People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

Summary

In this episode, Andy talks with John R. Miles, host of the Passion Struck podcast and author of The Mattering Effect: Creating a Life of Meaning and Worth. John is a Naval Academy graduate, former Navy officer, and longtime Fortune 50 executive who built what looked like a very successful life, until his young son asked him, "Dad, how come you never laugh anymore?"

John and Andy explore the difference between belonging and mattering, and how leaders can spot team members who quietly feel interchangeable. You'll hear what the Surfside building collapse teaches us about warning signs...

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In this episode, Andy talks with John Tarnoff, an executive career transition coach, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Mid-Career Lab. After 35 years in Hollywood as an agent, studio executive, and film producer, John found himself starting over at 50 when his tech startup collapsed. He likes to say he's been fired 39% of the time, and he built his second act around helping experienced professionals reinvent their careers.

John and Andy discuss why losing a job is an event rather than a failure, and how to talk about it with honesty and a sense of humor in...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Jia Jiang, bestselling author of Rejection Proof and creator of the 100 Days of Rejection experiment, about his new book, Easy Discipline. Growing up in Beijing, Jia was taught the value of chi ku, or "eating bitterness," the idea that the more pain you can tolerate, the more you can achieve. The problem? He was terrible at it. Over time, he discovered that his best work came when he was having the most fun.

Andy and Jia explore what easy discipline does and doesn't mean, why action goals can work better...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Dr. Kelly Heuer, Vice President of Learning at PMI, where she leads global learning strategy across professional standards, training, certification, and career-long development. Kelly takes us behind the scenes of the updated PMP® exam and explains what changed in project work that made this refresh necessary.

You'll hear why the business environment domain now makes up nearly a quarter of the exam, how new multi-question case scenarios assess judgment instead of memorization, and why broader recognition of associate and vocational degrees matters to her as a first-generation college graduate. Kelly a...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Dr. Maggie Sass and Dr. Ross Blankenship, consulting psychologists and authors of Friction: How Tension, Emotion and Change Reveal Better Leaders. Project managers are trained to remove blockers, and much of the time that's exactly right. But Maggie and Ross draw a distinction that's easy to miss: some friction is simply waste, and some friction is information.

You'll hear how the unwritten rules we learned about emotion early in life still shape how we lead, what starts happening in a room before an irritated leader says a word, and...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Dr. Jeremy Pollack, a social-organizational psychologist and founder of Pollack Peacebuilding Systems, author of Wired for Peace: Using 7 Neuroscience-Based Principles to Resolve Conflicts. Jeremy looks at conflict through the lens of the brain and nervous system, which helps explain why disagreements escalate so quickly and why the fixes we reach for often make things worse.

Andy and Jeremy talk about why de-escalation has to come before problem-solving, since solutions and stress do not mix. Jeremy walks us through his Sapien Model of six basic psychological needs, giving us a...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Johan Roos, professor and executive advisor at Hult International Business School, Executive Director of the Peter Drucker Society Europe, and co-inventor of the LEGO® Serious Play® method. Johan is the author of Human Magic: Leading with Wisdom in an Age of Algorithms, and he has spent decades studying how people think, create, decide, and lead together.

Andy and Johan explore the two paths Johan calls erosion and amplification, starting with a question Andy has been wrestling with as he hands more of his manual driving over to Tesla's self-driving. Yo...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Owen Fitzpatrick, a psychologist, speaker, and author of Inner Propaganda: Leading Hearts and Minds through Turbulent Times. Owen has spent close to 30 years studying how beliefs form and change, interviewing people everywhere from North Korea to Rwanda to Afghanistan. His thesis is unsettling: our brains do not simply take in facts and reach objective conclusions. They build a story we then experience as reality.

Owen and Andy work through what that means on real projects. You'll hear how a warning from a colleague can quietly harden into a conviction...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes Cheryl Strauss Einhorn, founder and CEO of the decision sciences company Decisive and author of The Human Edge: Smarter Decisions in the Age of AI. Cheryl has spent decades helping people make better decisions, and her message here is a simple one: AI can gather, summarize, and compare, but it can't know what matters most unless we do the thinking first.

Andy and Cheryl talk about why "AI first" can quietly turn into AI only, and why a poor answer from AI is actually useful feedback about your own thinking. Cheryl...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Gustavo Razzetti, culture consultant and author of Forward Talk. Gustavo makes a case that surprises a lot of leaders: fear is only part of why people stay quiet at work. The bigger driver is what he calls the pointlessness paradox, the belief that speaking up will not change anything.

