While I’m not a professional speaker, my speaking style has been described as thought-provoking, pragmatic, and inspirational.
I have stories and scars to tell. I do like best practices, but I prefer best-fit practices.
I like famous quotes too but realised that what people really need is a no-bullshit approach, born out of experience, and with some practical hints and tips or, even better, a true wake-up call.
That’s what I’m committed to deliver.
Find below some of my most popular speaking topics or contact me for a custom speaking solution.
You usually don’t see other departments, such as Legal or Finance, having to sell to the Executives on why they are important to an organization, however this is a well-known scenario for PMOs. The reality is that PMOs face an underlying paradox in their raison d’ être: while they exist to meet the needs of the business, if all projects were being successful, in principle, then you would assume that there would be no need for PMOs. A question thus should be asked: how to make PMOs indispensable to business?
In this presentation, I argue that to go beyond a state where the justification for PMOs is bounded by the failure and temporality of projects, PMOs need to raise their profile and position themselves as a sustainable source of value by responding to five key challenges, which are imperatives for their future and makes PMOs critical to business. Let’s unlock the value of your PMO!
Making PMOs critical to business
Adopting a clearly defined methodology to manage a project is not just usual for most project-based organisations nowadays but also rightly considered to be a best practice. However, blindly applying a best practice or a methodology may not always be the best course of action, especially when one is faced with a complex or novel species of a project. With the rise of Agile, organizations have recently ventured into dual models, enabling project managers to decide which approach is better suited to the project’s nature. But why stop there?
This workshop will take you to the next level, where not just different methods co-exist but, just as Lego pieces, are combined, re-organized and experimented (while having fun!) to find what works best for the project – Project Management Bricolage. With a pragmatic perspective and thought-provoking style, the workshop will focus on the importance of the appropriate competency over the appropriate methodology, and the need for critical thinking, flexibility and experimentation as the ingredients to balance order and chaos in project management.
Project Management Bricolage: the “Whatever Works” Way
What do unicorns, cockroaches, elephants, or pets all have in common?
These type of projects exist in most organizations as “creatures” that slow down portfolio delivery!
If you are struggling to get rid of pets projects or have encountered a watermelon project (green in the outside, red in the inside) recently, this workshop is for you. Join me for a full hour of fun and learning, where we will be assessing the composition of your project jungle, how each creature is impacting your portfolio of projects, and, most importantly, how to neutralize them in an efficient way.
Gotta catch 'em all!
Project creatures that slow down (or accelerate) your portfolio
Do you keep reading posts and job ads about PMO but have no idea what this PMO thing is about? Do you crave for project portfolio visibility and a standard approach for delivering projects in your organization? Would you like to implement a PMO but don’t know where to start or what it takes? Do you want to advance your PMO career?
If you answered “Yes, please!” to any of these questions, this presentation is for you. With a pragmatic, thought-provoking approach, I will introduce you to the fascinating world of PMOs and the changing face of the PMO professional.
Focusing on the importance of the right competencies and using examples from, arguably, the best PMOs in the world, I will also provide an opportunity to uncover the DNA of real PMO Leaders.
Who wants to be a PMO Leader
Once upon a time there was a project. Each project is a story to be told, with its own characters, a more or less complex plot, a couple of usual (or unusual!) setbacks and the moral of the story to remember for future projects. But what could the stories of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ or ‘The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing’ possibly have to do with the world of project management?
Join me for a walk down memory lane and revisit your childhood fairly tales under the lens of project management. After all, storytelling is a powerful communication tool for project managers…even the ones who have trouble sleeping!
Bedtime stories for project managers
All projects are at some point in their life exposed to disorder. Yet, the dominant view of project management emphasizes stability and mitigation of risk as to maintain that stability.
I argue that this view might be unintentionally creating fragile projects that “break” at minimal disorder, ultimately damaging the performance of the profession over time, where a high percentage of projects continues to fail and where opportunities for increased performance are wasted as a result of a persistent appeal to control variability in projects.
Following from exploratory and pioneering research on this topic, I will explore what the popular term coined by Nassim Taleb (author of “Black Swan” and “Antifragility”) could mean for the profession and the way we understand and manage projects.
Can project management gain from disorder?
Providing that it is a project management, organizational transformation, or leadership-related topic, I’m available to discuss and prepare a custom presentation or workshop suited to the needs of the audience and theme of the event. Just get in touch!
Custom
Some of the conferences and/or organizations where I’ve presented
Rules of Engagement
While I do appreciate that we live in a global world powered by technology, I value the human connection, the real-time feedback from an audience, and the excitement of stepping on stage in front of a crowd eager to learn and be inspired – well, and being honest, I like travelling too.
For that reason, for the time being, I do face-to-face speaking engagements only (and based on my availability, of course).
Although not a professional speaker, preparing for a presentation or workshop does take time and effort. Following, while I don’t charge any speaking fees, I will be very grateful if travel and accommodation arrangements are on you. Not much of an ask, I hope.
Thank you!