102 - Kim's first day working for the Empire: Kate runs another Project Management role-play
Release Date: 04/01/2025
121 - Top Shelf Replay: Embracing the Escalation
Project Management Happy Hour
Escalation: it’s a word that can make even experienced project managers tense. But what if you approached it as a tool rather than a threat? In this Top Shelf Replay of Project Management Happy Hour, we revisit the classic episode “Embracing De-escalation,” exploring how savvy project managers use escalation to enhance visibility, make informed decisions, and navigate risk—without losing their cool. Hosts Kim and Kate dive into the nuances of escalation, showing how the best project leaders balance assertiveness with thoughtful communication. Far from being a reactive panic button,...
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120 - How smart teams talk themselves into Failure, with Dr. Bill Brantley
Project Management Happy Hour
Why do smart teams still deliver failed projects? Most project failures don’t begin with a catastrophic mistake. Instead, they begin with small deviations—minor compromises that seem harmless in the moment. A warning sign gets ignored. A shortcut becomes acceptable. A risk is acknowledged but tolerated because “nothing bad happened last time.” Over time, those deviations quietly become the new normal. In this episode of Project Management Happy Hour, Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson sit down with Dr. Bill Brantley to explore one of the most dangerous patterns in project leadership:...
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119 - TSR: They told me I’m ‘too nice’??
Project Management Happy Hour
Have you ever gotten feedback that made you want to flip a table because it was both insulting and totally useless? In this Top Shelf Replay, we revisit “They Told Me I’m Too Nice” and break down what that kind of vague feedback is really doing (sometimes gendered, almost always inactionable), why it hits so hard, and how to respond without spiraling - or people-pleasing your way into a personality transplant. Then we go beyond the original episode with practical, real-world tactics: how to ask better follow-up questions, how to force examples without sounding defensive, how to...
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118 - PM Turf Wars: Sharing your projects with other Project Managers
Project Management Happy Hour
"Three PMs walk into a bar: a business PM, an IT PM, and a Vendor PM…" Sounds like a bad joke, but if you don't get it right - the joke will be your project. Very often, you aren't the "one PM to rule them all" on your project - you may have other PMs involved that you need to work with. But how do you decide who does what, and how do you prevent turf wars from turning your project into a slow-motion train wreck? In this episode, we ditch the corporate fluff to dive into the messy reality of projects with "too many cooks". We discuss how to navigate the friction between different project...
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117 - Top Shelf Replay: Say No by Saying Yes
Project Management Happy Hour
Project managers are constantly told they need to “learn how to say no.” But in the real world—especially when the ask comes from a sponsor, executive, or important customer—just saying no often isn’t productive, strategic, or even possible. In this Top Shelf Replay episode of Project Management Happy Hour, Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson revisit one of the show’s earliest “Appetizer” episodes: Say No by Saying Yes, originally aired in 2017. Short, deceptively simple, and still painfully relevant, this episode breaks down a technique that helps project managers protect scope,...
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116 - How to quit your job and completely fail as a PM contractor
Project Management Happy Hour
Thinking about going contractor? Kate and Kim share how they each left corporate and made the leap—two very different stories (burnout vs acting early) with the same core truth: contracting is built on relationships, reputation, and value… not job boards and commodity rates. We cover how to know if you’re ready, why sales is part of the job, what to watch out for (hello, 2008), and how to avoid racing to the bottom. Want us to teach the full process with scripts + steps? Head to http://pmhappyhour.com/be-free.
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115 - Top Shelf Replay: Trust Bricks
Project Management Happy Hour
As project managers, we spend a lot of time talking about tools, processes, and delivery frameworks—but far less time talking about the invisible structure that holds projects together: trust. In this Top Shelf Replay episode of Project Management Happy Hour, Kim Essendrup and Kate Anderson revisit one of the show’s earliest and most enduring concepts: Trust Bricks. Originally recorded in 2018, this short but powerful episode explores how trust is built—not through grand gestures or heroic saves—but through consistent, everyday actions that compound over time. The core idea is simple:...
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114 - Happy Hour Chatter: What PMs Really Do, Fear in Decision-Making, and Lessons from Going solo
Project Management Happy Hour
Kim and Kate settle in for a classic PM Happy Hour episode — the kind where the drinks are metaphorical, the conversation is wandering in the best way, and the insights sneak up on you. This one covers three big themes that hit close to home for project managers, leaders, and anyone who’s ever had to keep a project — or a career — moving forward despite chaos. It starts with a deceptively simple question: How do you describe what a PM actually does for a living? Kim brings his favorite one-sentence description, and Kate immediately pokes at it (lovingly) to reveal the gaps between a...
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113 - Top Shelf Replay: Stage direction in the boardroom
Project Management Happy Hour
What happens when you drop a senior project manager into a room full of attorneys, tribal leaders, political operators, and massive personalities? In this Top Shelf Replay, Kate & Kim revisit one of the most beloved—and re-listened—episodes in PM Happy Hour history: “Stage Direction in the Boardroom” featuring master facilitator Sheila Morago. If you’ve ever wondered how elite leaders steer complicated, high-stakes conversations without losing their cool (or losing six months of work with one careless comment), this episode is your new playbook. Sheila shares the tools, tactics,...
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112 - Burnout: when a 500k job isn't worth it, with Norlander Wilson
Project Management Happy Hour
Kate didn’t plan to measure their burnout by the number of bags of pink-and-purple Mother’s animal cookies consumed at their desk…but here we are. Kim’s clue was a rotating cycle of stomach aches and “maybe these aren’t panic attacks but the room is definitely spinning.” And our guest, Norlander Wilson, talks about showing up to work without showering or brushing her teeth for days because she literally couldn’t. This one is about burnout at work — not the “I need a weekend off” kind, but the kind that rewires your nervous system and convinces you you’re the problem....
info_outlineOur D&D-style project role play was such a hit, we did it again - in a different universe. One far, far away…
This time, it’s Kim’s first day as a project manager working on a secret government project for the Empire. As he shows up, he finds that his predecessor… well, let’s just say he didn’t get-on well with his exec sponsor.
Kim’s new project is behind schedule, roadblocked with supply chain issues and is out of funding. Can he get the “RTDU” project back on track by the end of the day, or <gulp> will he have to give an awkward project update to his black-cloaked project sponsor? You can bet Game Master Kate has some fun in store!
And… you can get the mug! For a limited time, you can go to https://pmhappyhour.com/merch and get a commemorative PM Happy Hour mug with an image of the “RTDU” in use!
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