Since 2007, Ricardo Vargas has been publishing the 5 Minutes Podcast, where he addresses in a quick and practical way the main topics on project management, business agility, risk and crisis management, among other topics.
In this episode, Ricardo talks about the importance of staying calm when everything seems out of control. He shares eight practical tips for dealing with moments of chaos in projects — from doing a reality check to taking care of your well-being. Ricardo highlights that under pressure, common sense is often the first thing to go, and impulsive decisions tend to make things worse.
In this episode, Ricardo visits the Marqués de Riscal winery, highlighting the hotel designed by Frank Gehry as an example of creativity outside the box. He reflects on how disruptive ideas, like this architectural work made of titanium and stainless steel, often emerge when rigid frameworks are abandoned and “ordered chaos” is explored. Ricardo emphasizes that, in projects, thinking outside the box can lead to genuine innovations.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the impact of fear on project management and the role of psychological safety in transforming fear into positive and effective actions. Fears such as making mistakes, being judged, or losing your job can silence teams, hindering decisions and innovation. Psychological safety, a concept developed by Amy Edmondson, allows people to express themselves without fear of punishment.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the “Jeitinho Brasileiro” — the Brazilian way of solving problems creatively, often with limited resources. While this ingenuity is a strength, it becomes risky when improvisation turns into standard practice. He shares a story of a glass installer who used chewing gum instead of putty, which worked but became a habit.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses insights from PwC’s 2024 AI Jobs Barometer, analyzing 500 million job postings across 15 countries. He shows that AI-exposed sectors like IT and project management see 4.8x higher productivity. Jobs requiring AI skills grow three times faster and offer a 25% wage premium. AI’s biggest impact comes from everyday professionals using tools like ChatGPT.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the dangers of prioritizing speed over strategy in project management. He says that being agile means adapting and learning quickly, not rushing in blindly. Urgency often leads to missed plans, poor decisions, and costly rework. Teams suffer under pressure, and when delays happen, they are unfairly blamed.
In this episode, Ricardo talks about the ongoing importance of earned value analysis in project management. Despite advancements in AI, real-time dashboards, earned value remains a precise, structured, and effective tool—especially in complex environments. AI can automate data collection and forecasting, but it cannot replace human judgment. Metrics like the cost performance index (CPI) require interpretation to guide decisions.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses how AI Agents are transforming project management. Unlike traditional tools, these agents are autonomous, understand context, make decisions, and interact with people and systems to deliver value. With the advancement of models like ChatGPT and platforms such as LangChain, Crew AI, and Google NotebookLM, building smart agents has become much easier.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the challenge of saying “no” in project management, a struggle for many who aim to help. He warns that each impulsive "yes" may sacrifice scope, schedule, quality, or team well-being. Sharing his experience of overcommitting, he learned that saying “no” is an act of leadership. He uses three guiding questions: 1) Is it aligned with the project’s strategy? 2) Do I have time, budget, and people for it?
In this episode, Ricardo reflects on the end of Skype's cycle. Created in 2003 in Estonia, the application revolutionized online communication, allowing free voice calls and being essential for families, companies, and project managers. Acquired by eBay in 2005 and by Microsoft in 2011, Skype lost ground to more modern solutions such as Zoom, WhatsApp, and Teams. Ricardo highlights that the end of a project or product does not mean failure.
Read Ricardo's reviews of some of the best technical books published.
View recommendations Powered by