5 minutes with… Brett Harned
Brett Harned is one of the founding voices of the growing digital project management community. He launched the Digital PM Summit in 2012, and over the past decade has since hosted and spoken to audiences globally. His first book Project Management for Humans was published in July 2017, and the second season of his podcast Sprints and Milestones just launched. His wealth of successful online classes, a YouTube series, and numerous bylines further underscore his experience in digital PM consulting, where he helps his clients to solve process and project challenges with a human-centered approach. Brett lives in the United States, in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife, two daughters, and their french bulldog.
This article was originally posted on LinkedIn in June 2023 and Brett has kindly given permission for the content to be added here.
Why did you choose a career in delivery or project management?
It actually chose me! I graduated college with a degree in English and Fine Arts, and went straight into working on the web as a writer and producer. I learned everything I know about the web, video production, and process in that first job, and even dabbled in UX, design, and code. Years later, I was recruited into a PM role with a large digital agency. That recruiter really got into my brain and told me why I’d be good for the role. The rest is history!
What advice would you give someone starting out in the industry?
Do everything you can to build relationships and learn from your colleagues.
Also, keep in mind that every organization’s definition of “project management” is different, so truly know what you’re getting into and how you can succeed in your role.
Have you ever worked on a particularly difficult project? Why was it rubbish/tough/hard?
Of course. Every difficult project, for me, comes down to people and the chaos that they can bring to any project. I’ve seen issues with communication, alignment, stakeholder management…you name it!
What do you think are the most important skills for a delivery or project manager to have?
Resilience. You have to be willing to not be loved (or even liked, at times), and at the same time be the person who is dogged about timeline, scope, and facilitating decisions. Being that person can be a challenge on some teams, and people might even complain about you--or worse, disrespect your role. But if you’re resilient and can explain why you’re doing something (and hopefully doing it well), and even be flexible about your approach, you’ll find success.
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing delivery and project managers today?
In the current climate, it’s likely a lack of resources. Many teams in tech are being gutted, so PMs are charged with doing more with less.
What projects would you have loved to have been involved in?
I’m a big live music fan and love to go to concerts. I think it would be really interesting to manage a global stadium tour. It’s kind of mind blowing when you take a step back and think about the amount of work that goes into planning something like that. Not just the show itself, but the orchestration of everything to make it happen in a new city every couple of nights.
This post is from the ‘5 minutes with’ series of articles from people in the delivery management and project management space.