Great Practices: Recent Episodes
Chris Kopp
It’s hard to say when something is a “Best Practice”. It’s much easier to know when something is a “Great Practice” and that’s what this Podcast is all about. Interviews with PMO and Project Management Leaders, who, through years of trial and error, have discovered their own Great Practices and are now sharing their insights with you!
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Jen Gordon, a User Design and User Journey expert about how to get the necessary approvals on your projects to keep things moving forward. Find out the challenges that come with receiving approvals in highly regulated industries and how understanding people, process, and technology will make the experience easier for everybody.
Plus, you’ll find out why there’s no shortcuts to building good ol’ relationships, and why writing a ransom note every now and then may be a good thing.
Want to get in touch with Jen Gordon?
- Connect with Jen on LinkedIn
- Email Jen
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Jerad Martin, Owner of PDC Homebuyers. Find out how this business owner / construction project manager is able to balance resources with project workload, has learned the importance of saying no, and one great practice on how he vets out people that work for him. Plus, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that there is such a thing as a free lunch if you work for Jerad, and find out how viewing yourself as an orchestra conductor will keep everyone on the same sheet of music.
Want to get in touch with Jerad Martin?
- Connect with Jerad on LinkedIn
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Visit PDC Home Buyer website
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Email Jerad Martin
In this episode of great practices. I'm talking with Dan Huber, an experienced practice manager with a history of working in the software industry for decades. Listen in as Dan talks about his recent passion, artificial intelligence. You'll get a better understanding of what AI is that you've probably been using it longer than you think. The pros and cons of AI and what you can do now as a project manager to use this new and exciting tool.
Plus, we'll discuss the age-old question is technology going to take my project management job and why AI has a bit further to go before it starts knocking on your office door.
Want to get in touch with Dan Huber?
Connect with Dan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-huber-3217a01/
Email Dan: dhuber_ss@hotmail.com
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Anna Morgan, recruiter by day and job search strategist by night. Listen in to this episode to get a recruiters view of the PMO and Project Management job prospects, what you can do to find a new position e (hint, it starts way before putting your resume together), what you should never do when looking for a job, and how to make the most of phone and virtual interviews.
You’ll also learn the relationship between your LinkedIn profile and your resume and that it’s got to be more than just copy / paste. Plus, find out how Anna came up with #careerbff tag and learn how she became a rescuer of both dogs and careers!
Want to get in touch with Anna?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annamorgan-rp-recruiter-careerbff/
Website: https://www.annamorgancareerbff.com/
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Eric Jones, owner of Coffee Cup Coaching, a coaching firm that helps people to pursue their passions, live their potential, and stop struggling in life and careers. Listen in to find out the difference between a coach and a mentor and signs that you may need a coach. Plus, you’ll learn the best way to find a coach as well as the positive qualities you’ll want to make sure they have as well as the negative qualities you’ll want to make sure to avoid.
Want to get in touch with Eric?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericryanjones/
Website: https://coffeecupcoach.co/
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Mark Burnett, owner of ECONO-Project EX, a firm that helps deliver complex projects with confidence. Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, listen is as this son of the Caribbean talks about the challenges of delivering projects across 19 countries! We discuss why all projects should be given the proper respect, how standardization is the key to successful project delivery, and how Mark gets up to speed in new situations quickly.
Plus, you’ll find out which islands are the easiest and which ones are most challenging when it comes to project delivery.
Want to get in touch with Mark?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrkburnett/
Website: https://econo-projectex.business.site/
Email: mrkburnett@gmail.com
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Amanda Sutt, CEO and Creative Director of the Branding and Marketing Firm called Rock Paper Scissors. Listen in as we discuss how to manage projects and creative people when things aren’t always black and white, learn her secret to increasing the capacity of her team by up to 50%, and how putting just the right frameworks in place unleash her team’s creativity. Plus, discover what a secret staircase in the back of her house has to do with their company name and why the name of her team on Trivia Night is “I’ll Know It When I See It”!
Want to get in touch with Amanda?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-sutt-9b0b646/
In this episode of Great Practices, I’m talking with Janet Thomas, VP of Human Resources at Mueller Water Products about what makes for a great Employee Experience. Listen in as we discuss the effect rampant turnover has on managers and teams, understanding regrettable vs. non-regrettable turnover, and some questions to ask during a “Stay Interview” to make sure you are retaining top talent.
Plus, find out how to use the Skill or Will test to troubleshoot issues with employees who may have previously been top performers.
Want to get in touch with Janet?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-thomas-6ab8948/
In this episode of Great Practices, listen in as Troy Felder, Regional Senior HR Business Partner for McKesson, provides a great definition of Talent Development, discusses the 3 Es of how people grow, explains how to keep your PMO team aligned on the Talent Development journey, and a couple of Talent Development traps and pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. Plus, find out if you deserve to be in the “frequent traveler” line when it comes to your PMO career!
Want to get in touch with Troy?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-felder-mba-sphr-shrm-scp/
In this episode of Great Practices, listen in as well-versed IT Leader Rob Milstead talks about how much time you should spend preparing for meetings with Executives, a framework that will make every meeting effective, as well as how a small shift in attitude will move your PMO from a group of task administrators to a group of value deliverers.
