Projectified

More than a year ago, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Today, vaccines are rolling out, and it’s up to governments working with project teams to get shots into arms quickly, safely, efficiently and equitably.   Our guest is Kate Elder from Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). She discusses how the group’s teams are working with governments to administe...

Artificial intelligence is officially part of the mainstream, sparking big changes across industries. But do companies have the talent they need to truly make the most of the technology? Guests are:  Manolis Koubarakis, project coordinator, ExtremeEarth, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece: Koubarakis discusses building the team behind the environmental tracking project and the...

The climate crisis is one of the world’s greatest threats—and project leaders around the globe are stepping in, helping mitigate its effects with ambitious and innovative initiatives. Guests are:  Dan Balaban, co-founder, president and CEO, Greengate Power, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Balaban discusses the Travers Solar Project—one of the world’s largest solar-power initiatives—and why teams must be...

COVID-19 has forever changed how—and where—people work. Some people are returning to the office, while others are remaining remote or adopting a new hybrid style. And it’s up to designers to reimagine offices in ways that encourage collaboration and innovation, no matter where team members are. Guests are:   Todd Heiser, principal and co-managing director, Gensler Chicago: Heiser discusses designi...

As many people head back to the office, they’ll return to a different world: one where remote work—at least part of the time—could be business as usual for many teams. Project leaders discuss how they led virtual teams during the COVID crisis and how they’ll adapt lessons learned to the new work ecosystem. Guests are:  Marco De Santis, PMP, project management office digital transformation manager,...

As the world marks International Women’s Day this week, Projectified ® spoke with two women project leaders making their mark in traditionally male-dominated sectors: cybersecurity and mining. Guests are:   Kat Megas, PMP, cybersecurity for Internet of Things program manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology, McLean, Virginia, USA: Megas discusses leading projects in cybersecurity, h...

When project management office (PMO) leaders help define strategy, they can deliver more value. Guests include:  Katitja Molele, PMP, strategy and innovation PMO manager, Africa operating unit for The Coca-Cola Co., Johannesburg, South Africa: Molele talks about how PMOs are evolving and how actively engaging PMO leaders in crafting strategy helps companies turn ideas into reality.  Tom Kuczynski,...

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 h...

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...

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...

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...

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 th...

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...

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...

Command and control leadership is losing ground to a new style—one that emphasizes creativity, resilience, authenticity and a willingness to reach out for help. Two TED@PMI speakers discuss the must-have skills of the modern leader. Billy Samuel Mwape, PMP, assistant information and communications technology manager at Development Bank of Zambia in Lusaka, discusses resilience and letting team mem...

Innovation in the healthcare sector takes time—with companies devoting long hours to research and clinical trials while adapting to regulatory changes along the way.   Leo Rapallini at Medtronic in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA discusses how his team upgraded the world’s smallest pacemaker for a bigger share of the market. He talks about how company culture and a passionate, multidisciplinary team h...

India is at a crossroads, a moment that may determine whether its economy can grow fast enough to support its rising population. To survive—and thrive—will require new ways of thinking. Rachna Singh, IT deployment program manager at Amazon in Bengaluru, discusses how the IT business has changed in India over the course of her career, what lies ahead—and the skills project professionals need to suc...

There’s a lot riding on the future of food—our personal health, the health of our environment and the growing issue of food security. One potentially promising solution? Plant-based foods. Giulia Braghieri, head of growth and expansion at NotCo, discusses how the Chilean company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to create plant-based versions of food staples like mayonnaise, milk a...

Innovation separates the leaders from the laggards. While there’s no surefire path to the kind of breakthrough creative thinking that leads to the next big thing, organizations are on the prowl for ways to spark innovation. Vidhya Abhijith is the co-founder of Codewave Technologies in Bengaluru, India. The PMI Future 50 leader talks about the link between design thinking and innovation, and how te...

The World Bank estimates 1 billion people experience some form of disability. That means accessibility must be built into how teams approach every project—helping them deliver more value to everyone. Kathryn Rutkowski, PMP, senior program manager, Atlassian, Sydney, Australia, discusses how bringing in experts can help bring an accessibility sensibility to project teams. She also talks about desig...

Without a permanent physical office, digital nomads are leading projects as they travel the world. Ott Vatter, managing director of the e-Residency program in the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn, Estonia, discusses how the project helped create a community for digital nomads.  Christina Nguyen, PMP, strategy practice leader for Global Professional & Field Services, Dell Technologies, Austin, Te...

The world’s historic and cultural sites connect us to human history. Projects to preserve or restore these sites must be handled with care. Ray Pepi, president and founder of Building Conservation Associates in New York, New York, USA, talks about managing priorities of preserving a building’s cultural and historical significance while also setting it up for continued use. He also discusses how he...

A new generation of leaders is creating, transforming and defining The Project Economy. Meet a few members of PMI’s Future 50, a group of rising project leaders who are making their mark with bold thinking—and innovative projects.  Kenneth Harris II, senior satellite engineer, Joint Polar Satellite System, NASA, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, talks about his career journey and the future of project tea...

What skills will help project leaders succeed in times of uncertainty? As organizations pivot and deploy virtual teams, collaborative, engaging leaders are steering their teams to success. Penny Pullan, PhD, PMP, founder, Making Projects Work Ltd., Loughborough, England, says when you’re working virtually, command and control doesn’t work. She shares the value of facilitative leadership and the im...

Diverse project teams deliver value. A team that offers a wide variety of mindsets and skill sets will outperform the competition, as members challenge one another and approach problems from new angles. That often leads to innovation. Blair Taylor, partner, Workforce of the Future, PwC, Seattle, Washington, USA, says diversity unlocks potential. It yields better business results, and diverse teams...