This week’s Foundations Friday, Start with One AI Use Case, is a bit of a reset and reminder. If you’re in public safety or project management, you don’t need to become a coder. But you do need to understand where AI can help you lead smarter and deliver faster.

In this episode, Can AI Revolutionize Public Safety and Project Management? We explore how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how we plan, respond, and lead in complex environments.

Key takeaways:

• How to get your PEOPLE ready with an AI readiness assessment
• Where to fit AI into your organization's PROCESS
• When to measure PROGRESS with an AI impact dashboard

People first. Process aligned. Progress together.

Welcome to the 20-episode run of the All-Hazards Project Management series of the People, Process, Progress podcast.

Since I was seventeen, I’ve been involved in public safety, emergency medicine, and planning events or incident responses. Across all these roles, one truth has stood out: effective planning connects them all. In public safety, it’s about saving lives and protecting property—but that only works when teams share a process and operate efficiently. In emergency medicine, triage and crisis standards guide us to do the greatest good for the greatest number. And in project management, it’s about turning an idea into reality.

In every one of these fields, people are the constant. To stay safe, deliver care, and get results, those people must work a shared process. The progress we make depends on both.

That’s where this All-Hazards Project Management series comes in.

This series is built from the field and the front lines. I've used elements of what you’ll hear in these episodes to train fire department leaders in project management and to share public safety insights with members of the Project Management Institute (PMI). These are the practical lessons that bridge emergency response and organizational execution.

Each episode blends:

• People – who we lead and how we support them,
• Process – the systems and structures that keep us aligned,
• Progress – the measurable outcomes that prove we’re moving forward.

We’ll connect project management frameworks to the Incident Command System (ICS), highlight real-world parallels, and provide tools you can apply immediately. You'll also get a clear call to action in every episode to drive results, not just reflection.

If you’re ready to lead in uncertainty, plan with precision, and deliver under pressure—this series is for you.

Let’s lead with clarity, operate with purpose, and progress together. I’ll see you next week.

In this episode, Tackling Scope Creep: People, Process, & Courage, we're diving into how to protect our projects, keep our sanity, and build stronger teams in the process.

Episode outline

• Intro
• Core concepts
• The People Side: Assertiveness and Stakeholder Boundaries
• The Process Side: Change Control Systems (Hard Skills/PM Tools)
• The Progress Side: Leading with Clarity Under Pressure
• Summary & Closing

Godspeed y'all,

Kevin

This episode is an audiobook-like version of the 7 Pillars Field Guide. This 7 Pillars Field Guide distills the key, actionable tools and techniques from The Stability Equation into one-page summaries of each of the seven pillars: ownership, mindfulness, movement, boundaries, connection, sleep, and faith.

Godspeed y'all,

Kevin

Welcome back to the People, Process, Progress podcast, the podcast dedicated to fostering pragmatic optimism in your professional world. Today, we're tackling a universal challenge: the art of the good project handoff.

Whether you're a healthcare professional transitioning patient care, a software developer handing off a project, or simply passing the baton in any collaborative effort, a smooth handoff is crucial for success. So, let's dive in and explore some key elements for both providing and receiving a stellar handoff.

Godspeed y'all,

Kevin

In Lessons in Project Management from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I share how the choices made in the virtual fantasy world of Skyrim parallel the strategic decisions Portfolio Managers and leaders must make when planning, resourcing, and executing projects within their organizations' portfolios.

Episode focus areas:

• Effective resource allocation and prioritization
• Effective stakeholder management
• Effective risk management
• Effective progress tracking and benefit realization

Godspeed y'all,

Kevin

Restarting the Fix It Friday series with the March 2024 episode from the Hope is NOT a Plan podcast. This episode delves into the crucial skill of asking objective questions to drive clarity and problem-solving. We explore how unbiased inquiries can empower teams and improve processes by drawing parallels to the host's diverse podcasting journey and the principles in his book The Stability Equation. Learn practical techniques to formulate effective objective questions and unlock better organizational outcomes.

How to ask:

• Focus on "who," "what," "when," "where," and "how" questions
• Avoid leading questions that suggest an answer
• Phrase questions neutrally, without judgment
• Encourage elaboration with open-ended questions

Godspeed y'all,

Kevin