Episode 172 – Inheriting a Problem Project – Lessons from the Zoo

03/06/23 • 35 min

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Manage This - The Project Management Podcast

The podcast by Project Managers for Project Managers. What do you do when you inherit a problem project? Hear about a stalled project that was threatening the accreditation of a popular city zoo. Our guest, Megan Young, inherited this project with no knowledge of the requirements, and with no plan or clear scope. Hear her advice on prioritizing, budget planning, addressing scope creep, negotiating tips, and team motivation. Table of Contents 02:41 ... Greenville City Projects03:33 ... Getting PMP Certified05:39 ... Valuable Project Manager Skills07:20 ... Addressing a Stalled Zoo Project10:31 ... Tackling the Challenges12:36 ... Building Trust with Stakeholders15:11 ... How to Prioritize17:10 ... Software Installation Projects19:27 ... Kevin and Kyle20:42 ... Budget Planning24:20 ... Negotiating Tips26:32 ... Addressing Scope Creep28:15 ... Keeping the Team Motivated30:26 ... Dealing with team Conflict32:40 ... Megan’s Motivation33:45 ... Contact Megan34:28 ... Closing MEGAN YOUNG: You can learn a lot by just showing up onsite and having a conversation with somebody. People will talk to you when they’re comfortable in their space. And a lot of times that means just going out and standing beside them. I mean, when I was in the Parks Department, sometimes it meant helping somebody put a bench together. And they would talk to you in that process and you’d kind of hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. But a lot of times it was the most valid of the truth that you were hearing. WENDY GROUNDS: Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers. Thank you for joining us today. My name is Wendy Grounds, and joining me in the studio is Bill Yates. We want to take a moment to specially say thanks to our listeners who reach out to us and leave comments on our website or on social media. We love hearing from you, and we always appreciate your positive ratings and reviews on whichever podcast listening app you use. Our guest today is Megan Young. She currently serves as the Assistant Manager to the City Manager for the City of Greenville, South Carolina. Prior to joining the City Manager’s Office, Megan was the Parks and Grounds Administrator for the City of Greenville. Megan is a certified project management professional and certified park and recreation professional. During her time in the PRT department, Megan led the implementation of the Cityworks program as a work and asset management system. She managed large and small-scale infrastructure projects and was integral in the successful reaccreditation of the Greenville Zoo in 2020. And she’s going to tell us a bit about that project today. BILL YATES: I’m excited about this. We are going to talk about the zoo. We’re going to talk about spider monkeys. We’re going to talk about parks and recreation. And I’ve got to go ahead and just let you know, too, this is near and dear to my heart because I went to Furman University, which is in Greenville, South Carolina. Now, I graduated in 1980 [mumbling] something. WENDY GROUNDS: It’s a while back, yeah. BILL YATES: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Greenville at that time was just not cool. It is super cool now. And a lot of it is because of Megan and the team there at the City of Greenville and what they’ve done. They’ve got an amazing Liberty Bridge and Falls Park area. There’s the Swamp Rabbit Trail which my wife and I have actually ridden bikes on and walked along. It’s just beautiful. So Megan’s going to talk to us about a number of parks and different projects that they’ve done. But this is, again, it’s special to me because she’s talking about an area that is a rich part of my history. WENDY GROUNDS: Yeah, that’s really cool. I’ve driven through Greenville. I’ve never stopped there, but I think after this podcast I’m definitely going to take a stop next time I plan on driving through. BILL YATES: Definitely. WENDY GROUNDS: Hi, Megan. Welcome to our podcast. MEGAN YOUNG: Hi,

