Events – Leading Answers

September 11, 2024October 3, 2026Agile Project Management, Books, Events, Travel

Learn to Surf: Riding the Waves of Change Impacting Project Management

As a kid, I grew up in Cornwall, UK surfing the cold Atlantic coast beaches of Newquay and Porthtowan. Next week I am excited to be in Los Angeles presenting on waves of change and hybrid approaches. This talk is particularly poignant since it will be 20 years since I gave my first PMI Global presentation on hybrid techniques, which was also in Los Angeles (Link). It’s like coming full circle from talking about something new to returning to see it mainstream. Of course, it was not really new in 2004. People have been combining agile concepts with more plan-driven approaches for much longer. Tom Gilb was doing this in the 1980s. In 2000, I helped co-author what I think […]

December 15, 2023October 3, 2026Agile Project Management, Events, Travel

3 Themes Shaping Tomorrow’s Project Environment

PMI had a reputation for being conservative and slow to adopt new ideas or technology (it was slow to embrace agility, for instance). So, I was pleased to see three progressive themes dominating the sessions at the recent PMI Global Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. Theme 1: Putting Artificial Intelligence to WorkGoing into the conference, I knew artificial intelligence would be a pervasive topic. There were great AI presentations and AI-powered tools being demoed in the exhibit area, and some impressive announcements from PMI: The "Generative AI Overview for Project Managers" course had more than 66,000 signups in the first few weeks of being offered—and saw an impressive 2,850 additional ones at the conference alone. PMI launched its own "Project Infinity" […]

October 13, 2023October 3, 2026Agile Project Management, Events, Tailoring Approaches, Travel

Is the Agile Movement at an Inflection Point?

Inflection Point – a critical change in direction. Yesterday, a couple of data points crossed my desk that got me wondering if the Agile movement has succeeded and will now be absorbed into the mainstream. First, Jurgen Appelo posted about how the Agile Movement is Shrinking, but the Agile Mindset is Growing. He explained that some Agile conference attendance numbers are shrinking while business change is accelerating, and the most sought-after skills are collaboration and agility. An alternative explanation is that people do not go to in-person conferences as much anymore. COVID taught us that remote is possible. Anyone who tried to get Taylor Swift tickets knows in-person can be expensive, and maybe on video is the next best thing. […]

April 18, 2023September 27, 2025Events, Personal Agility, Teams, Travel

Agile Open Canada

I am excited to be attending Agile Open Canada in Banff this May. If you are free May 29 and 30, please come and join us! It is a great Open Space unconference that brings people together to share their latest ideas, challenges, lessons learned, and experiments around agile approaches. Hosted at the Banff Park Lodge and only $130 CDN for two days of events with food, drinks and optional activities. Why not stay a day or two longer? Late May / early June is a great time to visit Banff National Park. I hope to see you there. Full details here.

April 6, 2023September 27, 2025Certification, Events, Games, Visual Learning

PM Illustrated Free PDU Webinar

Please join me with Peak Business Management for a Free PDU webinar on April 12th at 7:00 pm Eastern Time. Along with Barb Waters, I will be demonstrating the PMP® Exam curriculum from a visual learner’s perspective and giving a tour of PMillustrated.com. We will explore the videos, mindmaps, animations, and games that make learning fun and more effective. We will also be available to answer questions about the PMP® Exam, eligibility criteria, and what to expect in the exam. Reserve your place now and automatically receive 1 PDU for attending the event. I hope you can join us. Register Here

September 27, 2022October 3, 2026Agile Project Management, Books, Events, Leadership, Tailoring Approaches

Beyond Agile presentation this Friday

On Friday, September 30, I will be presenting a session on Beyond Agile at the HTEC Project Management Virtual Conference. The session is free to attend and is part of a program that also features Scott Ambler, Sanjiv Augustine, Nader Rad, and Frank Turley. You can register here. “Yes, And, And” A colleague recently described Beyond Agile as a “Yes, And, And” toolkit, and I thought it was a great way to summarize the two elements of combining hybrid agile with the Theory of Constraints, and value stream view. “Yes, And” “Yes, And” is a term from improv comedy that refers to the idea of not undermining what has come before and adding valuable new elements. For example, we can […]

April 16, 2022September 27, 2025Agile Project Management, Events, Tailoring Approaches, Warning Signs

Hybrid Agile Discussion

Upcoming Presentation: “Hybrid Agile, Stepping Stone or Quicksand?” How do you feel about hybrid agile – mixing agile approaches with non-agile approaches? Can it be useful sometimes, or is it the path to compromise and failure? (A great way to separate agile purists from pragmatists is to ask them what they think about hybrid agile.) Please join me on April 26 to discuss hybrid agile with PMI San Diego Chapter. In this session, we will separate agile blends from non-agile hybrids. Then explore case studies of failures and success stories, examining patterns of problems and success factors. Topics include: Left-to-right agile adoption vs right-to-left implementation The Genius of the “And” vs. the Tyranny of the “Or” Hybrid models (switchover, sandwich, […]

January 2, 2022Agile Project Management, Books, Certification, Events, PMI-ACP, Visual Learning

January 2022 – PMI-ACP Supported Self-Study Group

The next 7-week PMI-ACP Supported Study Group with Mike Griffiths is starting soon. Register by January 15th for Earlybird pricing of just $99 (regular $199). This live 7-week online book-club / self-study program works as follows: Read one chapter of my PMI-ACP Exam Prep book each week Join me for a one-hour Zoom call to review topics and ask any questions you may have Get access to a private LinkedIn group where you can ask additional questions and discuss topics with peers Receive exclusive chapter summaries, mindmaps, additional sample exam questions, and extra resources A small group capped at 25 people. At the end of the 7-week program, we will have covered all the material, and you should be ready […]

August 20, 2021October 12, 2026Agile Project Management, Books, Certification, Events, Games, Leadership, PMI-ACP, Visual Learning

Announcing “PM Illustrated” – The Fun Way to Prepare for Your PMP® Exam

I know, “Fun” and “PMP Exam” are rarely used in the same sentence. When I studied for my PMP credential in 2001, materials were text-based, process-focused, and dry! Unfortunately, not much has changed since then. However, fun is a serious business in adult learning, it boosts retention and cuts study time. We recall facts about our favorite hobbies and sports teams much easier than boring information because our brains prioritize fun experiences for recall. It is why good trainers who can make a topic enjoyable are so valuable. Visual Learning The other secret weapon in slashing our study time is Visual Learning. Research into visual thinking by David Hyerle, reports that 90% of the information entering the brain is visual. […]

June 18, 2021Agile Project Management, Books, Events, Leadership, Lean, Teams, Visual Learning

Beyond Agile – Webinar Recording

Last month I did a 20-minute overview of my new Beyond Agile book for the Washington D.C. Lean-Agile MeetUp group hosted by Sanjiv Augustine. I outline how Beyond Agile grew from studying high-performing teams and trying to distill what they did differently than most other teams. In the video, I cover Agile Myopia, Buffet Syndrome and the need to drop agile processes when they no longer bring enough value to warrant their use. I would like to thank Sanjiv and the entire team at LitheSpeed for hosting me and allowing me to share this video with you here. Anyone interested in my Beyond Agile book can get a paperback or electronic version here.