"Though many arguments seem to be about matters of substance, they're often just disagreements about the meanings of words." That's from Peter Boghossian, and I'm prepping for an interview with Peter on Friday about his book How to Have Impossible Conversations. In this brief video, I discuss that quote and a couple of ideas around it.
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!
I'm publishing this episode at a time of year when there are often family gatherings, and in today's polarized, politically correct culture, there can easily be anxiety about someone--you know, that person--bringing up a controversial subject and things devolving into an argument.
Whether it's gatherings with friends and family or difficult stakeholders, we need to get better at having productive disagreements. Our guest today, Buster Benson, suggests it's the most important meta-skill to develop. Buster is the author of the new book Why Are We Yelling? The Art of Productive Disagreement. I consider it a must-read book and look forward to sharing this discussion with you.
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!
So what are you a fan of? Hmmm. Maybe a sports team comes to mind. Or a musical artist. For example, I’m going through a Chance the Rapper phase right now—really enjoying his music. I’m a fan.
Maybe it’s a local restaurant or a celebrity or, ahem, a podcast host. Ha!
But when we think of fandom, we often think of someone famous, or a famous brand. But could it be that leaders of projects could get benefit from learning about how fandom works?
That’s the premise of today’s episode. We’re hearing from David Meerman Scott today about his book new Fanocracy. It’s a book that probably wouldn’t have otherwise come up on your radar screen since it would appear it’s directed more towards brand managers and marketers.
But how about this? What if you could turn your stakeholders into fans of what your team is creating? Further, what if your team members were walking billboards for your company and your products? The science around fandom might just be more relevant to you than initially apparent, which is why we’re talking with David today.
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!
Earlier this year we started using a time tracking solution called Hubstaff and, I have to tell you, it’s amazing. They now offer a project management app called Hubstaff Tasks. It utilizes the best parts of Agile to help you and your team get work done in a way that removes the hassle and just makes sense. Hubstaff Tasks utilizes Kanban boards like so many other PM tools out there but they’ve added extra features like automated workflows that let you move projects through the workflow and automatically assign tasks to whoever needs to work on them next, all with one click.
Hubstaff Tasks also has a Sprints feature that allows you to organize all your tasks into a true agile weekly Sprint. Oh, and here’s a new feature they just added where you can set daily Standups to cover the three golden questions in the agile world: “What did you work on today?”, “What will you work on tomorrow?”, “Have you run into any roadblocks?”
Hubstaff Tasks only launched this past June and there are already thousands of organizations already using it. And here’s the cool thing: since they’re still so new, anyone can start using Hubstaff Tasks today completely free, regardless of team size. Head over to hubstafftasks.com/projects to learn more. Thanks!
It's About Leadership
I often say in our project management workshops that they’re really leadership workshops cloaked as project management workshops. I say that because so much of our ability to successfully lead projects doesn’t come down to our ability to define and calculate the critical path. It isn’t just having a project charter. It’s more about how to facilitate and influence stakeholders to get an agreed-upon charter. It’s not about having the perfect risk register format. It’s about fostering a culture that allows risks to be talked about and dealt with.
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!
Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you’d expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks!
OK, We're Not Spies, But...
I don’t know about you, but I like a good spy movie. Start a Jason Bourne movie and I’ll sit and enjoy it all night long.
My guest today is Jason Hanson, a former CIA spy who has written some intriguing books about applying spy skills to those of us who aren’t spies. In this episode, we talk about his most recent book, which is entitled Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business. And though you and I aren’t spies--or at least that’s our story and we’re sticking with it--there are lessons that can be applied by those of us who are responsible for leading teams and projects.
Also, if you know of a group at your organization that has an upcoming large group gathering and uses outside speakers, let them know about the podcast! I'd love to work with them to help improve their ability to lead and deliver. Learn more at https://i-leadonline.com/keynotes. Thanks!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!