Not Your CEO's Insights

🎙 Episode Title: The Peace of Organization

Guest: Lisa Haymes, Director of PMO at Rimkus

Podcast: Wear Your Cape to Work by Project Insight

Episode Summary:

Lisa was making daily to-do lists by age seven—not to be productive, but because it brought her peace. That instinct stayed with her and evolved into a leadership superpower. In this episode, Lisa shares how her natural drive to plan and prioritize led her into project management, how she grew into a PMO leadership role, and how Project Insight gave her team visibility across IT, marketing, and business portfolios.

⏱ Timestamps & Topics

00:00 – 03:00

Lisa’s earliest memory of planning: daily checklists at age 7

03:00 – 06:00

Why planning brought her peace—and how that ritual stuck

06:00 – 08:00

Her method for avoiding overwhelm with fast-win sub-lists

08:00 – 10:00

Project management felt like a natural extension of who she was

10:00 – 13:00

Her nonlinear journey: from project coordinator to PMO manager

13:00 – 16:00

On underselling herself and learning to step into leadership

16:00 – 18:00

Launching the PMO at Rimkus and supporting company-wide transformation

18:00 – 21:00

Implementing Project Insight to bring visibility and structure

21:00 – 23:00

Expanding the PMO to include marketing and business projects

23:00 – 25:00

Tailoring project approaches to fit different teams

25:00 – End

Advice to future PMO leaders: trust your instincts, and stay organized

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

YouTube: / @projectinsightpmsw

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WMdTji...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2419669.rss

Follow Lisa Haymes: / lisahaymes

A link to Project Management Offices: A Practice Guide on the PMO website. PMI Members can download it for free now: https://www.pmi.org/standards/pmo

A link to Project Management Offices: A Practice Guide on Amazon - available August 9: https://www.amazon.com/Project-Manage...

Sponsored by: Project Insight Project & Portfolio Management Software. Helping growing companies automate, execute, and measure project work across teams, systems, and portfolios. www.projectinsight.com

#wyctw

#projectmanagement

#PMOleadership

#womeninprojectmanagement

#forensicengineering

#organizationaldevelopment

#careergrowth

#productivitytips

#planningmindset

#PMP

Episode Summary:

In this episode, we talk with Linda Goodrich, the VP of Delivery at CureIs Healthcare. CureIs a customer of Project Insight, and so we have been fortunate to get to see Linda's superpowers over the years.

Operationally, she might be known for bringing a structure to project management org-wide, but her real PM personal superpower is having a keen awareness of her team, their capacities, passions, and helping them find their most fulfilling roles in the workplace.

Show Notes

00:00 – 02:00

Introduction and Linda’s early tech background

02:00 – 04:00

Starting in help desk, managing projects without knowing it

04:00 – 06:00

Gaining project experience prior to pursuing PMP certification

06:00 – 08:00

PM as the liaison between leadership and operations

08:00 – 10:00

Exposure to agile, forecasting, and real project complexity

10:00 – 13:00

Tracking capacity and allocation across teams

13:00 – 15:00

Using Project Insight to get real-time visibility into team bandwidth

15:00 – 17:00

How project data informs delivery timelines and sales commitments

17:00 – 19:00

Putting a dollar value on meetings and resource decisions

19:00 – 21:00

Making data actionable is the most important visibility

21:00 – 23:00

Helping team members blossom: right person, right role

23:00 – 25:00

Creating a framework for mentorship, motivation, and fun

25:00 – 27:00

PMBOK as a guideline, not a rigid rulebook

27:00 – 29:00

Balancing structure with energy and team spirit

29:00 – 31:00

The CureIS experience team and how they view their customers

31:00 – 33:00

What project work looks like in healthcare

33:00 – 35:00

Using Project Insight to unify sales and delivery processes

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

YouTube: / @projectinsightpmsw

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WMdTji...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2419669.rss

Sponsored by: Project Insight Project & Portfolio Management Software. Helping growing companies automate, execute, and measure project work across teams, systems, and portfolios. www.projectinsight.com

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Wear Your Cape to Work, we dive into the world of international development project management with Lucas King of DAI, a leading USAID contractor. Lucas shares what it’s like managing global development projects where the stakes are high, but the rewards are even higher. And then throw in giant pivots of uncertainty from the recent DOGE cuts to USAID project budgets...you need a real superhero to keep the plates spinning.

