Who Are We and Why Are We Doing This? Transcript

Idris Manley: Welcome to Future of Work 2.0. I'm your co-host Idris Manley.

Ross Martin: And I'm Ross Martin. Thank you for joining us on this inaugural broadcast of Future of Work 2.0. We're really glad to have you. The way this is going to work is for each of these episodes, Idris and I are going to take on a number of topics and discuss them based on our experience. And they're going to be around project management, the project management profession, your career growth, threats from different parts of technology and expectations, the impact of AI and other innovations, all sorts of things. And so this first episode, this first topic actually we're gonna be talking about is who are we and why are we doing this? I figure that's a good way to start. So Idris, would you like to start with introducing yourself? Sure, sure.

Idris Manley: Hello again, I'm Idris Manley. I am a longtime project leader in Silicon Valley technology companies. I have, over the course of 25 years, I have contributed to hundreds of projects, both as an individual contributor, as well as a leader and executive of PMO. I have created PMOs, I have run PMOs, as well as, again, managing projects as a project program leader. And so I have a significant amount of experience understanding the challenges and opportunities of successfully delivering projects and also navigating one's career as a project manager. In terms of companies I've worked with, I've worked with companies many of which you would be familiar with in tech. Companies that are public. I've worked in startups as well. as well as companies that have had various exits in the middle. And so being able to understand the nuances of working in a highly matrixed, large organization, as well as wearing multiple hats in a small company, again, I bring that to bear. So I'm looking forward to being able to share that wealth of knowledge, regardless of what stage you are at in your career, whether you are early in your career and you're looking to figure out how to navigate your career to become a more senior project manager or move into management perhaps. As well as it may perhaps you already are a manager or you're an executive and you're looking to figure out how you can continue to make an impact and continue to grow your career as well. I believe that I can offer a lot of knowledge and expertise to help support you in that journey.

Ross Martin: Thanks Idris, and I'm Ross Martin and I have over 30 years experience managing projects. I actually started out in big consulting and even as an engineer and a process design expert before I moved into project management. And then I moved into some startups, and then moved into the Silicon Valley big tech arena, where I saw a lot of innovations and changes over the years. I was there when Agile first came around, and I really enjoyed embracing the switch to Agile. Though, as you'll find on some of the other topics that we'll talk about, as we all know, it hasn't been the smoothest transition in all cases. I also have worked in media companies around the world, as well as healthcare. And I've played a number of different roles, including individual project manager and program manager, but also PMO leader, and actually moved into the strategy function at some companies as well. and to have a number of thoughts about the importance of project managers moving into strategic arenas if you want to move your career forward. So, I'm also looking forward to sharing my knowledge with you as well, and I think that we're going to touch on things that impact folks who are new in project management or looking to get into project management as well as people who've been in project management for quite some time and your career is further along and you're trying to figure out how to move it even forward and contribute even more. So Idris, that's who we are. So the next question then becomes, why are we doing this? What's this all about?

Idris Manley: Yeah, fair question. Why are we doing this? You know, I think we're really at a very interesting point in time within the PMO profession, project management profession. I think we're really at an inflection point. I think, you know, in a sense, there are a lot of different variables or factors that are currently unfolding that is influencing, impacting how we contribute and the nature of our contributions. Whether it's artificial intelligence coming from below and looking to take on more of the task-oriented, repetitive contributions that we've made, like meeting notes and resource management, etc., project planning. as well as I think we're being sort of compressed by the sides with work management solutions like Monday and Asana and solutions that are essentially looking to make it easier for departments to collaborate and to perform work management project activities without the need of a project manager. So you're finding that departments are starting to take on more and more of those responsibilities independent of PMO and project management. And then I think we're also from above. Executives historically have, or at least I will say that we have not played quite the role that we have wanted to and often sought to play from a strategic perspective, being able to contribute to projects more strategically for various reasons. And so I think there has been sort of a limitation in certain ways, whether it's self-imposed or it's externally imposed on project managers being able to really contribute at the highest, most strategic levels in the companies that they support. And so as a result of these three factors, it has really prevented us, or it's further compressing and preventing us from being able to really contribute in ways that we have historically. And so I think it's important to have conversations that discuss exactly why that's the case and how we can begin to navigate more effectively around that.

Ross Martin: Yeah, it can actually be quite scary if you think about it. You know, threats coming from all sides for our profession, right? I think that, you know, there's a couple of different ways that we can all collectively react to those threats. One of them is that some folks will not do anything at all. And then we'll, over time, start to wonder, kind of, where their job went. I think if you do nothing, I think that's probably the most dangerous thing of all. And I think it's important to really spend time understanding both what's going on with the work management PPM tools as well as what AI is doing. But as you'll find, Indris and I are really advocating for breaking through the perception that the role is not strategic and acting and behaving more strategically in order to basically survive the squeeze that's coming.

Idris Manley: Yeah, that's a good way to put it. It is a squeeze from all directions.

Ross Martin: Yeah, yeah. So I think we have a lot to discover together, actually, right? We need to think through what's happening and what can we do about it. And there's two aspects also I think we should all think about here, which is, what will you do as an individual to move your career along and how not to get caught in this squeeze, as we mentioned? But then there's what we do collectively as a profession Yeah, you know what what is it that how do we make it? So that project management doesn't become something that used to happen in the past that most people don't do anymore Yeah, how do I think there's still a need for for our roles, don't you?

Idris Manley: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I think it's but I think it's more than just focusing on certifications and how can I get the next certification I think That's important. I mean, I have a PMP myself, and so I certainly understand the value and the importance of being certified, but I think there's a lot more to consider and a lot more to have in your toolbox to make you more effective and successful now and in the future. I think we really need to focus on leadership and understanding what that really means. We need to understand, as you said, strategy. really understand what it means to be more strategic. How can you contribute in more strategic ways? What are the technologies and tools that would empower you and enable you to contribute in more strategic ways? How are you to be taken more seriously as a strategic contributor? I think there's a lot of conversation, a lot of discussion to be had around understanding how to make that transition.

Ross Martin: Yeah, I agree. It's going to be an interesting ride. And not everybody's going to make it through. But I think that together, I think we can spend some time really thinking through with you how to improve our individual lots and how to redefine this project management profession for the new age with our executive leaders.

Idris Manley: Yeah, and I think just to add, you know, when you look at historically the kind of content that has been made available to project managers, as I said, it's usually emphasizing certifications or productivity enhancements. I think there's just a lot more information and topics and content that would be of help to project managers to really understand what needs to happen and where they need to sort of grow and learn.

Ross Martin: Yeah, and we felt like we weren't seeing that ourselves. We were looking for it. And so Idris and I discussed making it. Yeah. So thank you and welcome to the ride. This should be an interesting experience over the next couple of years for all project managers. And we appreciate your joining Future of Work 2.0. Thank you.