Projectified – Details, episodes & analysis

Project professionals across the globe deliver meaningful work in myriad ways—all with a goal to make the world a better place. So how did two project managers start their careers, one producing concerts across the globe and the other inspiring teams at LEGO? We discuss what makes them proud to be project managers, some of their favorite projects and more. 

Our guests are Jim Digby, PMP, project manager and tour and production director at Show Makers in Philadelphia, and Liliana Janette Gómez Castrejón, PMP, project manager at The LEGO Group in Herning, Denmark.  

Key themes

01:03 Delivering projects, from major music tours to LEGO

06:32 The project management skills that help deliver creative projects

08:40 Overcoming challenges with stakeholder management and finding your leadership style

12:39 Bringing creativity into leading creative projects 

17:55 Project manager pride: Creating healthy, diverse team environments 

Projects and products are becoming increasingly entwined. That ramps up the need to build greater collaboration between project managers and product managers. What’s similar—and different—about the roles? What strategies can you use to boost collaboration? And how does agile help everyone stay aligned? 

We get insights and tips from Adam Motiwala, a product manager at Google in Irvine, California in the United States, and Meg Sawachi, PMI-ACP, PMP, a senior project manager at GlobalLogic in Lund, Sweden. 

 Key themes

02:14 Today’s must-have skills for product managers and project managers

06:04 The biggest similarities—and differences—between product and project managers 

08:29 Building a strong partnership between a project manager and product manager

12:56 How agile helps project and product managers stay aligned

16:51 Words of advice to product and project managers to boost collaboration

What can project professionals around the globe expect to face in 2025? We talk with project leaders to help you prepare.  

Sanjukta Ghosh, PMP, data and AI leader at Siemens in Erlangen, Germany, and Alexandra Schutz, PMI-ACP, PMP, director of the program management office at Appfire in Washington, D.C., discuss what’s next for artificial intelligence in the project sphere, the increasing role sustainability and project management offices (PMOs) will play in value delivery and the must-have skills for 2025. They also share what they’re excited for in the new year.  

Key themes 
[02:31] How AI will dominate projects in 2025 
[11:20] Using AI to elevate sustainability objectives 
[13:07] PMOs stepping up to drive business transformation and deliver value
[16:01] Adaptability, strategic thinking, AI acumen: Skills you need for 2025
[20:40] The biggest surprises from 2024—and takeaways for the year ahead  

Five megatrends are reshaping The Project Economy, fundamentally altering how we live, work and play. We talk to project leaders taking on these trends through projects: 

 Farhad Abdollahyan, PMI-RMP, PMP, head of the project management office at the U.N. Office for Project Services in Niger, discusses the group’s infrastructure projects aimed at bolstering the country’s economy. He talks though how the organization measures these projects’ outputs and impact, and how it engages with partners to increase efficiency. 

 Rob Wilhite, senior vice president and director of global distributed energy at U.S. construction giant Black & Veatch, shares how he’s seen COVID-19 accelerate projects to battle climate change in the energy sector as well as AI’s growing role in infrastructure and engineering projects.

 Key themes 

[02:21] Investing in infrastructure to bolster Niger’s economy

[06:23] Measuring project outputs as well as outcomes and impact

[08:51] How partners contribute to success

[11:18] How COVID-19 is fueling projects to address climate change in the energy sector

[12:55] AI’s role in infrastructure, engineering projects 

The citizen development revolution has arrived. With low- and no-code platforms, more people can quickly learn how to build apps—without waiting for the IT department.

Arjun Jamnadass, managing director at FTI Consulting in London, discusses how citizen development can reduce the burden on IT teams and deliver the solutions teams need more quickly.

Christian Peverelli, co-founder of WeAreNoCode in Los Angeles, talks about empowering citizen developers and how organizations can make the most of the movement.

 Key themes

[01:05] The growth of citizen development

[03:26] Delivering value by quickly creating solutions

[06:08] Recognizing citizen development as another way to deliver projects

[07:59] Empowering nontechnical team members

[11:08] Rethinking agile with low- or no-code platforms

[13:19] Training citizen developers

The pandemic has fundamentally shifted how people work. While some sectors and regions struggle, others are full of activity. So what does that mean for project leaders and their careers in 2021? 

Alice Chow, a director at engineering giant Arup in Hong Kong, China, discusses what she’s seeing on the post-COVID jobs landscape. She also explains why project leaders should strengthen their listening skills. 

Lindsay Scott, co-founder of Arras People in London, shares her outlook on job hot spots for this year. The career columnist for PM Network also talks about how project leaders can align their personal risk appetite with career opportunities.
 

Key themes

[01:04] Uncertainty and opportunity in 2021

[02:32] The 2021 outlook

[04:38] Improving listening skills to better address clients’ needs

[07:46] Analyzing personal risk: Seeking safety or new opportunities in adversity

[12:08] The world of work post-COVID-19

Wildfires are a devastating, natural phenomenon. But as climate change makes the world hotter and drier, the threat has intensified. Following megafires on Australia’s Kangaroo Island and in the Pantanal in Brazil, project teams got to work helping animals and looking at ways to future-proof their increasingly fragile ecosystems.