We explore how project management in the international development sector differs from corporate environments — from navigating donor requirements and political shifts to empowering local communities and building sustainable impact. Lucas’s project management "superpowers" shine through: his ability to stay calm under pressure, bridge gaps between diverse stakeholders, and build trust across cultures.

If you’re curious about careers in global project management, managing USAID-funded initiatives, or what it takes to thrive in the dynamic world of development work, this episode offers a real-world look inside.

00:00 – Introduction and kickoff

00:35 – Meet Lucas King: Journey to international project management at DAI

01:30 – How Lucas launched his career managing development projects around the world

03:10 – How project management for international development differs from corporate PM work

05:05 – Core skills for success: adaptability, relationship-building, navigating uncertainty

07:00 – Lucas’s project management "superpowers":

Remaining calm in high-stakes environments

Translating between field teams, technical experts, and donors

Building collaboration across countries and cultures

09:15 – Inside USAID project management: Managing funding, compliance, and mission-driven goals

12:00 – How politics, local dynamics, and sustainability impact project delivery

14:20 – Advice for project managers considering careers in global development

16:00 – Final reflections: Why working in international development is both challenging and deeply rewarding

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

YouTube: / @projectinsightpmsw

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WMdTji...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2419669.rss

Sponsored by: Project Insight Project & Portfolio Management Software. Helping growing companies automate, execute, and measure project work across teams, systems, and portfolios. www.projectinsight.com

In this episode of Wear Your Cape to Work, Trina sits down with her cousin Jeff Conner, who spent 43 years as a project manager at NASA. From the early days of the shuttle program to coordinating recovery efforts after the Columbia accident, Jeff’s career spans some of the most mission-critical projects in NASA’s history. This conversation explores Jeff’s career path, his family legacy in aerospace, and the mindset it takes to lead when failure is not an option.

Topics covered:

➤ The family connection: Trina and Jeff as cousins

➤ Jeff’s father’s role at NASA in the Air Force physical standards lab

➤ Starting his NASA career as a mechanical engineer

➤ Payload integration projects and contributing to the construction of the International Space Station

➤ Installing payloads aboard space shuttle missions

➤ Planning for shuttle emergency landings and alternate recovery locations

➤ Project management in the 1980s: printed schedules, phone calls, and couriered memos

➤ Reflecting on a bygone work era—before nonstop email and instant messaging

➤ The Columbia accident and Jeff’s role in the Air Boss helicopter recovery operations

➤ Risk as a defining factor in space projects—and how to lead within it

➤ Jeff’s superpower: identifying risks early and turning them into opportunities for precision and excellence

➤ How teams can minimize compounding issues when working on large, hazardous systems

➤ Leading diverse teams through complexity, pressure, and change

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to manage projects where the margin for error is zero, this episode is for you.

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

YouTube: / @projectinsightpmsw

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WMdTji...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2419669.rss

Sponsored by: Project Insight Project & Portfolio Management Software. Helping growing companies automate, execute, and measure project work across teams, systems, and portfolios. www.projectinsight.com

In today's episode we talk with Emma Kelly, a program manager from The Water Project. She shares about managing projects in the humanitarian sector where projects can span across continents...where part of your resource force is the community you are working in... and when you don't always have access to the internet. Hear about how program managers align projects with strategic initiatives and empower people to do their best work for a very important cause.

Episode Highlights:

1. Emma's Passion for Water

2. Community management in Humanitarian Projects

3. Project Implementation in the Humanitarian Sector

4. From Research to Projects in Action

5. Community as Stakeholders and resources

6. 3 Main program locations: Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone.

