Audio and Embedded Video Episodes

Episode 560: Hands-On Flexible Project Leadership: Build Your Leadership Playbook (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

Flexible leadership sounds straightforward until a project leader has to decide what to do differently when the situation changes. Kevin Eikenberry, author of Flexible Leadership: Navigate Uncertainty and Lead with Confidence, returns for a second conversation focused squarely on practical application. Kevin explains why project leaders often fall back on autopilot, how habits and even leadership identity can make flexibility difficult, and why the phrase "it depends" should serve as a trigger to stop and consider the context before acting. He also challenges the assumption that consistency and flexibility compete with each other. Effective leaders can remain consistent in their values, purpose, and project boundaries while adapting how they lead. That becomes particularly important when projects operate in uncertain or complex environments where leaders cannot know every variable, established practices may not produce the expected results, and new information can require a different response.

PDUs: Power Skills

Episode 559: Why AI Projects Get Worse Before They Get Better

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Episode Summary

David Luria, author of Flatten the AI J Curve: Your Unfair Advantage in the Race to Enterprise Adoption, brings a practical conversation about what happens when an AI pilot moves into real operational use. Luria, a vice president and business manager at T. Rowe Price and a Six Sigma Black Belt, explains the AI J curve: productivity can fall before it improves, especially as teams learn new workflows, run old and new processes in parallel, and adjust to changing responsibilities. He argues that project managers should set expectations before implementation begins, keep early scope narrow, and use short stepping-stone projects to learn quickly. He also explains why culture matters. AI often removes tasks that people associate with their expertise, so adoption requires more than access to a chatbot. Leaders and project managers need to create room for experimentation, communicate what will change, and help people understand how their roles can shift toward higher-value work. Luria calls for business ownership close to the work, supported by leadership, IT, and risk teams, rather than treating AI transformation as a technology handoff.

PDUs: Power Skills

Episode 558: Why Smart Organizations Keep Doing Dumb Things (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

Sara Gallagher returns to examine a frustrating reality for project managers: organizations can employ smart, experienced, well-intentioned people and still produce the same bad outcomes again and again. Sara, president of The Persimmon Group and creator of the Big Dumb Questions newsletter, brings more than 15 years of consulting experience to a discussion that starts with artificial intelligence and quickly expands into how organizations make decisions, manage transitions, respond to change, and structure project leadership. She explains how she separates work into simple, complicated, and complex categories when deciding what to give AI, and why simple and selected complicated work offer the most practical opportunities today. From there, Sara and Cornelius examine decision latency and the danger of judging a decision only by its eventual outcome. Sara argues that leaders should focus on whether they made a defensible decision based on the information and criteria available at the time. They also examine project handoffs, where weak preparation can allow value to leak away and risk to increase just as the project reaches a critical transition point.

PDUs: Ways of Working

Episode 557: PMP Exam Adds AI. You Are Studying the Wrong Thing.

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Episode Summary

Artificial intelligence can now appear in PMP exam scenarios, but that does not mean candidates need to study AI technology. In Episode 557, Cornelius Fichtner starts with the PMP Exam Content Outline and separates what PMI actually says from what many candidates may assume. AI appears in the introduction as one of the trends PMI evaluates when researching changes in professional practice expectations, but it does not appear as a task or enabler in the People, Process, or Business Environment domains. That distinction matters because the PMP exam measures project management competencies, not technical mastery of the tools a project manager may use. AI can show up as a project risk, a deliverable, or a tool that a team wants to adopt, while the underlying exam question still asks whether you can manage risk, evaluate a tool, address a stakeholder concern, handle change, or make an accountable project decision. Cornelius also shows the kinds of questions candidates should not expect, including technical questions about generative versus predictive AI, prompt-writing techniques, and AI model selection.

Podcast Episodes About PMP, PDUs: Ways of Working, Artificial Intelligence

Episode 556: Rethinking the PMO: Identity, Design & What’s Next

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Episode Summary

Sara Gallagher, President of The Persimmon Group and author of the LinkedIn newsletter Big Dumb Questions, joins Cornelius Fichtner to answer the uncomfortable questions most PMO leaders avoid. The conversation follows four threads: PMO identity, design, accountability, and the future. It opens with the biggest question of all: are PMOs dying? Sara takes an optimistic view, with caveats. She explains that traditional PMOs are built on standardization, which raises weaker projects to a certain ceiling but also flattens excellent, tailored work down to the law of averages. She then paints a concrete picture of what comes next: project managers with robust knowledge bases and AI agents that draft synthesized status reports, simulate steering committee members such as a CFO, and hand results to a PMO agent that standardizes everything for portfolio roll-up. The result combines hyper-customized stakeholder communication with standardization only where it is truly needed, and it frees the PMO to coach project managers in sophisticated stakeholder management and risk practices.

