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Hi everyone. Here is Ricardo Vargas, and this is the 5 Minutes Podcast. Today, I would like to talk about value and sustainability. And why? Because we all heard this. We are building a bridge that connects nothing to nowhere. Is this a good project? Let's suppose that we do this on budget, that we do this on time, that we, for example, are a construction company, so we get paid, and we generate profit on that. Is this value? Are we delivering value? What is the real philosophical concept of value? And this is very close to me because, during my time at the UN, I worked a lot with sustainability. My PhD is on sustainability in projects. And this week, I'm going to Angola to release a new workshop that I'm doing on sustainability in projects. This is such an important topic for me because most of the time, we see the value. For example, in principle number four of the PMBoK seventh edition, we see that as shareholder value, it means okay profit. It means results. Okay, I sold this project for a million, and I spent only 750,000. So I have a profit, and I understand that. But it must be above and beyond that. It must also be valid for society. And when I say society, I'm not talking about your local community only. I'm saying you are creating a product that creates a net value that is positive for society.
And why I'm saying this is because, for example, if you build a bridge that connects nothing to nowhere, what is happening? Despite. I'm not saying it's your fault, but you are building something that is not adding value. It's. It's on the other side. It's destroying society's values. It's destroying how many times you buy things that you don't need. Is this value creation? No, this is value destruction. Because when you have ten different suits or 100 different pairs of shoes that you don't use, what you are doing, you are wasting the earth's resources. And I'm not saying natural resources; I'm saying labor resources. You are just destroying values that society could benefit from. And why this philosophical question I want to share with you? Because when we go to the PMBoK sixth edition, when we go to Scrum and the agile practice, when we talk about hybrid, most of the time we talk about how we increase performance, but are we thinking about the products we are creating? For example, if you are using agile, you are developing software. I have some questions for you. If your project makes people addicted, is this something good? Philosophically speaking, maybe you can make a lot of money, but you were making a lot of money through the destruction of some pillars and values of society. Is this what you want? So. And why this? Because we need to have a responsibility. Because, as project managers, we are agents of transformation in society.
And if we do not take care of this philosophical concept, it's very hard for us to understand how our profession will contribute to society. For example, if you are a doctor, a doctor, and you practice medicine, it's not hard for you to see the value. Your value for society. Of course. People are in pain. People are suffering. People are facing the danger of dying. And you, with your technique, help them to go through that process. Right? Uh, to get well, to improve life. This is a very clear value that is perceived. But when we work in project management, and you work, for example, for a private company, how do you see that value? Your contribution to society and to the economy is through thinking about the sustainability aspects of your project. And it's not only about being green; it's not because that bridge that connects nothing to nowhere could be built using the most sustainable possible projects. But the bridge is still not connected because when people build a bridge, they build a bridge for a reason, right? They built a bridge with an aim. And if this aim is not achieved, so. And so what? Why did you do that? For example, in Brazil. Now, we have recently been very sad about this avalanche of people addicted to gambling, you know, this kind of online gambling. And this is really true; most of the time, it is poor people. And for example, let's suppose you are listening to this podcast and you work in this environment.
Have you thought at night about the value you are delivering to society? Maybe, and probably, you are making a fortune on that, but are you really creating value for society, or are you just destroying value for society to put value in your pocket? And why am I so strong on this? Every single moment, I have a chance to develop something. I always start perceiving. What is the sustainability of this? For example, is my project improving economically? I would say my microenvironment is on that or not. For example, we created the certification for AI. So what is our target? Well, that's what we want with that. We want to increase awareness and interest in this topic so people can get prepared. This is the value for society we want to do. This is the value. Because for me to make money out of that, for me, oh, then we need to have millions, and we will not have millions of people certified. We will not because we are not gigantic. And it's not. But we will make our contribution. This is because every time I'm recording a video, every time I'm recording a podcast, there is a clear value proposition I'm trying to do. And many times, many times, we create projects that destroy society and values that destroy economic value. But they are delivered on time, on budget, and, from our micro perspective, are full of success. Probably, if you work on these gambling tools, you are making a huge amount of money, and you are having a lot of success.
But is this what you want at the end of your life? And this is why it's so important for us as a project managers. Always think, for example, about the project you are developing today and what will benefit society from your project or your initiative. It doesn't matter if it's a home, if it's a building, or if it's a code or software. What do you want as a final result for society? What do you want as a final result for the environment? For example, today, we see a lot of AI projects consuming a massive amount of energy. People are starting to use nuclear power plants, and this is what society wants. I'm not giving an answer here. Please. I'm not. I'm just sharing some food for thought for all of us, you know, because many times, we are producing something that may deliver value to ourselves individually. But we are not an island. We live in a society. And if we do not take care of this minimum balance in society, what happens? This is when war happens. This is when tragedy happens. So, think always about that because projects have an intrinsic relationship with how society will benefit from them. Think always about that. I hope you enjoy this podcast, and see you next week with another 5 Minutes Podcast.
