Time Limit

“Diversity without inclusion is exclusion. So to ignore and to believe that there is no culture is excluding the opportunity to bring someone into a new culture or a living, breathing culture.” As a project manager, you’re in a unique position to shape company culture. So how can you use that influence to build a diverse and inclusive workplace? It starts with the way you show up for and lead your team. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett talks with Yvette Pegues—a DE&I executive and keynote speaker and the cofounder and CEO of Your Invisible Disability Group—about how to create an organizational culture that’s intentional about diversity and inclusion.  Listen to their conversation to learn: What role project managers play in defining company culture How to foster a sense of belonging on your team and why it’s important Actionable ideas for breaking down barriers to inclusion in your organization How remote work affects workplace culture and inclusion Tactical tips for creating an inclusive team culture,

“Be more of the coach and less of the time-tracker.” Creative project management isn’t always easy—especially if there’s friction between project managers and design teams. So how do you give creativity room to thrive while ensuring design projects deliver on time and budget? In this episode of Time Limit, Brett talks with Greg Storey about how project managers and designers can leverage their unique skills to build strong partnerships with each other. Prior to his role as COO at LexBlog, Greg worked in design leadership at IBM and InVision and ran his own design agency.  Whether you’re a project manager leading a design team or a designer managing creative projects on your own, listen to their conversation to learn: How the design role fits into the creative project management process PM skills that can help designers manage their projects better Why communication is such a critical part of creative project management How to work together to ensure design reviews go smoothly Tactics you can use to build b

“I want every one of our PMs, and our directors actually, to have the ability to jump on something—to give that extra 20% that’s needed for a given week without having to let other balls fall.” Agency operations is all about the numbers and processes that drive success. But it’s hard to run a profitable business if your team’s overworked or your clients are unhappy. That’s where project management comes in. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett talks with Sparkbox VP Rob Harr—who heads up operations—about what it takes to make a digital agency profitable and how operations and project management work together to deliver project success. Listen to their conversation to learn: What agency operations is and how it shapes organizational culture How to boost profitability and efficiency without losing sight of people Simple math you can use to manage common staffing challenges One huge way project managers help operations run more smoothly How to know if operations is the right next step in your project managem

“I didn’t go to business school. I didn’t have a mentor guiding me. I had to kind of fall on my face a little bit. EOS introduced me to a simpler way to run a business.” Starting your own business is a big step for any entrepreneur. But how do you know you’re ready to grow beyond a one-person operation and lead an actual team? In this episode of Time Limit, Brett talks with Chris Dreyer, CEO of Rankings.io, about how he started a successful SEO agency and why the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) has been an important tool in his leadership belt.  Listen to this episode to discover: When it’s time to hire your first employee Strategies for structuring your team and business for growth How to build employee trust and be an effective leader The key mindset most successful CEOs have in common The benefits of EOS, with tips on how to implement it in your company One time-saving trick you can use to prioritize work and find focus See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“I invite my team to listen in—to be part of those reactions when people look at our games—because it’s so important to have a shared understanding.” When most folks think about project management, game design probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. But every video game that’s developed needs a project manager at the helm to ensure the final experience is both functional and fun.  In this episode of Time Limit, Brett chats with Tim Leinert of Mindforce Game Lab about his journey from traditional project manager to managing video game projects for a digital healthcare startup. Listen to their conversation to hear: Questions to consider when developing a video game project charter How to manage a game development team and still make time for strategic planning Simple tips for keeping communication and culture alive on your project team Where video game projects tend to get off track from the plan How to determine when a game design project is done Advice to become a video game project manager See

“There’s a very big difference between being busy—getting little meaningless things done—versus making real progress toward your goals.” How do you motivate your team and increase productivity?  It starts with stepping back from the to-do list and looking at what you want to accomplish as an organization, as a team, and—yes—even as individuals with lives outside the office.  In this episode of Time Limit, Brett and TeamGantt cofounder Nathan Gilmore talk about how to take a big-picture approach to productivity so you and your team can thrive in every aspect of life. Listen to their conversation to learn: Simple strategies to increase productivity for yourself and you team Why having a plan is an easy way to improve team productivity The connection between goal-setting and team performance How moving to a 4-day workweek impacted productivity at TeamGantt How to recognize and handle productivity issues on your team One thing that may be getting in the way of your team’s productivity See omnystudio.com/liste