Previous Episode

Episode 171 – Raising the Palace Theater – The TSX Broadway Project

The podcast by project managers for project managers. Situated at the most heavily trafficked public space in the world, Times Square in New York is undergoing an extraordinary renovation and expansion project. Hear how the iconic Palace Theatre was raised 30 feet to make room for commercial space below. The goal of this complex project was to preserve the historic theater box, which was built in 1913, and raise it to its new home on the third floor of TSX Broadway. Table of Contents 02:16 ... Intro to the Project03:12 ... Raising a Theater04:42 ... The TSX Broadway Project06:56 ... Seeing the Vision08:34 ... Major Stakeholders10:24 ... Retained Slab Project11:47 ... Effective Collaboration14:26 ... The Hydraulic Lifting18:58 ... Project Timeline20:27 ... Kevin and Kyle22:00 ... Monitoring the Lift24:53 ... A Coordinated Effort25:38 ... Lessons Learned27:40 ... Advice for Project Managers29:08 ... Find out More30:39 ... Closing ROBERT ISRAEL: But I think the most important thing that I have been successful at is planning. If you’re a good project manager, you know how to plan. And if you can think three steps ahead of where you need to be, you’re going to be a successful project manager. WENDY GROUNDS: Hello, and welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers. Thank you for joining us. I am Wendy Grounds, and in the studio with me is Bill Yates. If you like what you hear, we’d love to hear from you. You can leave us a comment on our website, Velociteach.com; on social media; or whichever podcast listening app you use. If you have any questions about our podcasts or about project management certifications, we’d love to hear from you. Our guest today is Robert Israel. He’s an executive vice president at L&L Holding Company. Robert leads and directs all aspects of the TSX Broadway project development’s design and construction. Previously, Robert was the cofounder of Solid Development Group. He has also served as a project director for RFR Holding, and he has served in various management roles at CBRE. But it’s his project that we are most excited to hear about. And I’m going to let Bill tell you more about that. BILL YATES: Oh, man. We are so excited about this. We are delighted to have Robert as our guest because he has been instrumental in this $2.5 billion TSX Broadway project. And the piece that we want to focus on is the raising of the Palace Theatre. So we’ll talk about all aspects of it, but especially this historic theater, it’s a 1,700-seat theater that was opened in 1913, and it was on the ground floor. Well, Wendy, it’s not on the ground floor anymore. This thing has been raised 30 feet. We’re going to talk about how you do that in a very busy Times Square with a historic building and all of the complexity that went into that. Robert was right in the middle of it. He’s got some amazing tips and tricks and advice that he’ll share. WENDY GROUNDS: And also it’s not just the raising of the theater, which is the main thing we talk about; but it’s all the other components that are going into this building in New York. Hi, Robert. Welcome to Manage This. Thank you so much for talking with us today. ROBERT ISRAEL: Thanks for having me. Appreciate you guys inviting me on. Intro to the Project WENDY GROUNDS: Yeah, we’re looking forward to hearing more about this project. Just as an introduction, can you tell us a little bit about L&L Holding and how long you’ve been working for the company? ROBERT ISRAEL: Sure. I’ve been working at L&L Holding for just over five years. I came onboard with L&L in 2017, just as we were sort of awarded the project, TSX Broadway. And we spent two years in preconstruction, essentially, and started construction with TSX on the beginning of 2019. But L&L overall, we own approximately 8 million square feet in New York City, mostly office/retail. This is our first foray into the hospitality world, really. And, you know,

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Episode 173 – On The World Stage: The FIFA World Cup Turf Project

The podcast by project managers for project managers. The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world. With billions of people tuning in to view the games, we wondered if anyone noticed the grass! In this unique project story, John Holmes explains how he navigated the selection process and became the exclusive supplier of turfgrass for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We share the planning, logistics, challenges, constraints and lessons learned in this remarkable project. Table of Contents 02:18 ... Meet John03:41 ... Atlas Turf Production05:22 ... Sustainable Solutions06:53 ... The Bid for The FIFA World Cup Turf09:23 ... Transporting the Turf11:46 ... Project Coordination and Planning14:12 ... Kevin and Kyle15:41 ... Project Budget16:57 ... Project Timeline18:47 ... Biggest Risk Factor19:39 ... Collaborations and Cultural Differences21:43 ... Government Restrictions22:38 ... Lessons Learned23:56 ... Soccer vs. Golf Turf25:52 ... Leadership Advice from John27:30 ... Find out More28:33 ... Closing JOHN HOLMES: I’ve been really fortunate to travel to some very unique places. And it’s really helped me grow as a person, and meeting folks from different cultures, nationalities, different beliefs than me. But at the end of the day, everybody’s a human being and has the same struggles, similar struggles. I try to be very respectful, too. And I think that’s so important when you’re dealing with different cultures. Well, at the end of the day in a business deal, everybody’s trying to get to the same point and having a successful project. And figuring out a way to do it without animosity, without any issues is so important and makes things go very smoothly. WENDY GROUNDS: You’re listening to Manage This, the podcast for project managers by project managers. My name is Wendy Grounds, and with me in the studio is Bill Yates and our engineer, Danny Brewer. We love having you join us twice a month to be motivated and inspired by project stories, leadership lessons, and advice from industry experts from all around the world; and we love to bring you some support as you navigate your projects. You can also claim free Professional Development Units from PMI by listening to our show. Listen up at the end of the show for advice on how to do that. Now, Bill, we have an interesting conversation with John Holmes today. BILL YATES: Yes. WENDY GROUNDS: He’s from Atlas Turf. Atlas Turf produced the grass for some of the world’s premier golf associations. And I love the story that he was responsible for the turf that was used in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. BILL YATES: Isn’t that amazing, yeah. And he happens to be – their company is headquartered here in Georgia. But he has delivered product and solutions all over the globe. He’s had a lot of personal travel. I’d like to see his passport and see some of the stamps in that. WENDY GROUNDS: And he also has been in places like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the Maldives, New Caledonia, Seychelles. It’s all over the world into very interesting places he’s taking his grass. BILL YATES: That’s true. He delivers. WENDY GROUNDS: Hi, John. Welcome to Manage This. Thank you so much for joining us today. JOHN HOLMES: So glad to be here and able to share our unique story. Meet John WENDY GROUNDS: Have you always worked with turf? What was your career path? JOHN HOLMES: I have a degree in turf grass management. But my career started when I was a teenager working on the local golf course in our town. And in doing so I discovered that you could actually go to college and get a degree in managing turf grass, and I did that and became a golf course superintendent, managing the turf grass on a golf course, almost 32 years ago. BILL YATES: How about that. So you’ve been working with grass for 30-something years. And then how did you come to Atlas, you know, what was that transition? JOHN HOLMES: My career as a golf course superintendent took me and my wife to Mexico and...