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.
Ricardo wraps up the year on the 5 Minutes Podcast, discussing recurring project delays during the holiday season, a predictable yet often overlooked challenge. He highlights the importance of planning to avoid issues caused by holidays and vacations, emphasizing that these situations occur annually and can be managed proactively.
Ricardo Vargas recently published 10 short videos about the 10 big ideas on his mind regarding what could happen in 2025, essentially exploring trends for the future. In doing so, he wanted to record a podcast reflecting on these ideas, but not just from his own perspective. Ricardo aimed to showcase the disruption caused by artificial intelligence, using Google Notebook LM to generate a reflection on these 10 big ideas with AI support.
In this episode, Ricardo talks about the importance of evaluating scenarios and macro trends when planning projects. He explains that the end of the year is an ideal time to reflect on retrospectives and forecasts, using a variety of sources, such as The Economist and Wired, for a broad and informed view. Ricardo shares Big Ideas, a series of reflections based on these trends, as a way to help people prepare for the future.
In this episode, Ricardo reflects on the remarkable five-year restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral after its devastating 2019 fire. He highlights five key project management lessons:
In this episode, Ricardo reflects on the sale of Maurizio Cattelan’s artwork The Comedian, a banana taped together with duct tape that cost US$6.2 million. He discusses three lessons that can be applied to projects:
This week, Ricardo celebrates the 25th anniversary of PMI Minas Gerais in this special episode of the 5 Minutes Podcast. Recording from his mother's house in Brazil, he reflects on the collective impact of building this milestone and shares three lessons: remember the path taken, avoid immediacy, and value gratitude. He emphasizes that great achievements are the result of joint efforts and not of isolated individuals.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the concept of "Done is Better Than Perfect" in project management. He highlights that perfectionism often leads to high costs, delays, and marginal improvements, citing the law of diminishing returns. Emphasizing the importance of MVPs (Minimum Viable Products), Ricardo notes that releasing a functional product quickly allows for iterative improvements and avoids missed opportunities.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses the myth of the "Holy Grail" of project management methodologies. He challenges the idea that a single methodology—whether Scrum, PMBoK, or Prince2—can be the perfect solution for all project issues.
In this episode, Ricardo discusses Meta's recent development of a "self-thought evaluator," which uses synthetic data to train AI models instead of real human-generated data. This innovation could transform project management by creating lessons learned and risk insights from simulated, rather than real, projects.
In this episode, Ricardo reflects on a conversation with a project manager who claimed it wasn’t his responsibility to consider the long-term impact of his project. Ricardo argues that today’s project managers must go beyond delivering on time and within budget. They should evaluate the ethical and societal impacts of their work, ensuring it aligns with the greater good.
Read Ricardo's reviews of some of the best technical books published.
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