In this episode, you’ll learn why we’re tempted to say Yes when No would be a better answer. If you’ve ever told yourself you’re a people pleaser, Vanessa will tell you why you need to stop saying that! By the time we’re done, you’ll know what a stadium proposal moment is, how the spotlight effect plays into this, and learn to recognize a pattern Vanessa calls “Hey, would you make your famous lasagna?” Even better, you’re going to learn about a potentially life-transforming idea called an empowered refusal. I can’t wait to share this discussion with you! Learn more about Vanessa and her book at VanessaPatrick.net/.   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed a new e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Summer Morning [Full version] by MusicLFilesbr>Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11262-summer-morning-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Fashion Corporate by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11233-fashion-corporate License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Introducing PMeLa It’s impossible to avoid hearing about AI these days. From those who praise it to those who warn about an impending apocalypse because of it, there is no shortage of opinions or predictions about it. Instead of talking about the pros and cons or capabilities of AI, we’re going to try something different in this episode. Today I’m going to interview an AI! To my knowledge, this is the first time a podcast focused on project management and leadership has had an AI guest so thank you for joining me on this inaugural experience! My guest today is PMeLa (PM for Project Management and L for Leadership). PMeLA is an AI persona that I’ve been developing for a while now. My goal has been to craft a persona with helpful insights into the world of leading and delivering and in this episode, we’ll find out how she does! I think her best moments are actually in the outtakes so stay around until the very end! What's a question you'd like to pass by PMeLa? Send them to show@peopleandprojectspodcast.com. I'd love to include your questions in a future episode! Thanks!   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed a new e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Lullaby of Light (feat. Cory Friesenhan) by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/11174-lullaby-of-light-feat-cory-friesenhan License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Laughing Children [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10498-laughing-children-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Feeling Stuck Can you think of situations when you felt stuck? I recently talked with someone who feels stuck in their career. Some of my MBA students feel stuck--unsure about what path to pursue in their career. I have dear friends walking through difficult medical issues and feeling stuck—unsure about what to do next. Whether it is major situations like those or the smaller ones that confront us as part of life, feeling stuck is a common experience for us, and today I’m excited to introduce you to one of my favorite new books. Adam Alter joined us back in episode 177 to discuss his book Irresistible. If you haven’t listened to that, I highly recommend you go back and check it out--the challenges and the ideas are just as relevant today as they were 5 years ago. Adam returns in this episode to talk about his new book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most. this book is packed with practical ideas that can help you with your current challenges and those you’ll inevitably encounter in the years ahead. Learn more about Adam and his book at AdamAlterAuthor.com.   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed a new e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Tropical Vibe by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10446-tropical-vibe License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Energetic & Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10443-energetic-drive-indie-rock License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Interview with Giannis Antetokounmpo available on: SBNation.com

Balancing The Now and The Future Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with some amazing bosses. One was a woman named Cindy. What made her stand out? She constantly encouraged us to look beyond our day-to-day tasks. As a Vice President, I was under her guidance, and she, a Senior VP, was persistent in pushing us to plan for the future and break free from the firefighting of the present. This isn't just an issue for me and my colleagues at that time; it's something many of us encounter. Of course, it's important to be present and appreciate the moment, but in various aspects of our lives—be it projects, careers, health, or more—we often fail to look far enough ahead. This preoccupation with the present can hold us back from a better future. In this episode, I'm joined by Hal Hershfield, author of the insightful new book Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today. We all want a brighter tomorrow, whether for our projects, careers, relationships, health, or more. But evidence suggests that our relationship with the future can be a bit tricky. Sometimes we need a "Cindy"--someone to help us learn to look further down the road. Hal is that person, and his book is a valuable resource I'm confident you'll benefit from. I'm excited to share our conversation with you! Learn more about Hal and his book at HalHershfield.com/. For more episodes on this topic, check out: Episode 313, with Brian David Johnson about his book The Future You Episode 87, with Cecily Sommers about her book Think Like a Futurist   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed a new e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Time