Podcast Episodes About PMP, PDUs: Ways of Working, PDUs: Power Skills, PMP Exam Sample Questions

Episode 555: Master All 7 PMBOK 8 Performance Domains for the PMP Exam (With Sample Exam Questions)

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Episode Summary

The seven performance domains from the PMBOK Guide 8th edition form the backbone of how project work actually happens, and they are woven into nearly every situational question on the PMP exam. The catch is that the exam never labels them. Cornelius Fichtner, PMP, takes you through all seven domains: Governance, Scope, Schedule, Finance, Stakeholders, Resources, and Risk. For each domain, he presents a sample question from The PM Exam Simulator, works through the answer choices, and then hands you a structured takeaway built around three skills: how to recognize the domain in a scenario, how to evaluate your answer options, and how to eliminate the traps. Along the way you work through fourteen exam-style questions, including drag and drop matching, choose-multiple formats, and classic four-option scenarios covering everything from negative float and crashing to contingency reserves and psychological safety.

Podcast Episodes About PMP, PDUs: Ways of Working, PDUs: Power Skills, PMP Exam Sample Questions

Episode 554: PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, All Six Principles for the PMP Exam

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Episode Summary

Preparing for the PMP exam means developing the ability to make sound decisions under pressure, not simply recalling definitions from a textbook. In this lesson, drawn directly from the PM PrepCast PMP exam prep course and PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator, Cornelius Fichtner walks through all six project management principles from the PMBOK Guide 8th Edition and shows exactly how to recognize and apply them when facing the kind of ambiguous, scenario-based questions that appear on the actual exam. Each principle gets its own sample question from the PrepCast PMP Exam Simulator, a step-by-step walkthrough of why the wrong answers are wrong, and a second practice question so listeners can immediately test what they have learned. The episode covers all six principles in sequence: Adopt a Holistic View, Focus on Value, Embed Quality into Processes and Deliverables, Be an Accountable Leader, Integrate Sustainability Within All Project Areas, and Build an Empowered Culture. Each principle is taught not as a concept to memorize but as a mindset to recognize and apply, because the exam consistently rewards situational judgment over terminology.

Podcast Episodes About PMP, PDUs: Ways of Working, PDUs: Power Skills, PMP Exam Sample Questions

Episode 553: Revenge of the Risk Register (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

We welcome back Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas for a project risk management conversation that connects movie moments with practical project leadership. Dawn and Jerry, co-editors of Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success, focus on the chapters they personally wrote and use them to examine how project managers identify early warning signs, assess uncertainty, choose risk responses, and handle the human side of risk. Jerry uses Star Wars to explain fast risk assessment, OODA loops, situational awareness, risk response planning, and the difference between risk as threat and risk as opportunity. Dawn uses The Italian Job to discuss trust, hidden resistance, team pressure, stakeholder behavior, sabotage, and what happens when a new person joins an already established team. Together, they make a practical point for project managers: risk management cannot live only in a register. It has to show up in conversations, sponsor alignment, team formation, stakeholder engagement, and regular project decisions.

PDUs: Ways of Working, Project Risk Management

Episode 552: PMP Exam Content Outline

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Episode Summary

The PMP Exam Content Outline, often called the ECO, drives everything about the PMP exam, yet many students still focus almost entirely on the PMBOK Guide. In this episode, Cornelius Fichtner explains why the PMP exam is not a test of the PMBOK Guide and why the ECO serves as the real syllabus behind the certification exam. He walks through how PMI develops exam questions, how volunteers create and review questions based on the ECO, and how reference materials such as the PMBOK Guide support the process without directly defining the exam itself. Along the way, Cornelius breaks down the structure of the ECO into domains, tasks, and enablers, helping PMP candidates understand what PMI expects modern project managers to know in predictive, adaptive, and hybrid environments. He also explains why concepts such as value delivery, sustainability, compliance, and artificial intelligence now appear in the latest version of the exam. The discussion includes a practical walkthrough of the People, Process, and Business Environment domains, how exam percentages are distributed, and why PMI periodically updates the exam based on real-world project management practices.