“Empathy as a verb is a choice—and how you choose to engage in empathy is going to change from person to person based on each individual’s desires and needs." Empathy isn’t just critical to good communication. It’s the heart of effective leadership. Yet empathy often gets pushed aside in the attempt to project a “perfect” professional image.  With many people working from home in a year that’s been anything but normal, it’s time to break down the walls. No matter where you work or what kind of projects you manage, being empathetic can help you build deeper trust and connection with customers and coworkers alike.  Thankfully, empathy is a skill anyone can develop and improve. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett talks to empathy consultant Sharon Steed—CEO and founder of Communilogue—about empathy and communication in project management. Listen to their conversation to learn: What empathy is and why it’s important in the workplace Why practicing empathy at work leads to a more inclusive culture How to devel

“We tend to think we can do things a lot faster than we really can. We also tend to think that the risks won't really be as bad and that the benefits will be really good." Anyone who has ever estimated a project, or even a single task, knows that it’s tough work. Not only are you making guesses about time spent or pricing, you’re probably also making guesses about the scope of the project itself. One question uncovers another question, and a detail you needed to know. But are you on the right path to get what you need to create a truly realistic estimate?  You might think you are, but the answer is probably no! Check out this episode of Time Limit, where Brett talks to Jacob Bodnar—the VP of Operations at Maestro—about biases in estimating, as well as in project management itself. They also discuss: The science of bias Project management bias The planning fallacy Optimism bias How to use your team as a check and balance when it comes to bias How to get to a place of understanding and deal with issues head o

“In order to be a remote project manager, you really have to boost your project management skills.” Whether you’ve been managing projects remotely for a long time, or you were flung into it when Covid-19 forced you into it, you know that keeping details, tasks, people, and projects on track from afar can be a challenge. There are, of course, some tactics you can employ to make the job easier, but what it comes down to is that remote project management requires you to lean on your PM skills and intuition. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett welcomes Ben Aston from thedigitalprojectmanager.com to talk about remote project management. It’s a wide-ranging conversation that covers: The basic requirements of remote project management How to manage remote meetings How to run retrospectives or post mortem meetings remotely How to connect with your team remotely How to show your value as a PM from afar See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“An important PM skill is to be able to facilitate conversations around business value in order to strategize and look at outcomes.” Goals. We all have them. Or at least we should. In the world of project management, goals manifest in different ways. As project managers we are often mired in goals of all types: organizations, project, and even personal goals that help to guide us.  But how are we setting and managing goals to get the most out of every aspect of our work?  In this episode of Time Limit, Brett sits down with agile consultant Anita Sagar to discuss project goals and professional goals. The conversation focuses on the project management mindset around goals, and how to shift project metrics from outputs to outcomes, and how to tie those outcomes to your overall success and career trajectory. This information-filled conversation covers: How organizations set, document, and communicate project goals  The value of revisiting goals mid-project How to focus on goals vs. outputs Focusing on quality

“Project managers are probably one of the most key influencers for strategy. And they can either make or break any project”. Strategic decision making is a part of almost any job, but it’s all-encompassing when it comes to project management. PMs are not only faced with making strategic decisions to deliver a project successfully, they are also well-positioned to help stakeholders make decisions that will impact their projects. One set of decisions plays into the other, and PMs hope they all work together. It’s widely known and mostly accepted that there’s a general lack of control in the PM role, but an area that any project manager can control is in charting and managing a project strategy that will guide projects through change, issues, and even progress. And that’s where stress comes in! In this episode of Time Limit, Brett sits down with Yoon Chung from Veritas to discuss the project manager’s role in decision making, and doing so in stressful situations. The conversation covers: How project managemen

“It's a moment to understand who's on board, who's not on board right away instead of getting halfway through a project and a stakeholder pops up and I is like, ‘Wait a second, this wasn't what I was thinking.’” Project kickoff meetings provide an opportunity for teams to understand goals, set expectations, discuss strategy, and get excited about a new project.  The thing is, there’s no single way of running a project kickoff. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett sits down with Kayla Keizer, project manager at Montreal-based digital design agency Plank. Kayla shares her unique experience and approach to creative kickoff meetings. Topics discussed include: What is a kickoff meeting? The purpose of a kickoff meeting How to plan a kickoff meeting Kick off meeting agendas

“I love the very quick and fast pace of an agency and my projects.”  Project management roles are pretty similar across industries, in that PMs are mostly responsible for facilitating projects and teams to a successful delivery while keeping a keen eye budgets and deadlines. That’s certainly the case for agency project management, but for some reason it’s just a little more different. Is it the fast pace? The clients? The huge network you have in a global agency? The creative culture? Or maybe the way a PM is viewed and utilized in an agency?  In this episode of Time Limit, we talk to Donna Sargeant, who is a program manager at Wunderman Thompson, a global creative agency that helps its clients meet their business goals through the strategy and execution of digital and print projects. In the interview, Donna provides a glimpse into agency life as a project manager, and we touch on: What does a project manager do at a marketing agency? How to get into agency project management Project management roles and te