Andy and Gustavo talk about conversational debt and how it compounds over time, why silence is so often mistaken for alignment, and the subtle signs that a team is drifting into avoidance, blame, or groupthink. Gustavo unpacks the difference between...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes back his friend Stuart Taylor, a PMO leader and PMI PMO Awards judge, author of Becoming the Project Manager. Most of us didn't grow up dreaming of leading projects. We drifted into the role, and then discovered it's far less about plans and methodologies than it is about people, pressure, and learning to lead while you yourself still feel unsure.

Stuart shares the story behind the book, including the university project where he publicly chastised a teammate and the response from his dad that changed how he understood leadership. He and...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Tom Rath, one of the most respected researchers on wellbeing and human potential, author of What's the Point? Turning Your Purpose Into a Superpower. Tom argues that we can be incredibly busy while slowly drifting away from what matters most, optimizing our schedules while our lives quietly leak away.

Andy and Tom explore why "follow your passion" can be harmful advice, how status seeking becomes career quicksand, and why our smartphones may be one of the greatest threats to purposeful living. They also discuss how many of us inherit...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Attia Qureshi, a coach and negotiation expert who is co-author, with John Richardson, of Never Settle. There's no shortage of great negotiation advice out there, yet in real conversations with real stakes and real emotions, that advice often fails to turn into action. This book tackles that gap between insight and habit.

Attia shares why emotions are not a distraction from negotiation but central to it, why getting clear about what you actually want is harder than it sounds, and how we leave value on the table without realizing...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Fred Marshall, entrepreneur, founder of Quantum Learning, and author of Thrive: The Antidote to Future Shock. Fred introduces his Super Eight, eight interconnected areas of life that shape our ability to adapt, lead, and grow in a world of accelerating change.

Together, they explore why doing all the seemingly right things, the endless life hacks, can still leave you feeling off. Fred makes the case that attention is the single variable that governs almost everything, and that you can ignore almost all of the change coming at you and...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Cornelia Choe, leadership advisor and founder of global CEO peer groups, author of The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently, co-authored with Marshall Goldsmith. Cornelia's core idea is that the "mental maps" we form early in life quietly shape how we lead today, and that our decisions are only as good as the world we're actually able to see.

Andy and Cornelia explore why so many new executives fail within their first 18 months, what she calls a visibility problem rather than an execution problem. They dig into practical...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes back Marcus Buckingham, bestselling author and researcher, to discuss his new book, Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business. For 25 years, Marcus studied the most productive teams, loyal customers, and effective leaders in the world, and the word that kept appearing in his data was one he kept changing: love.

Andy and Marcus explore what love actually means in a business context, including how leaders are really experience makers whether they know it or not. You will hear the remarkable story of Josh D'Amaro, the CEO...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes back Steve Kahle, entrepreneur, executive, and fractional CIO, author of Leadership Recall: Harness Insights. Accelerate Innovation. LEAD WITH AUTHORITY. Steve first joined the podcast in episode 184 to discuss email overload. This time, the conversation turns to a challenge every leader faces: the forgetting curve. Research suggests we forget up to 83% of what we learn within a week, and Steve argues this is not just a learning problem, it's a leadership problem.

Steve shares his CCR framework (Capture, Catalog, and Recall), along with practical tools such as the Anki flashcard app and...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes Dr. John La Puma, a board-certified internal medicine physician, professionally trained chef, regenerative organic farmer, and two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Indoor Epidemic.

Did you know most of us spend about 93% of our lives indoors? Dr. John makes the case, backed by more than 2,200 studies, that where we spend our time may matter just as much as the soft skills and productivity systems we so often focus on. In this conversation, Andy and Dr. John dig into what he calls digital obesity and analog wellness, the science of...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Stephen Shapiro, innovation expert and author of You're Not Playing With a Full Deck: Why the People Who Drive You Crazy Are Your Unfair Advantage. Stephen's journey starts with a costly failure: a $30 million innovation project at Accenture that fell apart, not from a lack of talent, but because everyone on the team thought the same way.

Out of that failure came a framework built around a familiar metaphor: a deck of cards. Stephen introduces four distinct personality styles tied to the four suits and explains why teams missing certain...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes Rebecca Hinds, organizational behavior researcher and author of Your Best Meeting Ever. Rebecca brings a behavioral science lens to one of the most persistent pain points in modern work: meetings that multiply, linger, and drain rather than deliver.

