Mindful Project Mastery: Adriana Girdler

In this episode,  I sit with Adriana Girdler, the owner and Chief Efficiency Officer of Cornerstone Dynamics, as she discusses the MVP strategy, a tool to improve our ability to achieve our goals both career-wise and in other aspects of life.

Our guest today is Adriana Girdler, an expert in project management. Adriana's Ted talk on "The Power of Being Smart Lazy" highlights an approach to stop the "white noise" in life, consisting of several distractions that we don't realise are eating away at our time while pulling us away from our aspirations. 

Regarding AI's effect on project management, it should be noted that historically, we don't do a good job ethically with technology. With for-profit organizations developing AI, there is the concern of making decisions for the immediate gratification of money. That said, it does have benefits, so it will not be eliminated. Inevitably, there will be displacement with the advent of AI but government regulations are imperative. Interestingly, despite the advancements, there is still very little awareness of AI. 

The role of the project manager may change with the presence of AI but it will remain a necessary functional role nonetheless. There will be more strategic than tactical project management roles. Leadership, strategy, and critical thinking will be most required from project managers moving forward. 

Requirements for an amazing project manager: First, the SLAY project management course is perfect for project managers who want to increase their skills exponentially.

●      Adriana’s Ted Talk: https://youtu.be/_yK7CdWEN2g?si=LqWucH1E2PnpXo-o  

●      Adriana’s Mindfulness Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdmhb1dVRHYsvz3BiPH-Gd3n3PJYXsvJb&si=u_81h3qOPzrDiWzi   

●      Visioning for Success: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdmhb1dVRHYu399y3R_cA_kzccepgw9_Q&si=Ry7f5oV_3wNh2ooI  

●      Adriana’s SLAY project management course: https://adrianagirdler.thinkific.com/courses/slaypm 

Chapters

• 0:17 Meet our guest, Adriana Girdler.
• 2:13 About Adriana's Ted talk; the concept of being smart and lazy.
• 8:40 About the MVP approach
• 15:37 Integrating mindfulness into daily life.
• 18:02 What advice would you give to someone trying to practice mindfulness in a toxic work environment?
• 22:00 Visioning
• 31:50 How to prioritise things while adopting mindfulness and visioning.
• 37:30 The impact of AI on project management.
• 51:30 Factors to consider when managing projects on a global scale
• 55:32 5 key skills required to be an amazing project manager.