Is Now by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/395-time-is-now License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Time Of Change by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/8915-time-of-change License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Making Wise Decisions Think about some past decisions. Can you recall one that turned out well and another that, in hindsight, didn't go as planned? It's important to analyze these instances - what factors influenced those outcomes? We all make countless decisions in our daily lives, both personally and professionally. Recognizing the patterns behind our successful and unsuccessful decisions can be a powerful tool in enhancing our decision-making skills. Jim Loehr joins us in this episode to discuss his new book Wise Decisions: A Science-Based Approach to Making Better Decisions. It’s such a different book than I expected, and I mean that as a compliment. If you take even a couple of ideas from today’s discussion and Jim’s book, you will be a step ahead on your upcoming decisions. I can’t wait to share this discussion with you! Learn more about Jim and his books at Jim-Loehr.com/books. For more episodes on this topic, check out: Episode 372, with Annie Duke about her book Quit Episode 295, with Don Moore about his book Perfectly Confident   AI for Project Managers and Leaders With the constant stream of AI news, it's sometimes hard to grasp how these advancements can benefit us as project managers and leaders in our day-to-day work. That's why I developed a new e-learning course: AI Made Simple: A Practical Guide to Using AI in Your Everyday Work. This self-guided course is specifically designed for project managers and leaders aiming to harness AI's potential to enhance your work, streamline your workflow, and boost your productivity. Go to ai.i-leadonline.com to learn more and join us. The feedback from the program has been fantastic. Take this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your team and projects. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Quantum Sparks [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10996-quantum-sparks-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Energetic & Drive Indie Rock by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10443-energetic-drive-indie-rock License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Dangerously Divided Times I'd like you to think of some examples of divides in your life. It could be with a friend or relative that has radically different beliefs about politics or social causes. Or it could be someone at work that you just strongly disagree with. The differences have created a divide. The reason I want you to think about them is because we’re having an important discussion today about how to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times. Mónica Guzmán joins us to talk about her deeply insightful book I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. If you feel the polarization in culture and in the workplace is just too daunting to do anything about, Mónica's book is packed with practical ideas that you can start implementing right away. This remarkable woman is on a mission to help us address the divides in our life--and she’s been making a difference. I consider this a must-read book and can’t wait to introduce some of the ideas in today’s discussion. Learn more about Mónica and her work at BraverAngels.org/.   Project Management for Students If you’ve listened for a while, you’ve heard me talk about our e-learning program entitled Getting Stuff Done: Project Management for Students. The feedback from the program has been fantastic but here’s what I want you to know. We radically reduced the price to just $49 US. We want to make it available to as many people as possible. If you have a high school or college-age student in your life and want to invest in their ability to lead and deliver, you can do that now for an even better price. Give them a head start to more confidently lead and deliver. Learn more and get a copy for them at PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com/GettingStuffDone. Thanks! Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: The Gigantic Epic Day After Tomorrow by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/413-the-gigantic-epic-day-after-tomorrow License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Fantastic World by WinnieTheMoog Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/7042-fantastic-world License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

"What's A Risk You're Glad You Took?" I asked this question to my LinkedIn network recently, and it led to a long thread of responses. The two most mentioned examples were job changes and moving to a new place to live. Maybe one of those might be your answer as well. An opportunity came up, you said Yes, and it turned out to be a great decision. Yet changes like these are a risk. Even if you don’t like your current job, you might land in a worse situation by leaping into a new role. The uncertainty associated with risk is why many people stay stuck in situations that are sucking the life out of them. Chances are there is a risk you’ve been considering. Whether it’s with risks on your projects at work, with your career, or with something at home, I’m excited to introduce you in this episode to Angie Morgan Witkowski. She’s the author of a new book entitled Bet On You: How to Win with Risk. It's a great read that helps us reframe how we look at risk and give us the courage to move forward when faced with uncertainty. Learn more about Angie and her work at AngieWitkowski/.   Join our Global LEAD52 Community Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? LEAD52 is your 5-minute weekly pass to leadership intelligence. You get 52 weeks of learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Join us at https://GetLEAD52.com. