5 Minutes Podcast with Ricardo Vargas

In this episode, Ricardo presents a simple visual tool to explore and understand future scenarios. The Futures Wheel is a form of a mind map that associates causes and consequences of events or decisions, allowing you to evaluate future scenarios from the present and evaluate the best options to take.

In this episode, Ricardo discusses the responsibility of the work project in coordinating the multidisciplinary work of the project. He also discusses the issue related to the role "Project Manager" and in the effectiveness of the title in transforming ideas into results.

In this episode, Ricardo talks about one of the biggest obstacles to any transformation initiative: the fear of change. Fear is one of the fundamental principles of survival itself. However, when fear blocks the ability to progress, it becomes one of the worst enemies of projects and natural evolution.

In the first episode of the year, Ricardo approaches the main trends he sees for 2019. This time he talks about his impressions about exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, energy, transportation, genetics and their implications on our lives, our work as a manager of projects and in our society.

In this episode, Ricardo addresses the current challenge of planning and executing projects in chaotic environments. He uses some of the concepts presented by Nassim Taleb in the book Antifragile to give you five tips to use in your projects today: developing options, proactivity and paranoia, flexibility, having your skin in the game, and getting energy out of failures.

In this episode, Ricardo discusses the work done by the Brightline Initiative and its partners to address one of the greatest assets for organizational transformation: the people. Ricardo addresses the 4 essential points of the manifesto that raise questions around universal concepts of leadership, collaboration, culture, and interest. To download the manifesto, visit https://www.brightline.org/ p...

In this episode, Ricardo discusses the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of more detailed planning versus more generic and agile planning. It also presents the 3 criteria that it usually uses to define how well it generalizes and how detailed it is.

In this episode, Ricardo explains what VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) is and what its implications for the current environment. He reinforces the concept he posted in a recent article on LinkedIn that most organizations are not structured for this environment, and that's one reason why new organizations born with this perception of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and am...

About a year ago, Ricardo was approached by a young project manager whose appearance did not reveal his age. Physically he seemed much younger than his real age (28 years). A few days later he received an email from this young man talking about the challenges he had for appearing so young. A year later Ricardo decided to record this episode to respond to the email and also to reflect the importanc...

In this episode, Ricardo discusses his recently published article on human behavior in the face of change and how safety nets need to be replaced by ropes to allow advancement. He discusses the paradox we live in today where change is the natural condition of organizational survival and, at the same time, one of the things we most fear as individuals. The original article is available at www.linke...

In this episode, Ricardo talks about a concept of psychology that seeks to address professional (and life) challenges by reinforcing the positive aspects of the challenges rather than the negatives: Positive Psychology. Video mentioned: Positive Psychology / Author mentioned: Tal Ben-Shahar

In this episode, Ricardo talks about two additional dimensions in risk assessment, going beyond traditional probability and impact. He gives examples of how the assessment of the urgency and the tendency of a risk can increase the quality of the risk mapping.

In this episode, Ricardo discusses the drama that many project managers feel when the end of the project approaches: the fear of the future and the consequences of unemployment. Unlike in previous episodes where he spoke to the project managers, Ricardo now gives a direct message to executives and sponsors about talent management and how to turn project management into an organizational career.

In this episode, Ricardo shares his impressions on TED2018 , an event held in April this year Vancouver, Canada. He talks about what struck him in each talk presented during the four-day event.

In this episode, Ricardo explains a very important concept on product design called Design for X (DfX). Fundamentally, design can be driven by several different objectives and by giving priority to one element (X) we can simplify, improve control and refine the product development process. Largely used in engineering and product development, the term "X" can mean different aspects of the product l...

In this episode, Ricardo returns to talk about the concept of ethics among the project environment and recommends the work of the Project Management Institute (available at www.pmi.org/about/ethics ) and the Institute for Global Ethics ( www.globalethics.org ).

In this episode, Ricardo explains how to read the PMBOK® Guide 6th edition in a more productive way, so you can better understand the project management knowledge areas and their processes. Many people believe that the Guide should be read as a traditional book, from the first to the last chapter, but by listening to this episode you will discover that this is not the best way.

In this episode, Ricardo goes back one more time to the diversity topic. After all the news around sexual harassment and all sorts of people’s discrimination because of race, sex, sexual orientation and religion, Ricardo comes back to explain one more time how diversity contributes to creativity, to unlock new ideas and help the project to succeed. On the top of this discussion, he reinforces that...

In this episode, Ricardo discusses how you can decompose a program into the respective projects and their components. He uses the example of a Course or Degree being divided into disciplines and classes. In the end, Ricardo addresses a fundamental question: Is a class a routine or a work package? Listen to the episode to know the answer.

Ricardo starts 2018 sharing some tips on how to prepare yourself for the year that is coming. He approaches the need to stay tuned with the technology advancements, as also the attitude and behavior related to the decision making, the amplification of your knowledge base, and finally, the management of our fears when facing the unknown.

In this episode, Ricardo continues to talk about the 6th edition of the PMBOK® Guide and more specifically addresses the changes in the knowledge areas. Some areas lost processes, others gained new ones. In addition, two areas have been renamed.

In this episode, 1 of 2, Ricardo talks about the sixth edition of the PMBOK® Guide, which is the most popular reference on project management. Ricardo comments on what's changed since the last version published 4 years ago. He also presents his video that shows the development of the new processes flow, that you can download on his website (ricardo-vargas.com). You can also download a canvas and u...

In this episode, Ricardo talks about the relevance of understanding what underlines the implementation of a strategy. Creating a transformation strategy for an organization is an incredibly hard task, but the challenge is not finished after the strategy is on paper. You need to get things done, you need to deliver that strategy design, and that's where most organizations fail. Read the recent arti...

In this episode, Ricardo presents the highlights of the TED Global 2017 conference in Arusha, Tanzania. He comments on some of the presentations whose content included everything from discussions about art and religion to aspects of artificial intelligence in reducing the cost of diagnosing cancer in poor communities. In the end, he approaches the importance of comprehensive and varied knowledge t...

In this episode, Ricardo talks about the challenges faced in projects when there are resources whose costs are in foreign currencies. You will understand the role of hedging, to protect the project against exchange rate fluctuations.