Andy and Rebecca explore the concept of meeting debt, and why reducing meeting volume often matters far more than optimizing agendas. They discuss why meetings have become status symbols and performance art, how a simple social contract makes it nearly impossible to decline an invite, and what meeting minimalism actually means (hint: it's...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Ashley Herd, HR and legal leader turned management coach, and author of The Manager Method. Ashley has led HR and legal teams at organizations like McKinsey and Yum Brands, and she brings a refreshingly real-talk approach to the challenges every manager faces, especially those quiet moments of self-doubt that come with growing responsibility.

In this conversation, you'll hear Ashley's take on why imposter feelings are so common among thoughtful leaders, and how her concept of the "career quilt" reframes even the most uncomfortable professional experiences. She introduces her simple but...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Amy Leneker, leadership coach, joy strategist, and author of Cheers to Monday. Amy's journey began with a burnout so severe that her doctor put her on medical leave. It took 10 words on a medical form to change everything: "What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?" She couldn't answer it. That moment sent her on a mission to help leaders recognize stress earlier and respond to it far more intentionally.

In this conversation, Amy shares the stress stories many leaders carry without ever questioning them, and why those...

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In this episode, Andy sits down with Evan Unger, a consultant and trainer who has spent more than 30 years helping leaders facilitate collaborative decision making across projects, programs, and organizations around the world. Evan's work focuses on helping groups move forward when opinions differ, tension is present, and time is limited. This conversation is packed with immediately actionable ideas.

Andy and Evan dig into why even experienced leaders struggle in high-stakes meetings, and how Evan's POPRA model (Purpose, Objectives, Process, Roles, Agreements) can transform the way you prepare and run them. They talk about how to...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Brett Harned, founder of the Digital PM Community and the Digital PM Summit, and author of Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done. Brett has spent years coaching project leaders and helping organizations rethink what project management really is. His core conviction: the human side of the work is not a nice-to-have. It is the work.

In this conversation, you'll hear how Brett fell into project management and what early experiences shaped his perspective on people and projects. You'll learn the patterns he sees repeated across teams and...

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In this episode, Andy welcomes Jen Fisher, author of Hope Is the Strategy: The Underrated Skill That Transforms Work, Leadership, and Wellbeing. In project management circles, we often hear the phrase "hope is not a strategy." Jen challenges that assumption, arguing that real hope is not wishful thinking at all. Instead, it's a practical cognitive process that can help leaders navigate uncertainty, pressure, and change.

In the discussion, Jen explains how hope requires three elements: clear goals, multiple pathways to reach them, and the agency to believe we can influence outcomes. You'll also hear her personal...

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Welcome to our 500th episode! To celebrate this milestone, Andy talks with Steve Brown, AI futurist, keynote speaker, and author of The AI Ultimatum: Preparing for a World of Intelligent Machines and Radical Transformation. Steve brings a rare perspective shaped by years at Intel and Google DeepMind, and today helps organizations navigate two vital questions: what future do you want to build with AI, and what future do you want to avoid?

They explore why waiting isn't actually the safe option it feels like, how to think about the different "flavors" of AI beyond just generative...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Wharton economist Judd Kessler, author of Lucky by Design: The Hidden Economics You Need to Get More of What You Want. If you have ever looked at someone else's career success and thought, "They just got lucky," this conversation will give you a new lens. Judd introduces the idea of "hidden markets," the informal rules and systems that shape who gets opportunities, access, and scarce resources, even when money is not changing hands.

They explore how leaders can evaluate allocation rules using Judd's three Es (equitable, efficient, and easy), why...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Joe Ferraro, host of the One Percent Better podcast and a coach who helps leaders have stronger conversations when the stakes are high. If you lead projects, you know how quickly a meeting, a status update, or a feedback moment can either build trust or quietly drain it.

Joe shares small, practical moves that make conversations more memorable and more useful. You will hear why being "good at talking" is not the same as being good at conversation, and how preparation can be a generous act toward the other person...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Richard Carson, author of The Book of Change. If you feel like you barely finish one change before the next one hits, this conversation is for you. Richard shares his deeply researched and battle-tested framework called People Sustained Organizational Change Management, or PSOCM. Unlike many change management books, this is not about certifications or slogans. It is about building a repeatable system to diagnose problems, distinguish adaptive from transformational change, and gain executive traction when support is not automatic.

You will hear why so many change efforts fail before they...

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In this In the Trenches episode, Andy talks with Norman Patnode, Principal at ProChain Solutions, about what it really takes to deliver projects faster and more predictably. With a background in aerospace engineering, the Air Force, and decades of consulting, Norman brings a systems-level perspective to project delivery that goes far beyond managing task lists.