Rafael Hoogesteijn, jaguar program conflict director at Panthera in Porto Jofre, Brazil, discusses how teams collaborated with the government and local community stakeholders to help the jaguar population as wildfires raged in the Pantanal.

 Pat Hodgens, fauna ecologist at Kangaroo Island Land for Wildlife in Kingscote, Australia, talks about how teams are collaborating on the Kangaroo Island recovery, an effort that made PMI’s 2020 list of Most Influential Projects. He shares details on his team’s efforts to aid a small marsupial native to the island after its habitat was burned in the bushfires.

 Key themes

[01:12] Wildfires: A growing threat around the globe

[03:08] Teams, firefighters & military work together to fight Pantanal wildfires

[07:04] Partnering with the community to help jaguars

[12:10] Initiatives to help the Kangaroo Island dunnart

[16:29] Lessons Learned: Act fast and put resources toward wildfire prevention

Virtual learning was already a high-growth sector, but that was nothing compared to skyrocketing usage among children shut out of schools by the pandemic in 2020. While there have been promising results, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. 

Mac Glovinsky, global program manager at UNICEF, talks about how his team accelerated the growth of Learning Passport, a virtual education program that’s ranked number 3 on PMI’s 2020 list of Most Influential Projects. He also shares how despite increased digitalization, there’s still a need for humans to be involved in online learning. 

Boye Oshinaga, co-founder and CEO at Gradely, discusses the project to create the online learning platform and how the team blends virtual learning with in-person instruction. 

And virtual learning isn't just for students—project leaders can use online tools and classes to upskill, too. Tony Byrnes, PMP, director of program management at Altice USA, discusses how PMTraining.com’s live online training classes helped prepare him and his team for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam.

Key themes 

[00:58] Virtual learning: Promising results with room to grow

[02:19] Accelerating and expanding UNICEF’s Learning Passport

[07:50] The future of edtech: Delivering access as well as learning 

[12:19] Working with teachers to create online lessons

[15:39] Blending virtual learning and in-person instruction

[19:00] Using online learning for professional development

Projects have the power to not only benefit business but society as a whole. But to achieve positive social impact, the same strategic mindset behind the drive for bottom-line results must be applied to ensure projects create a better world.

TED@PMI speaker and marketing consultant Khulan Batkhuyag discusses how keeping things simple can help teams be agile and how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects.

Okka Phyo Maung, co-founder, CFO and CMO at RecyGlo, shares how the Myanmar startup is using tech to reduce pollution in waterways through better waste management and data analytics. He also talks about how his company is helping make the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals a reality. 

Key themes 

[01:10] Seeking positive social impact isn’t just the right thing—it’s also the smart thing to do

[03:36] Keeping things simple to increase agility

[06:28] Sustainability: Developing something that’s resilient 

[09:54] Consider the social impact of your work
 [12:43] Pursuing positive social impact through data 

[14:44] Why the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals are so important  Projects have the power to not only benefit business but society as a whole. But to achieve positive social impact, the same strategic mindset behind the drive for bottom-line results must be applied to ensure projects create a better world.   
 
 

TED@PMI speaker and marketing consultant Khulan Batkhuyag discusses how keeping things simple can help teams be agile and how her visits with Mongolian nomads changed her views on sustainability and her approach to projects. 

Okka Phyo Maung, co-founder, CFO and CMO at RecyGlo, shares how the Myanmar startup is using tech to reduce pollution in waterways through better waste management and data analytics. He also talks about how his company is helping make the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals a reality. 

Key themes 

[01:10] Seeking positive social impact isn’t just the right thing—it’s also the smart thing to do

[03:36] Keeping things simple to increase agility

[06:28] Sustainability: Developing something that’s resilient 

[09:54] Consider the social impact of your work
 [12:43] Pursuing positive social impact through data 

[14:44] Why the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals are so important  

PMI’s 2020 Most Influential Projects highlights more than 250 bold, breakthrough efforts—spanning sectors and continents. Guests discuss three of those initiatives: 

Hugh Lawson, project director at Sydney Metro in Sydney, discusses how the massive project will transform transportation in the city and how COVID-19 created opportunities to challenge long-held assumptions. 

César García Marirrodriga, project manager at the European Space Agency in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, shares what scientists hope to learn about the heliosphere from the Solar Orbiter’s seven-year mission. 

Rob Wright, of Public Services and Procurement Canada, talks about how the project team created a long-term vision with built-in flexibility for a multiyear restoration of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.  

Key themes 

[00:56] PMI’s 2020 Most Influential Projects

[02:24] Sydney Metro to bring new ways to move around the city

[04:43] Challenging long-held assumptions and finding opportunities in COVID-19

[07:00] Sydney Metro transforming transportation for years to come

[09:31] Solar Orbiter: Unlocking secrets of the sun

[12:25] Creating a long-term vision with built-in flexibility for Parliament Hill Rehabilitation

[15:03] Using Centre Block as an apex project to drive strategy

[17:37] Lesson learned: Bring construction and design together on day one