Podcast Episodes About PMP, PDUs: Ways of Working, PMP Exam Sample Questions

Episode 551: What Movies Teach Project Managers

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Episode Summary

Project managers often joke that their projects feel like a movie. In this conversation, that idea becomes the central theme as Cornelius Fichtner welcomes Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas to discuss their book Projectland Goes to the Movies. Together, they examine how famous films reflect real project management challenges involving leadership, teamwork, risk, stakeholder management, planning, and adaptation under pressure. From Apollo 13 and The Martian to Jurassic Park, Twelve Angry Men, and Ocean’s Eleven, the discussion highlights how storytelling creates memorable examples of project leadership in action. The guests explain why movies resonate so strongly with project managers, how fictional situations often mirror real workplace dynamics, and why stories stick with people more effectively than abstract theory. The conversation also connects several examples back to practical project management concepts such as servant leadership, agile adaptation, collaborative problem-solving, stakeholder influence, and the importance of remaining calm during uncertainty.

PDUs: Ways of Working

Episode 550: How to Turn Chaos Into Project Clarity (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

Projects rarely fall apart because people lack effort. More often, they struggle because teams move forward without a shared understanding of what they are actually trying to achieve. In this conversation, Cornelius Fichtner continues his discussion with Danielle Naomi McCier, Creative Operations leader and author of “Wrangling Chaos,” focusing on what happens after a project is already in motion. The discussion shifts from identifying why projects drift into confusion to understanding how project managers can actively restore clarity, guide decisions, and keep work moving forward in fast-paced environments such as creative agencies. Danielle shares practical techniques for clarifying objectives, aligning stakeholders, and ensuring that teams do not default into rework cycles caused by early misunderstandings. She emphasizes that project clarity is not a one-time activity but an ongoing responsibility that requires attention, communication, and structure throughout execution.

PDUs: Power Skills, Agency Project Management

Episode 549: How to Bring Clarity to Chaotic Projects

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Episode Summary

Danielle Naomi McCier joins the discussion to explain how project managers can create clarity in environments where priorities shift, feedback comes from multiple directions, and teams struggle to stay aligned. The conversation highlights how projects rarely begin in chaos but gradually lose clarity as expectations evolve and communication becomes fragmented. Danielle explains that what many teams interpret as planning issues are often clarity problems rooted in misalignment, unclear ownership, and inconsistent communication. She shares practical ways to identify these issues early and outlines how project managers can act as the central point of alignment, helping teams move forward with confidence even when conditions change.

PDUs: Power Skills, Agency Project Management

Episode 548: From Project Delivery to Value: How Project Managers Create Real Business Impact

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Episode Summary

Project work dominates how organizations grow, transform, and compete, yet many projects still fail to create meaningful impact. This conversation examines why delivering plans, schedules, and outputs no longer defines success for project managers. As expectations shift toward value creation and strategic impact, the role of the project manager expands beyond execution into leadership, influence, and decision-making. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, a leading authority on project leadership and organizational transformation, explains how organizations have become project-driven and what that shift demands from those leading initiatives.

PDUs: Business Acumen, Project Value

Episode 547: How to Empower Project Teams (Premium Preview)

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Episode Summary

Leadership is not defined by rank, title, or position, but by how well leaders take care of their people. In this conversation, Cornelius Fichtner speaks with Sergeant Major Jill E. Johnson about leadership grounded in service, trust, and responsibility. Drawing from more than two decades of military experience, including deployments and senior enlisted leadership roles, Jill explains how effective leaders build commitment by focusing on people before personal advancement. She shares how early career experiences, unexpected recommendations, and continuous preparation shaped her leadership path, even when she did not initially plan to pursue a long-term military career.

PDUs: Power Skills, Servant Leadership, Project Leadership

Episode 546: The Real Reason Project Requirements Keep Changing

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Episode Summary

Project requirements rarely change because teams lack discipline. More often, change starts long before a project manager ever joins the work. Early product decisions define priorities, assumptions, and constraints that quietly shape delivery outcomes. In this conversation, Cornelius Fichtner speaks with Lee Fischman about why project managers so often inherit projects that feel impossible and how product thinking influences what gets built, how success is defined, and how much flexibility exists when reality shifts. The discussion connects product management, project execution, and leadership behavior, showing how unclear intent, untested value assumptions, and early commitments lead to ongoing requirement changes later in delivery.

PDUs: Ways of Working, Requirements, Requirements management, product management

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

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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.

PDUs: Power Skills, Artificial Intelligence, Project Leadership

Episode 544: The Four Pillars of Project Success

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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.

PDUs: Power Skills, Project Leadership

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