GenAI can write the update. It still can’t tell you how they hear it. GenAI has made it very easy to write a polished project update. Useful, certainly. Dangerous, if we start believing the writing was the hard part. Most project and change teams are not short of words.
Everyone says change management should start early. Quite right, as I love to say ‘Its people that deliver, not projects’. But early is usually the sense making stage when the project knows the least. One of the best change principles I ever learned was this: Don’t start with the
Plenty of Project Management and Change Books talk about engaging your stakeholders but they always seem to skip over the ‘how’ and ‘when’ — well let’s fix that. This diagram shows the different Stakeholder tribes that will influence your project. Who to talk to first Once you've had
Every project changes shape once it hits real life. Life happens . People leave, phases change and eventually someone new is handed the wheel. And you hear the words every PM dreads 'not much to do - its all under control'. That’s when the real work begins, learning what’
When a vendor PM takes over a client project, the job isn’t just delivery — it’s diplomacy. The client’s watching, the team’s watching, and somewhere nearby, the Account Manager is quietly watching hardest of all. 1. The Hand You’re Actually Shaking When you inherit a client
You can tell when a project’s in trouble even before the metrics catch up. Everyone’s “green,” the schedule’s still intact — but people have gone quiet. You feel it in the air. Still, quiet isn’t the end it’s the signal that the project’s ready for
Frameworks are great until your infrastructure moves faster than your diagrams. Here’s why tag-based mapping might be the smarter play in 2025 Over the last year I’ve rolled out a few IT Services and Governance layers. I was talking to a friend who’s a ServiceNow guru
Understanding what type of project you’re really running — and how to engage the people who shape it Not every project is created equal, and treating them all the same is a quiet career-killer. If you can’t explain why the project exists — not just what it does — you’
The Moment of Realisation Every project manager hopes for a clean rollout, clear scope, working documentation, confident users. But sometimes you arrive mid-voyage and discover you’re already taking on water. No documentation. No real training. No functional experts. No authority. Just panic, fatigue, and a long trail of
Working as a project manager (PM) on the vendor side presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities compared to traditional client-side project management. Vendor-side PMs play a crucial role in ensuring that the products or services their company provides meet the client's requirements, budget, and
Sharing lessons and tools for real world projects Workfriend.ai is the workbench, soapbox, and sometimes sandpit of Kevin Edwards. My goal is simple: share the kind of content I wish existed when I was starting out in delivery. This blog is about the real world of projects, what I’
What should you do when your stakeholders just aren’t getting along? Building relationships and avoiding conflict is usually the Project Manager’s go-to. Makes sense - there will always be more projects, and it’s wise to maintain the bridges you’ll need to walk over again. That’s
Meet the Panel Robert Cialdini – World-acclaimed psychologist and author of Influence and Pre-Suasion, who defined the “seven principles of persuasion”. Simon Sinek – Leadership expert, TED star, and bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last. Dan O’Connor – Communication coach, YouTuber, and author of Say This,
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Benchmarks are yesterday’s story, now GPT-5 is showing up as a day-to-day assistant. From Tool to Intern GPT-5 can still draft, code, and search like its predecessors, but the leap is in its ability to coordinate, use tools, and manage tasks in sequence. It’s
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New tech waves reward smart timing. From predictive analytics to GenAI copilots, here’s where the chips are landing - and which bets to place for 2026. My art teacher once told me I had enough to appreciate art, but I wasn’t going to be the next Picasso. She was
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