Plus, see how close Rob gets to an interpretive dance before we realized it was an audio podcast!
Want to get in touch with Rob?
LinkedInLhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-milstead-4391b5/
In this episdoe of Great Practices, find out what the typical day of a salesperson looks like, the best time for a project manager to get involved in a project, what project managers do that help (or hurt) a deal, and discover the secret to creating a great working relationship with customers and salespeople alike.
Plus, listen in as our guest Sal DeMarco attempts to hijack the podcast and make it his own!
Want to get in touch with Sal?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdemarco/
In this episode of Great Practices, we’ll be talking with Larry Mohl, Founder and Chief Transformation Officer of Rali, a company that helps shift mindsets and behaviors around initiatives that matter. Since your PMO manages initiatives that matter, tune in to find out the 4 Change Ability factors that should be included in your projects, how to transition Change Management from an individual sport to a team sport, as well as learn a very succinct definition of what a PMO does. Plus, you’ll find out what you can do to avoid the valley of despair and stay away from the dreaded “spray and pray” approach of change management.
Want to get in touch with Larry?
Phone: (404) 717 -7040
Email: larry_mohl@getrali.com
Website: www.getrali.com
LinkedIn YouTube
In this episode of Great Practices, we’ll learn about some of the Worst Practices people have done over the years when it comes to managing their email. Warning: You may be guilty of one or two yourself! We’ll uncover the four fundamentals of good email management including;
- Having an Easy to Understand Filing System
- Utilizing a Good Process
- Using Tasks (and not Your Inbox) to Manage your Day
- Understanding the Email Tools You’ve Been Given
Plus, we’ll learn what Parades, Big Bird, and Sesame Street have to do with getting control of your email!
Want to get in touch with Debbie?
Phone: (678) 493-8913
Email: dkirtland@upskillandwin.com
Website: www.upskillandwin.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-kirtland-667895/
Is your PMO stuck in the 90s? It may be if all you do is provide Templates and Processes and focus exclusively on IT projects. In this episode of Great Practices, Paul Williams will be discussing the Next Generation PMO that gets you a seat at the adult table. You will learn how to set up a Strategic Planning Team that works on projects beyond IT, what to include (and not include) on the Monthly Agenda, what KPIs really matter, and the best time to assign a Project Manager to a new project.
So, slide over Grandma…the Next Generation PMO is grabbing that seat right next to you!
In this episode of Great Practices, we’ll learn about a 4-step process to determine the services your PMO will offer, talk about the different types of PMOs, how to map people to the various roles needed to make a PMO successful, as well as get the word out that your PMO is open for business. Plus, we’ll find out a way to extend the shelf-life of a PMO so it doesn’t begin to stink after 2-3 years!
Virtual Meetings are here to stay, and that’s not a bad thing if they’re done in the right way. Henry Liebling, owner of lessdriving.org and author of the book “Skills Training for Online Virtual Meetings: How to Achieve Virtual Meeting Effectiveness” discusses what you can do before, during, and after your virtual meetings, the roles needed to make a meeting successful, and a process for converting real world meetings into digital sessions. Hint: You can convert just about everything except for the coffee and donuts.
Are employee’s weaknesses the best place to spend your time as a project manager? Ruth Pearce doesn’t think so. Listen in as Ruth Pearce, owner of Alle, LLC and author of the book “Be a Project Motivator: Unlock the Secrets of Strengths Based Project Management” discusses why it’s better to build on strengths rather than focus on weaknesses, what can be done to shore up any weaknesses that may crop up, and how to transform your PMO from an ‘obstacle to everything” to a “solution for everything”.
Does everyone come to you with every-single-little-question about your projects? Find out what you may be doing to encourage this bad habit as Bryan Garner, Director of Content Strategy with White Deer Group, discusses how the PMO is a content practice. You’ll learn the challenges associated with PMO content, the Rule of Thirds when it comes to managing Content deliverables, and ways you can combat accuracy erosion.
Where do you begin when it comes to starting a PMO? Well, you can start with this episode! Listen in as Mike Frenette, head of the IT PMO at a water utility based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, discusses how they created their PMO from ground up. You’ll learn some great practices including understanding the culture of your company, tools to use, the portfolio selection process, communicating with executives, and resource management.
The debate is as old as “Microsoft or Apple” and “Coke or Pepsi”. What’s better? Reports or Dashboards? Listen in as Joe Sisto, PMO Director of Randstad North America extols the virtues of one and questions the value of the other.
Learn some great practices around how to control report proliferation, what must be on a Dashboard, and how to kill off reports (kind of gives away the answer to the Reports or Dashboards question, doesn’t it?) Joseph Sisto is a PMO Director at Randstad USA. He is currently responsible for governance, reporting, and agile transformation efforts for Randstad Global. Joseph has had a long background in managing IT projects and PMO organizations- previously with Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG). He is a frequent speaker at the Project Management Institute in Atlanta (PMI), and has published numerous papers on the topic of IT Management and Project Governance.
You can learn more about Joe or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-sisto-pmp/