Project Management Happy Hour

Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson•pmhappyhour.libsyn.com

PM Happy Hour is the place for frank and honest discussion about real world issues in project management. We do it in a way that's not too dry, though it may get a bit salty from time to time. Each episode, your hosts Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson cover a problem faced in project management today, and share practical advice, real-life examples and the occasional project horror story. Not only that, but every podcast is also an online class! Our host is a PMI Registered Education Provider, who has structured each podcast as an easy-to-listen-to lesson. To get credit, go to our web site at PMHappyHour.com, purchase your class, take the test (based on the content from our podcast) and you get your PDU certificate instantly!

Last refreshed: April 4th, 2026 at 12:42 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

035 - Kickass Martial Arts Lessons for Project Managers

This episode, Kim shares some lessons from his time studying martial arts studies with some amazing instructors that apply to Project Management! And no, they do not include giving that troublesome stakeholder a spin-kick to the head :-) But they do include lessons on how to assert yourself, how to focus on the important things in the moment and how to approach mentorship. Join the journey from white belt to kickass PM black belt! From the Filipino stick fighting art of Balintawak Eskrima to Ame...

Oct 02, 2018•37 min

034 - PM Superhero Smackdown! Kate and Kim share lessons from their favorite movie PMs

This episode, Kate and Kim talk about their favorite Project Managers from the big screen and small screen - and what lessons we can take away from them. From big-screen capers to everybody's favorite movie PM (who is "here to put you BACK on schedule, commander"... because the sponsor is not as forgiving as he is… :-) ) Laughs aside, media are a big part of everyone's lives, and these characters and plots are part of our culture - as should be project management. So, get some popcorn, listen to...

Sep 24, 2018•44 min

033 - Lessons from Interviewing 50 Women PMs in 50 days - a chat with Elise Stevens

This episode, we are excited to have Elise Stevens, podcaster, speaker and PM thought leader join us on our show! Elise shares what she learned in undertaking the task to interview 50 women in Project Management over 50 days, and gives us some great tips to help us support our fellow PM's ABOUT OUR AMAZING GUEST, ELISE STEVENS For over two decades, Elise has worked closely with project managers to positively impact and innovate effective management processes. She has collaborated with a range of...

Sep 17, 2018•40 min

032 - Project Management Thunderdome! Internal versus External Project Managers

Project Managers can be categorized as "internal" project managers, who deliver projects for stakeholders within their own organizations, or "external" project managers, who delivery projects to customers outside their organization. Although both are project managers, there are some very important differences between the skill sets they use. But which is better? Which role fits you best? What skills are most important for each role? Having each lived in both worlds, Kate and Kim take opposite si...

Sep 03, 2018•59 min

031 - Crucial Conversations part 3 - Stepping in and taking the lead

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! Continuing our deep dive into the concepts in the book, Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler, we wrap up our 3 part discussion on thi...

Aug 27, 2018•59 min

030 - Crucial Conversations part 2: Oh, man it just got difficult!

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! Continuing our deep dive into the concepts of Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler, we pick up where we left off in our first Crucial...

Aug 20, 2018•47 min

029 - Stop the Scope Creep! Using Change Control to keep the monsters at bay

Controlling your project scope is one of the most important things we can do as project managers - but so easy to let slip. Don't let Scope Creep sneak up on you! In this episode we talk about scope creep and discuss ways to keep your scope on track - and how to handle it if your scope needs to change. JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our membership! https://pmhappyhour.com/membership STUMP THE PM'S!...

Jul 29, 2018•30 min

028 - Embracing the Escalation: raising visibility without raising your blood pressure

Management escalation, oh, no! When issues get escalated to our managers and executive stakeholders, our hearts sink, a sweat breaks out and we start to freak out. But should we? Maybe we should "flip the script" and think of escalations as good and even necessary - when done correctly. In today's show, Kate and Kim talk frankly about management escalations, and how, in some circumstances, a PM isn't doing their job if they don't raise some issues for management attention PLUS, Kate gives Kim a ...

Jul 29, 2018•40 min

027 - Crucial Conversations: Part 1 - Oh, man it just got crucial

One of the toughest - and most important jobs - of a PM is having difficult conversations. These can be with sponsors, stakeholders, team members or other PMs. And the ability to successfully manage these difficult conversations can make the difference between success and failure - for your project, and your career! In this episode, Kate walks us through some key concepts and real life examples based of one of her most influential business books, Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny, Al Switzl...

Jul 22, 2018•46 min

026 - Mastering the Mastermind: facilitating small groups for big results

While the term "mastermind group" was coined in the 20's, it has been used by business leaders, writers, artists and philosophers going back much further to develop new ideas, themselves and accomplish amazing things. In this episode, we get some coaching from a Mastermind Master, J.R. Russell on how to facilitate a mastermind group - and we do one live on the air with PM Happy Hour members! Also, for the first time, we have video of a Podcast session! Come to our web site at pmhappyhour.com to ...

Jul 11, 2018•1 hr 2 min

025 - The Last Move - a little bit of game theory for your projects

Here's a short episode inspired by the mathematical study of Game Theory! Not only can "moving last" (or latter) put you in a strong strategic position, but can also make you a better listener. We'll also talk about some of the downsides of "sequential" turns in meetings, and how to keep that from stifling honest feedback using the Delphi method. JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certificates, bonus content, exclusive member Q&A webinars and more from our new membership! h...

Jun 27, 2018•31 min

024 - How to Run a Meeting - and not waste everyone's time

A lot of Project Management is about communicating and managing people. And one of our most frequently used tools for this is the meeting. In this episode we share some tips our best practices for making meetings productive - and not wasting yours and everyone else's time. Based on popular demand, Kate and Kim share some of their top productivity tips for running an effective meeting that doesn't waste everyone's (including your) time JOIN THE HAPPY HOUR! Get access to all podcasts, PDU certific...

Jun 17, 2018•1 hr 2 min

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