The project that got funded is the one whose estimate was furthest from reality. That isn’t bad luck. It’s selection. Every quarter, a room of executives looks at a stack of proposals and funds a few. The ones that win have the best numbers: the highest return, the lowest cost, the shortest timeline. Ask yourself […]
Tag: risk management
What “Sound Judgment” Means at Work in 2026 (And How to Prove You Have It)
TL;DR: Sound judgment at work means consistently choosing the best available option under incomplete information, time pressure, and competing priorities. It’s the most-paid skill at senior levels because it’s the hardest to automate and the easiest to misjudge in hiring. You prove you have it by showing a documented pattern of calls you made, the […]
If There Is Any Doubt, There’s No Doubt: The Decision Rule Every Project Leader Needs (and When to Break It)
In the 1998 thriller Ronin, Robert De Niro plays Sam, a wary ex-operative who refuses to walk into a meeting that doesn’t smell right. Pressed on it, he offers the rule he lives by: “Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt.” Asked who taught him that, he says he can’t remember — which, […]
How to Use the 5 Whys Technique at Work (Step-by-Step With Examples)
The 5 Whys is a root-cause analysis technique developed at Toyota: you ask “why” five times in sequence until you reach the underlying cause of a problem, not the symptom. It takes 15–30 minutes, requires no software, and routinely surfaces decisions that save six and seven figures. It’s one of the highest-leverage skills in 2026 […]
Is Project Management an AI-Proof Career Skill in 2026? (Yes — Here’s Why)
Yes. Project management is one of the few roles where AI makes the PM more valuable, not less, because the core work — stakeholder alignment, risk judgment, scope negotiation, and sequencing under ambiguity — is exactly the work AI can’t do. The PMP certification is the highest-ROI credential in the skill, and it’s more filterable […]