The Project Management Podcast

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Episode 545: AI Speeds Up Risk, How Leaders Respond (Premium Preview)

Premium This is a preview of our premium episode. Full access is available only to premium subscribers. Click here and learn about the Premium Podcast to access this interview and transcript... Play audio-only preview episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Episode Summary AI is changing how projects operate, but speed and automation also introduce new risks that are easier to miss and harder to challenge. This conversation examines how artificial intelligence accelerates existing project warning signs and creates confidence without evidence. Cornelius Fichtner welcomes Matthew Oleniuk, author of The Seven Red Flags of Failing Projects, to revisit four critical red flags through an AI lens. Together, they discuss how AI-driven reporting, task automation, and decision support can intensify output-focused thinking, hide weak outcomes, and create polished narratives that mask real project health. The discussion emphasizes that AI does not introduce entirely new problems but magnifies behaviors that already exist in project environments, especially overconfidence, automation bias, and reduced human challenge.

Episode 544: The Four Pillars of Project Success

Play audio-only episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Click above to play either the audio-only episode or video episode in a new window. Episode Summary Projects rarely fall apart because of tools or templates. They struggle because leaders lack clarity, adaptability, awareness, and strong communication habits. Author and coach Scott Barnard joins Cornelius Fichtner to share a practical leadership framework built on four pillars that help project managers guide their teams through turbulence. Drawing from more than three decades of recovering troubled initiatives, Scott explains how these pillars help teams anticipate disruption, reduce stress, and keep moving toward meaningful outcomes. His experience spans major global programs, complex software projects, and large organizational transformations, all of which reveal a consistent pattern: when leaders strengthen these four pillars, chaos loses its grip and teams deliver more confidently.

Episode 543: Catch Project Trouble Early and Protect Your Delivery

Play audio-only episode | Play video episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Click above to play either the audio-only episode or video episode in a new window. Episode Summary Subtle problems often start long before a project shows obvious signs of distress. Leaders feel the pressure to deliver momentum, teams shift toward activity over outcomes, and stakeholders slowly fade as competing priorities pull them away. In this conversation, Matthew Oleniuk brings his experience from overseeing large public sector projects and highlights seven early indicators that signal when a project is heading toward trouble. He explains why these issues are easy to ignore, how they quietly compound over time, and why strong leadership vigilance matters more than any dashboard color. He also describes how patterns like output beating outcome, performance theater, and risk box ticking show up in real projects and why they are so harmful when left unchallenged.

Episode 542: Inside PMBOK Guide 8: What Project Managers Must Know

Play audio-only episode | Play video episode | Play on YouTube | Play on Spotify Click above to play either the audio-only episode or video episode in a new window. Episode Summary The eighth edition of the PMBOK Guide has dropped and it represents another significant evolutions in PMI’s standards. This conversation takes listeners directly inside its development. Jesse Fewell, who chaired the PMBOK Guide 8 effort, offers a detailed look at how tens of thousands of data points, practitioner feedback, and extensive review cycles shaped the newest edition. He explains how the standard brings greater clarity, a more intuitive structure, and practical guidance that aligns with the way projects actually unfold rather than how we might idealize them on paper. This episode also highlights major updates, including a fully revised definition of a project and a modernized view of project success that emphasizes value, perception, and consensus across stakeholders, even when budgets or schedules are challenged.