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Hi everyone, here is Ricardo Vargas, and this is the 5 Minutes Podcast. This week, I had a super strange conversation with a project manager about one specific project. And I asked him about the results of the project and how the product of the project will be used by the company, etc., so I was just checking about, I would say, the benefit and the value of the project, and he came back to me with this statement. Ricardo, thanks for asking that. But this is not my problem. This is the boss problem. And I was just stunned, and I said, what? Sorry, what are you saying? And say, no, this is not my problem. I deliver what they request to me on time and within budget. I did everything that was asked of me. This is the product, and now the problem is their problem. And then I said. And I said, look, this is maybe a mindset of 40 years ago. Today, you as a project manager, it's expected from you much more than only deliver on time and on budget. It's to have a critical view of what your project is delivering in terms of value and how your project is attached to your company's success, and it's attached to society's values and everything. It's not just by delivering, because maybe you are delivering something that will just help to create more problems. And is this responsible? And second, is this ethical? For example, if you go back to the PMI code of ethics that I, by the way, I love, and I have as a guideline for many things I do, one of the first items is that you make and take decisions that consider the best interest of society and the public in general.
So, if you are creating software that will generate a lot of profit but will make children addicted to something that is very harmful. Do you think it is not your responsibility to talk about that? Then, you are living on a different planet. You do not understand what project management is about. Remember, project management is one of the most effective ways of driving change. Project management is the way we connect ideas to reality, regardless of the method and everything. It's how we implement new things and change, and it's our responsibility to implement these changes in a way that will benefit society and not destroy society. And what I see and what I miss is that people are I don't know if they do this intentionally or not, but people say, no, this is not my problem. Yes, this is your problem. And I know that maybe you are not senior enough to raise this question or to change that, but you are senior enough to ask questions, to question, to discuss, to analyze, to put your perceptions in a very polite and ethical way. This is what is expected from you, and this is what is expected from me.
It's what is expected from my daughters. This is what is expected. If you were working, it's not expected that you just deliver on time and on budget. This is not a success. It goes above and beyond that. And this is a responsible business attitude and this is what I call it; for example, when I was in Angola last week releasing one workshop, I said that this is about being socially sustainable and responsible. For example, if you are creating a bridge that connects nothing to nowhere, and you come to me and tell me, Oh, they asked me to build a bridge that connects nothing to nowhere. And I did that. And the first question I would ask is: why did you do that without asking? Without questioning. Oh, are we not building a bridge? So is it our artwork that will just be a display that people will enjoy? Okay, I got that. But if you're building a normal bridge that connects nothing to nowhere and you come back to me and say, no, this is not your business, you lost the sense of your role in the whole society. Working is far more than just paying your bills at the end of the month. And I'm not saying that you should disregard that. Of course, money is an engine that is required for absolutely everyone, so I'm not discussing that. But if you have time to listen to this podcast, if you have a computer, it means you are on a different level. Okay?
You are qualified. You are able to listen and to have critical thinking, and if you are at this point, it is just unacceptable that you accept this kind of trade-off. For example, if you accept that you are developing a software that you know it will harm the society and you just do nothing and you say, this is not my problem, I get paid to do that. Or if you are extracting data that are copyrighted to use on something else, is this ethical? And I'm not talking about legal aspects here. This is what is to be ethical. It is your responsibility from the beginning up to the end of the project to make sure that your project is sustainable and that your project will deliver the best value for your organization, for society, for the environment, and for the economy that will create long-lasting positive results. This is not the responsibility of your boss alone. This is not her or his responsibility. This is the responsibility of every single person that is a functional member of our society. So when I hear people saying, this is not my problem, you know, it hurts me because, of course, maybe you are not the one being able to fix that. Okay. And I accept that. But if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Think always about that. And you know, and I'm very strict with that.
For example, in my professional life, there are projects I just do not accept working on. Why? Because I don't believe, and this is the answer. I'm not part of something that I feel is not positive for society or that is not something I believe in. And, of course, I know that for some of you, this may be challenging because people have different needs. People are in the early stages of their careers, so they need to accept. Yeah, you can accept at different levels, but you need to be absolutely mindful, and you need to speak up in a positive, ethical and constructive way to avoid this kind of thing. So when I hear someone who is young and starting his professional career saying, this is the boss's problem, it hurts me deeply because if we have all the power, we have to change society; if we start thinking this way, I don't know how things will be in the future. So we need to understand if we are using AI and we see that it's becoming something that will hurt. We need to be able to do our work, educate people, and make sure people are aware of the challenges. I'm not saying you will be powerful enough to stop things, but you cannot omit yourself from this discussion. This is not a brave attitude. Think about that. This is a very, very serious topic, and see you next week with another 5 Minutes Podcast.