7. Mission to provide full saturation/coverage of the area. A framework of coverage

8. Program Management: Managing Projects: Aligning projects with strategic initiatives.

9. Program Management: People Management: Empowering people to do their best work.

10. Cultural nuances of Intercultural teams

11. Diversity of Understanding = Diversity of Ideas

12. Coming into a new community

13. Strengths of Intercultural teams.

14. Managing teams in different countries

15. Project Types in the Water Sector

16. Ground Nut Soup

17. The goal of full saturation

18. Shared vision with teams

19. Transparency with public and donors

20. How can you support the Water Project

21. The Water Promise

22. Commitment to Monitoring and Reporting and Evaluating Projects

23. Emma’s superpower of empowering people to do their best work.

24. Relationships, Trust, Reliability: The Water Project's pillars

25. How do you manage projects without the internet

26. Working to understand risks and issues to reduce future downtime.

27. Sticking to the plan when there are obstacles.

wyctw.com

Hosts Trina and Mathew recap the first season of "Wear Your Cape to Work."

Tune in to reminisce about a great first season.

Season One Superheroes:

Stephen Hall, Project Manager, fairlife Milk.

Jen & Sukanya, Cybersecurity Program Managers, Activision Blizzard King

Lindiwe Stenberg, Project Manager, PayPal

Michelle Dickstein, Project Manager & DEI Co-Chair, Non-profit Healthcare

Mehul Shah, Senior Director PMO, Universal Destinations

James Phillips, PMP & Informatics Analyst, Healthcare

Sree Karanakarun, Senior IT Project/Program Manager, Community Government

Kevin Perkins, Sr. Director Product Management, Inovalon

Jeremiah Hammon, PMP, Project Revolution

Emma Kelly, Program Manager, The Water Project

Kristina Curtiss, PMP, CEO, VP of Communications, PMI San Diego

Season Two will Air in May/June 2025.

In this episode, we sit down with Kristina Curtiss to discuss the unique role of project managers as translators—bridging the gap between technical teams, stakeholders, and business objectives. Kristina shares her journey from office management to leading large-scale healthcare and IT projects.

Timestamps & Topics:

2:12 Kristina’s early career at Home Depot

3:00 Transitioning from office management to construction projects – similarities in organizational skills

3:35 The role of time management, operational logic, and communication in project management

4:30 Entering the healthcare project management space

5:41 Implementing EPIC healthcare information systems

6:00 Moving into IT project management and navigating the transition

7:30 How leaders identify and nurture talent within their teams

8:20 The challenge of relocating IT teams across 5 hospitals and 28 clinics

9:42 The importance of change management—engaging stakeholders and addressing resistance

10:15 Using emotional intelligence to understand and address concerns

10:55 Managing scope creep and keeping projects aligned

11:15 The unique skill of translating technical details into business impact

11:45 Preparing organizations for transformation—from paper-based health records to digital systems

14:45 How Emotional Intelligence 2.0 helped Kristina refine her ability to translate across teams

🔗 https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-2-0-Travis-Bradberry/dp/0974320625

15:45 Building strong workplace relationships for career success

18:00 Level Up Your Leadership—the role of emotional intelligence in advancing leadership skills

19:00 PMI San Diego and the value of professional communities

🔗 https://pmi-sd.org/

20:20 Relationship management as a key leadership skill

21:00 Getting the PMP Certification and its impact on her career

🔗 https://www.pmi.org/certifications/project-management-pmp

22:30 How great leaders recognize untapped potential and open new career opportunities

23:00 Accepting constructive feedback and authentic compliments to grow professionally

23:50 The debate: Are project managers born or made?

25:00 Coaching and consulting—helping others shine in their careers

26:00 Finding fulfillment through volunteering and mentoring

27:15 Team assessments—recognizing individual strengths to build high-performing teams

28:00 Kristina’s role as VP of Communications and its impact on her leadership journey

📖 Kristina’s Featured Book: Unstoppable: The Rise of Female Global Leaders

🔗 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7L6PX7N

🌐 Resources & Links:

🔗 Project Insight Website: https://www.projectinsight.com

🔗 Watch the Video Podcast:https://projectinsight.com/wearyourcapetowork

🎧 Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast:

YouTube / @projectinsightpmsw

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5WMdTji...

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

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Today's guest is Jeremiah Hammon, PMP. His passion for PMBOK guidelines is contagious, and his company, Project Revolution stands, by and supports project managers who are headed to certifications or who want to gain leadership roles in their organization.

He believes in the power of people in projects, and we're going to talk to him about laying the best foundation for project management work. His superpower is building bridges on teams and bringing emotional intelligence to your relationships and leadership roles.

