Top-Down or Bottom-Up thinking, designing, and planning? Yes. In this episode the guys chat about the importance of both Top-Down and Bottom-Up thinking in project management. If you’re not already consciously thinking about this concept, you definitely should be. In addition there is some current event chat and talk about hemorrhoids.
Everything is a Problem in the latest episode of the Project Pundits Pod. The guys talk about current events (well… current at the time of recording!) and then get into the importance of problem solving, first principles thinking, critical thinking, awareness and more. They also talk about Presidential politics, demo food at Costco, talking in and bringing toddlers to movies, Jack Black, the actor, flat Earth, moon landing, 9/11, Hawk Tuah, Ozempic, Bill Belichick, Connecticut drivers, and more!
And the guys are back tackling Canadian Pre-crime Laws, Free Speech, Compelled Speech, Hate Speech, Braden’s Cranial Scan, and of course the topic of Healthcare and the role of Insurers (and employers) in how the whole darn thing works. You’ll also get talk on Ozempic, South Park, Star Trek Tricorders, Childhood Bullying, Obamacare, MLR, Government Run Healthcare, Bernie Sanders, Single Payer, even more AI talk, Pharmacy Rebate Programs. Religion, Politics, Nationalism – what more could you want in one episode??
In this episode the guys cover some critical current events regarding the FTC’s push to ban Non-Compete Agreements and Congress passing a bill, that President Biden signed into law, that bans TikTok. The rest of the episode is all about consulting. There is a high level discussion of what consulting is (and is not), how organizations leverage consultants, and some other topics that set the stage for future deeper dive discussions (with more Braden eye rolls!)
Artificial Intelligence. AI. Large Language Models. LLMs. Transformers. Virtual Boyfriends. Virtual Girlfriends. Self-driving cars. Automated machines of war. Jim Carrey, Matthew McConaughey, and Ryan Reynolds. Where’s my thumb? This episode is chock full of greatness. Don’t believe it? Just listen! The guys cover AI in a little more depth superficially. That’s right. Don’t understand that statement? Blame AI…
Meetings. Everyone has stories but not everyone has stories about exploding birds and exploding pockets of pus… In this episode Braden and Jim recount some of the weird and funny things that have happened in meetings. And these stories are just the tip of the iceberg…
In the first episode of the second season of the extremely engaging, highly recommended, overwhelmingly entertaining, very close to award-winning Project Pundits Unplugged Pod Braden and Jim talk about jobs. Yes, jobs. Jim talks about a recent experience posting 1 Job and getting over 1,000 applicants in just 6 days… And how weird the job market is as compared to the health of the overall economy.
The guys cover refreshers on applying for jobs on LinkedIn, resume dos and don’ts, and why, unfortunately, even if you get it all right it may not matter. They get into what you really need to do to find and land your next position.
In the Season 1 Finale of the Project Pundits Unplugged Pod the guys put on their detective gear and investigate The League of Lamentable Stakeholders. That’s right, Braden and Jim discuss how to mitigate the disruptive superpowers of 4 key lamentable stakeholders that all project managers (and really anyone who works in corporate America) face in their daily duties. They discuss The Naysayer, The Whatabouter, The Punching Bag, and of course The MBA.
Watch for the visuals (and amazing AI generated graphics and audio), listen for in-depth knowledge (and humor), and send donations in case they get cancelled…
It’s all riding on this episode, the team is banking on your support going into Season 2 of the PPU Pod to battle another set of party pooping serially sucky stakeholders – will you put on your fedoras, join the battle, and forward this episode to your all your colleagues, friends, frenemies, and family? Or will you enable the Lamentables to continue to wreak havoc? The choice is yours…
In this episode the guys cover a range of topics and put some predictions on the record. Politics, economics, war, Artificial Intelligence (AI), healthcare, nukes, and weight loss are all on the table! We didn’t cover all ‘third rail’ issues though, you’ll find no discussion of religion for instance! After you watch/listen let us know if you’re in agreement with the prognostications or if you think we’re way off.
AND apologies on Jim’s audio in this episode, it’s subpar and there wasn’t much more that could be done without re-recording. We won’t point fingers as to who was at fault, but we can say it wasn’t Jim…
Braden and Jim talk about the stark reality that every project manager comes to understand at some point in their career – that you really have zero direct control over the people and activities that you must orchestrate in order to successfully deliver your projects. Hence the title “Steering Without the Wheel”. The guys talk about various techniques Project Managers can use to bend people to their will. There are references to carrots and sticks, the mob and The Godfather movie, how to improve your personal relationships, PMs as therapists, Power, Influence, book recommendations and much more…