PPP 429 | Signs That Your PMO is Going to Fail: Insights from World PMO Influencer Bill Dow

Summary

In this episode, Andy talks with Bill Dow, the Director of Enterprise PMO at University of Washington Medicine and author of multiple project management books. Bill shares his extensive journey in project management, from starting as a data entry clerk in 1989 to leading PMOs in various organizations. The discussion covers the evolution of project management offices (PMOs), key lessons in leadership, and the significant impact of AI on project management.

Bill emphasizes the importance of executive support for PMOs' success and explores future trends like increased automation and the integration of AI into project management processes. Both Andy and Bill reflect on the critical skills needed for effective project management, beyond just technical knowledge, highlighting the art of managing people and building relationships.

Sound Bites

• "Project management's often misunderstood what they actually do. We hear overhead, we hear administrative, book a meeting for us, just bug people to get things done, go get us coffee."
• "I thought I'd be a project manager so I could just boss people around. Like they'll do all the work. Little did I know how complicated this job is."
• "If you don't have executive support backing you, you're not going to survive. It just does not matter."
• "One of the key aspects of what I'm about is tenacity. I just keep trying and trying. If it doesn't work, I'll try again and try again."

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 02:03 Start Of Interview
• 02:27 Bill's Career Journey In Project Management
• 04:18 Misconceptions About Project Management
• 07:57 Lessons In Leading People And Projects
• 12:52 The Evolution Of PMOs
• 18:42 Signs Of A PMO At Risk
• 28:26 Achieving Success As A PMO Influencer
• 34:32 Wrap-Up
• 34:50 Andy's Comments After The Interview
• 38:56 Outtakes

Learn More

You can learn more about Bill at BillDowPMPTraining.com.

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Tranceverse by Sascha Ende
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Fashion Corporate by Frank Schroeter
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license