02:00 – Jeremiah’s history: How he became an accidental project manager in the production & manufacturing sector.

02:15 – Why he believes people are the power in business.

02:40 – The key to success: Learn the sector, understand processes, and build relationships.

03:02 – Jeremiah’s deep dive into Project Management principles and how he felt the power of PMBOK-aligned methodologies.

03:30 – Earning his PMP certification was a turning point, giving him access to higher industries like nuclear energy.

04:00 – Transitioning into the nuclear and robotics sectors—how PMP was essential for entry and success.

04:45 – The role of PMBOK-aligned project management in high-stakes industries.

05:15 – Jeremiah’s new sector: Missile Defense. Standing up Quality Systems, Manufacturing Teams, and Compliance Work.

06:17 – A reminder that there’s always a team behind success—no PM works alone.

06:45 – Building bridges as a project manager and aligning diverse stakeholders.

07:19 – Your network is your net worth – inspiring teams to achieve what seems impossible.

08:00 – Tapping into team potential: Listening, understanding, and truly caring about each individual.

09:30 – How to fit relationship-building into a busy project schedule.

09:55 – Project Revolution’s mission: Creating better leaders for a better world.

11:05 – Helping professionals pass the PMP exam and implement its principles effectively.

12:00 – Leadership training and PMBOK as a guiding framework.

13:00 – What is PMBOK? Breaking down its role in structured project management.

15:00 – Project Insight: A project management software built on PMBOK best practices.

15:36 – The impact of earning the PMP certification on career growth.

16:40 – The societal impact of project managers—how PMs shape the future.

17:00 – Project Revolution as a strategic partner for organizations implementing project management.

18:00 – Combatting resistance to change in project environments.

19:00 – The importance of aggregating data across teams and software tools for better decision-making.

20:00 – Managing healthy tension in projects.

21:00 – Emotional intelligence as a key skill for project managers.

21:30 – Leadership training and the levels of leadership in project management.

Find Jeremiah on LinkedIn

Follow Jeremiah https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremiahrhammonjr/

Follow Trina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trinaschaetz

Find Mathew https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-sparkes/

Project Revolution website https://www.projectrevolutionllc.com/

Project Insight's PMBOK-compliant Features by Domain: https://projectinsight.com/project-management-software/project-insight-pmbok-aligned-features-by-domain.pdf

Project Insight Website: projectinsight.com

Follow Wear Your Cape to Work

Website: WYCTW.com

Follow Project Insight

Website: projectinsight.com

LinkedIn: /company/projectinsight

Instagram: /projectinsight/

X formerly Twitter: /projectinsight

Facebook: /ProjectInsightPMSW

Free PDU Project Management Webinars: projectinsight.com/project-management-webinars/

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

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Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

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Today’s superhero guest is Kevin Perkins, a long-time technical product manager with years of experience shaping and considering SaaS product development.

He joins Steve West, CEO of Project Insight, for an engaging conversation on their early entrepreneurial friendship and the evolution of project management—where it was 20 years ago, where it stands today, and where it’s headed in the future.

Can we trust Kevin’s insights on what’s next? Absolutely. His superpower lies in his ability to see the big picture, anticipate industry trends, and lead innovation before the rest of the world is ready. You won’t want to miss this discussion!

1-5 min: Kevin’s Journey in Product Management

-Kevin’s career path and how he got into product management

-Steve and Kevin’s entrepreneurial connection

-Early entrepreneurs when the internet was born

-What was data connectivity like before the internet?