They explore the difference between task management and project management, why critical chain thinking shifts the conversation from dates to priorities, and how changing a few key rules can dramatically improve delivery performance. Norman shares why "prioritize, focus, and finish" is...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Steve Jaffe, author of The Layoff Journey: From Dismissal to Discovery. Steve has been laid off four times over the course of his career, and those experiences shaped a thoughtful, practical framework for navigating the emotional and professional aftermath of job loss.

Andy and Steve explore why layoffs feel so personal even when we are told they are not, how identity often gets tangled up with job titles, and why the emotional response to a layoff closely mirrors the stages of grief. Steve explains why those stages are not linear...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Dr. Andrew Wittman, former Marine, police officer, federal agent, and leadership coach, about his new book Inner Armor: Perpetual Resilience. If you lead projects and teams, you already know pressure is coming. The real question is what you do when it arrives.

Andrew explains why the brain can work against you under stress, and how the questions you ask yourself shape the options you can see. You'll learn the Two Minute Rule and how it can help you shift from "we can't" thinking into problem-solving mode. Andy and Andrew also...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Olivia Montgomery, Associate Principal Analyst at Capterra and a PMP. They discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping project management tools, skills, and expectations. Olivia brings a rare perspective, combining hands-on experience leading a PMO with years of research into how organizations evaluate, adopt, and struggle with project management software.

Olivia and Andy explore why buying AI-powered tools is often easy, but realizing real value from them is much harder. Olivia explains the shift from buying software based on seat count to buying based on capability, why security is both the...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Peter Cappelli and Ranya Nehmeh, co-authors of In Praise of the Office: The Limits to Hybrid and Remote Work. In a world still grappling with virtual work, Peter and Ranya challenge us to take a fresh look at the workplace. Not just where we do work, but how that space shapes learning, culture, visibility, and performance.

In this conversation, you'll hear what gets lost when teams are always virtual, why hybrid work often underdelivers, and how proximity plays a surprising role in mentoring, innovation, and even career progression. Peter and...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Lynn Smith, former NBC News, MSNBC, and CNN Headline News anchor, executive communication coach, and author of Just Keep Going. Lynn is best known for helping Fortune 500 leaders turn pressure into presence, but her newest book takes an unexpected form: a children's story about fear, resilience, and perseverance.

That surprising choice is exactly what makes this conversation so relevant for leaders. Andy and Lynn explore why the same fears that stop CEOs are often the ones that show up in kids, how our inner critic or "Brain Bully" shapes behavior...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Barry Wolfe, author of It's All In Your Head: Why Psychology Doesn't Help Your Workforce Deliver Value - And What Can. Barry is a seasoned HR executive and business leader who has built a reputation as one of the rare "HR guys who actually has a head for business." In this frank and eye-opening conversation, Barry challenges many of the tools and ideas we've come to rely on in leadership and management.

Andy and Barry discuss why frameworks like Maslow's hierarchy may be doing more harm than good, how personality...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Martin Dubin, psychologist, former CEO, executive coach, and author of Blindspotting: How to See What's Holding You Back as a Leader. Marty brings a rare combination of clinical insight and real-world leadership experience to a topic that affects every project manager and frontline leader: the blindspots that quietly shape our behavior, decisions, and impact.

Together, the discussion explores how motives often drive our actions without us realizing it, why strengths can become liabilities when overused, and how emotion acts as one of the most powerful and least discussed forces in...

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In this episode, Andy talks with Joel Hilchey, speaker, facilitator, and author of The 6½ Habits of Highly Defective Bosses. Joel brings humor, honesty, and a refreshing amount of grace to a topic many leaders quietly struggle with: becoming a boss without training, preparation, or a clear roadmap.

Andy and Joel explore what it really means to be an "accidental boss" and why most bad bosses are not bad people. They unpack the four quadrants every leader must balance: tasks vs. people and short-term vs. long-term, and why focusing only on tasks can quietly erode trust and e...

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In this episode, Andy talks with comedian and corporate emcee Adam Christing, author of The Laughter Factor: The 5 Humor Tactics to Link, Lift, and Lead. If you have ever hesitated to use humor at work because you were unsure it would land, or worried it might backfire, this conversation offers both encouragement and a practical path forward.

Adam shares how his early influences shaped his approach to humor and why he believes every human is also a "humor being." You will hear why humor is more than chasing chuckles, including how it can build trust, improve...