“You need an innovation process so that once the individual has really vetted their idea and believes there's a market for it...you need to be able to transfer that to the organization at large, where they can execute on it.” “Innovation” is an exciting idea for many, but often a tad scary for project managers who are tasked with keeping project on time and under budget. But innovation doesn’t have to break all of your project plans if you have a well-structured innovation process and solid governance in your organization. In this episode of Time Limit, Brett sat down with John Carter, who invented Bose’s Noise Cancelling Headphones, helped design Apple’s New Product Process, and authored Innovate Products Faster. His take on how organizations, teams, and individuals can go from creative spark to an executable idea—without wrecking well-laid project plans—is not only insightful, but it’s comforting. There’s real proof here that making lofty ideas a reality doesn’t have to be confusing or even lengthy.  Thr

”Everyone has a stake in change, everyone has a role in change, and everyone should be bought into the change. “ Change is hard, there is no doubt about it. But it’s even more difficult when it’s led poorly and the people who are deemed responsible for that change were never brought into it properly in the first place. That’s why solid leadership and guiding a team through change is important.  In this episode of Time Limit, decorated corporate pioneer and global authority on change Al Comeaux shares his thoughts and experiences working through change in organizations like Travelocity, GE, and American Airlines. He also covers some themes and lessons from his new book Change (the) Management: Why We as Leaders Must Change for the Change to Last. The interview with Al covers a lot of ground, including: What is change management The failure rate of change management Why leaders need to be an active part of change initiatives How an organization’s leaders can lead change How to plan and manage change Stories a

“[Measuring productivity] is way more qualitative than quantitative in the age of knowledge workers.” Productivity means something different to all of us. It’s dependent on the work we’re doing, the frame of mind we’re in, where we are, and so many other factors. This personal element to productivity is the first thing we dive into with productivity consultant Theresa Ward. Theresa speaks from her own experience, her well-read knowledge base on the topic, and her work at her consultancy, The Fiery Feather, where she helps clients with process, productivity and team culture. The interview happened to align with World Productivity Day 2020 (which falls during the global coronavirus pandemic this year). Parts of the discussion are timely—like how we’re staying productive during current global events—but the overarching advice is evergreen, and touches on the following topics: Finding when you are most productive What is deep work? How can you approach deep work to be more productive? Tips to cut distractions a

"Human beings are conversational animals and we live our lives one conversation at a time." Conversations matter. Whether you’re pressed to make an important business decisions, feel the need to educate someone on a topic, or even just want to commiserate, the way you approach and frame your words--spoken or written--will impact the outcome of the conversation. On this episode of Time Limit, our guest Daniel Still man digs in on how to design conversations to achieve the best outcomes possible. As a conversation designer and consultant, Daniel works with clients and organizations of all shapes and sizes to help them frame and sustain productive and collaborative conversations to deepen their facilitation skills. Th basis for the interview is Daniel’s new book, Good Talk: How to Design Conversations that Matter. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, including: What is conversation design? How do you architect a conversation? Finding the language to frame a conversation How to make someone feel hear

“When we look to do our jobs (as project managers), there's no single lighthouse saying, ‘Everybody this way.’ And what you come across is conflict in ideas, and conflicts in ambition, and conflicts in groups that ultimately go to war.” Does project management ever feel confusing or annoying to you? Whether you’re a project manager or not, your answer is probably YES for a number of reasons.  In their new book, award-winning project professional Susie Palmer-Trew and best-selling author Peter Taylor (The Lazy Project Manager) cut through all the cruft and get to the core of what project management is really about. Project Management: It’s All Bollocks! is a quick, irreverent read that’s full of to-the-point guidance on everything from aligning yourself to your role and managing stakeholders to handling change and so much more.  In this episode of Time Limit, Peter and Susie discuss their new book and dig in on: How to embrace the role of project manager Why project management can be “confusing and annoying

“I had really wanted a volunteering opportunity for a while. I knew that I had skills I could give to a charity, I just needed to find the right one.”” Have you ever thought about using your project management powers for good causes. Well, maybe you are in your day-to-day job, but there’s always an opportunity to help a group or charity who are looking for help. Project management skills are needed in every corner of life, so bringing those skills to the table to an organization who needs help can not only help to level-up that organization, but make you feel like you’re making an impact with your own personal expertise. In this episode, we talk to Sophie Brydon, a member of the digital project management community, about how she’s offering her PM super powers to help a new charity in her region, The Hygiene Bank. Check out this interview to get a great sense for: How you can get involved with a charity or nonprofit What PM skills translate to volunteer work How bringing y