-Pre-online project management and learning as you go

5-12 min: The Evolution of Project Management & Kevin's Superpower

-Early tools in the early internet

-Agile born out of necessity

-Creating products to be monetized or invested in

-Digitizing businesses

-Superpower of self-placement in the history and future of project management

12-16 min: Building High-Performing Project Teams

-How teams adapted before modern PM software

-People want software developed yesterday – agile as a response

-How Agile helps keep projects iterating and customers informed

16-23 min: How Tech is Transforming Project Management

-The first chats weren’t Teams and Slack

-Extranets – before the cloud application idea

-Taking company intranet activities and exposing them to external platforms

-Transformation of PPM tools – many tools emerged and disappeared

23-24 min: Expert Insights on Scaling & Growth

Willingness to change – staying adaptive in tech and business

Don’t have to be an expert, but must keep moving with technology

24-36 min: The Future of Project Management

-Project Management from the dotcom days to now

-Kevin’s endeavor with Squeezer app – making web pages mobile-friendly

-Cobbling tools together to make systems work

-Putting project management online

-Interoperability with best-of-breed tools

-Bringing in t-shirt sizes and story points and converting them into measurable data

-Tightly integrating applications to bring data to PMs

36-41 min: Riffing on the Future: AI, PM, and Beyond

-Future of project, program, product, and portfolio management

-AI skepticism & anticipation

-2025 – the year of the agent?

Follow Kevin / kevinperkins

Follow Steve: / steve-west-cali

Follow Trina: / trinaschaetz

Project Insight Website: projectinsight.com

Follow Wear Your Cape to Work

Website: WYCTW.com

Follow Project Insight

Website: projectinsight.com

LinkedIn: /company/projectinsight

Instagram: /projectinsight/

X formerly Twitter: /projectinsight

Facebook: /ProjectInsightPMSW

Free PDU Project Management Webinars: projectinsight.com/project-management-webinars/

Subscribe to Wear Your Cape to Work Podcast on:

YouTube / @projectinsightpmsw

Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

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#projectmanagement #projectmanagementsoftware #project #pmo #projectmanager #dotcom #azuredevops #jirasoftware #msprojectonline #msproject #projectmanagementpodcast

Our superhero PMP guest today is Sree Karanakarun!

Born and raised in India, Sree earned a degree in engineering and began her career as a mainframe IT developer. She quickly advanced through roles as a Business Analyst, Project Coordinator, and Project Manager, spending over 20 years in healthcare project and program management.

Then, she made a bold career pivot—leaving healthcare to become a Senior IT Project Manager for Douglas County, Colorado, managing projects in the community government sector.

In this episode, Mathew and I will dive into what it’s like to switch industries completely and explore her superpower: cutting through chaos as a project manager. 🚀

2:00 – Introduction to Sree

Sree shares her journey in IT, healthcare, and government project management.

4:00 – Walking in the Shoes of the Team

Her rise through roles—Business Analyst, Tester & QA, Developer, Architect, and Project/Program Manager.

5:00 – Speaking "Developer" as a PM

Understanding terminology, methodologies, workflows, and processes to bridge teams effectively.

6:00 – Seeing Through the Chaos

Using experience to close the gap between business and technology.

7:00 – Solving Puzzles

Balancing tools, technology, and teams. How PMs build trust and highlight contributors.

10:00 – Representing vs. Doing the Work

A PM’s role in ensuring work is accurately represented.

11:30 – Healthcare Project Management is Like an Ocean

Managing large-scale projects with a broad perspective.

12:18 – Staying High-Level

Focusing on the big picture without getting lost in details.

13:12 – Industry Terminology Matters

Each project is a stepping stone; knowing sector-specific terms is key.

15:48 – The Significance of Healthcare Projects

Critical, mission-driven work with lasting impact.

16:30 – Healthcare Project Types

A look at the projects shaping the industry.

19:25 – Shifting to Community & Government Projects

Exploring public sector work and its effect on daily life.

21:00 – A Universal PM Language

PMs share common processes and challenges across industries.

22:40 – Emotional Intelligence in PM

A crucial skill for managing teams and stakeholders.

25:00 – Strategic Thinking & Seeing Through Chaos

Lessons from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

27:00 – Understanding People in Projects

Navigating stakeholders, leadership, and team dynamics.

27:30 – PM Appreciation Every Day

Recognizing project managers' contributions.

28:56 – Group Projects & Collaboration

Why teamwork is central to success.

31:00 – PMI Mile Hi Chapter

Discussing PMI’s role in the PM community.

LINKS:

PMI-Mile Hi Chapter: https://www.pmi.org/membership/chapters/north-america/united-states/colorado/mile-hi-chapter

PMI.org Chapter Listings: https://www.pmi.org/membership/chapters

Project Insight Website: projectinsight.com

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