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Romantic Interlude [Full version] by MusicLFiles Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10421-romantic-interlude-full-version License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Whiskey on the Mississippi by Kevin MacLeod Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4624-whiskey-on-the-mississippi License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Say It Right the First Time So much of what we do when leading teams and projects comes down to communication. Whether it’s written or spoken, with a large audience or an informal conversation or email, much of our success comes down to how effectively we understand others and are understood by them. I’m joined in this episode by one of the foremost communication coaches in the world. Bill McGowan is hired by corporate leaders, athletes, and other celebrities to prepare them for media interviews and significant presentations. And he’s the author of a book we’ll discuss in this episode entitled Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every Time. Learn more about Bill and his company at ClarityMediaGroup.com/.   Join our Global LEAD52 Community Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? LEAD52 is your 5-minute weekly pass to leadership intelligence. You get 52 weeks of learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Join us at https://GetLEAD52.com. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: One Small Rover by Alexander Nakarada Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5107-one-small-rover License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Music: Tuesday by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/2992-tuesday/a> License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Focusing On What Really Matters When you don’t have enough time, what’s the first thing that gets cut from your schedule? Now, of course, the answer is “it depends.” But I asked this question recently on LinkedIn and got a flood of responses. The most common category was self-care: exercising, sleeping, even eating. Two other big categories were time with others and time to think. Maybe you can relate to these. Left to my own devices, I sure can. But when you think about it, you would never design your life that way, right? Each of those represents areas that are critical to our success. And I’m not just talking about success with our projects or at work. If we’re not taking care of ourselves, taking time to think and reflect, and investing in others, it impacts nearly every dimension of life. And it can lead us to hitting a birthday and wondering, how did I get here? If that sounds like a depressing start to this episode, I have good news. I’m joined today by the author of one of my favorite new books. Cassie Holmes joins us to discuss her book Happier Hour: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time, and Focus on What Matters Most. What I expected to be just another time management guide turns out to be a book on happiness that I consider a must-read. Learn more about Cassie and her book at CassieMHolmes.com/.   For more episodes related to focusing on what matters most, check out these episodes: Episode 174, with Amy Blankson about her book The Future of Happiness. Episode 136, with Michele Geilen about her book Broadcasting Happiness. Episode 309, with Ashley Whillans about her book Time Smart. These authors are not just writers--they are researchers who make their work accessible and actionable to us all. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Emotionalism by Alexander Nakarada Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/5867-emotionalism License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: Music: Road Trip by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9761-road-trip License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frank.schroeter.52

Stop Drowning At Work Have you ever heard someone say they are drowning at work? Maybe you feel like that even right now as you start this episode. If a sink is broken and water is overflowing, there are at least two options: you can mop faster or you can fix the sink. Using that as a metaphor for work, many of us are trying to mop faster. Today, we’re going to talk about how to fix the sink. I’m excited to introduce you to Nick Sonnenberg, author of a new book, Come Up for Air: How Teams Can Leverage Systems and Tools to Stop Drowning in Work. The single biggest benefit of Nick's book is he doesn’t just talk about the problem. Or provide vague generalities about how to address them. He gets into detailed recommendations with specific tools and loads of case studies and examples to help you and your team come up for air. He’s already helping me and my team and I can’t wait for you to be introduced to his ideas. Learn more about Nick and his company at GetLeverage.com.   Join our Global LEAD52 Community Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? LEAD52 is your 5-minute weekly pass to leadership intelligence. You get 52 weeks of learning, delivered right to your inbox, taking less than 5 minutes a week. And it's all for free. Join us at https://GetLEAD52.com. Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast! Talent Triangle: Power Skills   The following music was used for this episode: Music: Cry by Sascha Ende Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10346-cry License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://www.sascha-ende.de Music: Happy Summertime by Frank Schroeter Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/9096-happy-summertime License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license