July 10, 2025
Quick Insights to Start Your Week
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Welcome to this weekās Project Management huddle ā your go-to source for the latest trends, industry insights, and tools shaping the industry. Letās dive in! š„
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Stop Chasing the Perfect PM Job and Start Creating It
Thako Harris, a seasoned project management veteran with over 11 years of experience, shares his journey of navigating layoffs and leveraging PM skills to rebuild a career. His client roster includes brands like Subaru, Noom, and Comcast, and he recently led a team of eight senior PMs focused on process optimization and profitability.
Why PM Skills Are Your Lifeline
Layoffs are becoming increasingly common for PMs, but your skills can be your lifeline. As Thako explains, wearing āmany hatsā isnāt just a metaphorāitās a strategic advantage. PMs add immense value by managing resources, driving profitability, and ensuring projects succeed. This value is reflected in employer investments like 401Ks, healthcare, and professional development budgets.
Key Takeaways:
- PMs are rock stars: They handle everything from budgeting to stakeholder communication, making them irreplaceable.
- Job descriptions are misleading: While they may seem endless, experienced PMs already cover these duties.
- Your skills are your superpowers: Use them to rebuild your career, regardless of the path.
The Stages of Post-Layoff Grief
Thako outlines practical steps to navigate the emotional rollercoaster of a layoff:
- Emo Stage: Avoid comparing yourself to others. Focus on self-careāexercise, creativity, or time with loved ones.
- Expand Horizons: Re-evaluate your resume and align it with your goals. Use job descriptions as a blueprint to reverse-engineer opportunities.
- Say Yes to New Possibilities: Whether freelancing, starting a side hustle, or exploring new industries, take action.
Thakoās Story: From Layoff to New Beginnings
After a layoff, Thako embraced uncertainty by:
- Leveraging his network: Securing clients through referrals and freelancing.
- Pursuing passion projects: Launching a cycling tour business in Spain, despite financial hurdles.
- Finding balance: Continuing to work on freelance and fractional roles while refining his long-term goals.
Final Insight:
Thakoās story proves that PM skills are versatile and valuable. Whether youāre rebuilding after a layoff or exploring new paths, your expertise can lead to unexpected opportunities. Know your worth, stay open to magic, and start creating your own version of success.
The AI-Powered Project Manager
Sprint retrospectives are often a chaotic mix of finger-pointing and unproductive venting, leaving teams stuck in a Groundhog Day loop of unresolved issues. The original author of this piece, The AI-Powered Project Manager (https://theaipoweredprojectmanager.substack.com/p/your-sprint-retrospectives-suck-but), calls out the current state of retrospectives as āexpensive venting sessionsā that fail to address root causes. Teams waste hours in meetings, generate zero actionable insights, and repeat the same blockers sprint after sprintālike unwanted relatives at Thanksgiving.
The author argues that traditional retrospectives are ineffective, with meeting satisfaction scores hovering around 2-3 out of 10. In contrast, structured frameworks with AI prompts can transform this process. By using targeted prompts, teams can shift from surface-level complaints to identifying systemic issues that hinder value delivery. For example, AI-powered retrospectives cut meeting times to 45 minutes, boost action item completion rates to 80%, and elevate satisfaction to 8/10. Teams also report a 20-40% increase in sprint velocity, reduced overtime, and measurable improvements in delivery.
The key takeaway? AI acts as a seasoned agile coach, guiding teams to solve problems instead of just complaining about them. The authorās āMega-Promptā and āpower-up promptsā aim to make retrospectives a catalyst for real change, not a ritual of frustration. By embracing this approach, teams can break free from the cycle of unproductive meetings and build a culture of continuous improvement.
The Learning Organization: How to Accelererate AI Adoption
The future is already hereāitās just not evenly distributed. AIās dizzying evolution has created a chasm between whatās possible and whatās implemented. A 2024 McKinsey Global Survey found that 90% of employees used generative AI (gen AI) for work, with 21% being heavy users. Yet, only 13% of employees felt their organizations were early adopters. This gap highlights a critical challenge: how to scale AI adoption without sacrificing quality or creating chaos.
The key lies in adopting a āgardenerās mindset,ā a concept from Alison Gopnikās The Gardener and the Carpenter (2016). Instead of micromanaging AI implementation, leaders should nurture organic innovation. This means identifying āsproutsāāteams experimenting with AIāand scaling their successes. For example, an Asian financial-services company saw its teams use AI to automate data labeling, cutting development times in half. Similarly, customer service teams quietly deployed AI chatbots, reducing response times.
But how do leaders balance innovation with governance? The answer is selective incentives. Rewarding learning over mere usageāsuch as sharing insights or mentoring peersāreduces psychological barriers. One executive noted that innovation rituals, like āinnovation days,ā foster unexpected discoveries. These practices, combined with A/B testing principles (e.g., Amazonās shift to bundling Prime Video), help organizations refine and scale breakthroughs.
Finally, learning organizations thrive by asking the right questions: What did you learn that surprised you? Not every experiment is a success, but honest reporting of failures prevents repetition. By fostering a culture of curiosity and purposeful praise, leaders create space for AI to bloomāand redefine their industries.
š ļø Tool of the Week
Celoxis boasts an intuitive interface that offers a comprehensive view of project health and resources. This holistic overview empowers project managers to effectively meet portfolio objectives while meticulously managing resources. Moreover, Celoxis provides a high degree of granularity, allowing you to connect the smallest tasks or activities with the overarching goal. This ensures that everyone involved feels engaged and motivated.Ā
š¤Æ Fun Fact of the Week
Sustainability will be a core consideration in project management by 2030. Project managers must integrate sustainability metrics, green technologies, and circular economy principles into planning and execution. Organizations prioritize environmental impact and social responsibility, and project managers will promote eco-friendly initiatives and manage sustainable projects. To prepare, project managers should educate themselves on sustainable practices and seek certifications in sustainable project management. Aligning projects with global sustainability objectives enhances their value and contributes to a more sustainable future.
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