The PM Operating Room is a podcast that looks at actual project management problems, diagnoses those problems, and prescribes practical solutions based on real-world experience. No textbook answers, no buzzword mumbo-jumbo, just practical solutions from someone who has been there.
Ep.11: PM Gets Fired But It's Everyone Else's Fault
In Episode 11 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at three cases:
Malignant Personality - A PM struggles in a new role after getting fired from a previous role, put on a PIP at a role before that, and job hopping 5 times in 2.5 years
Stage Gate Sclerosis - A new PM struggles to figure out how to contribute to the team while also believing there is not enough structure
Capability Gap Syndrome - A PM overcomes a battle with mental health to start a new role, but the new role proves challenging when there is a heavy PMO governance model
Have feedback? pmor@allerionsolutions.com
9 Oct 2026
Ep.10: Junior Engineer Inherits A Hot Mess Of A Project
In this episode of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases:
Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome - A junior engineer is promoted to PM and inherits a project where incorrect material has been ordered and the team is unable to do their work as a result
Clinical Observer - A PM is concerned that an executive has established a deadline and resource plan without being able to confirm the scope of the project
Autonomic Anarchy - A PM quietly quits in an organization that lacks any structure, governance, or accountability
Have feedback? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
In this special episode of the Project Management Operating Room, we continue on our series from August on debunking project management "thought leadership" posts from Linkedin. Today, we cover:
AI Evangelist - A person who believes AI use in project management is more prevalent than it is and who believes there could be fully autonomous PMOs
PM Fundamentalist - An author who believes that PMs can work in any industry despite being in a highly competitive market
The Scream Tester - A new PMO lead decides to turn off 12 reports to see if anyone in leadership notices
The Hallway Hero - A PM talks to a senior leader in the hallway and commits the team to a new scope of work without checking with the team or checking the project plan
Please send feedback to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
24 Sept 2026
Ep.9: Inside A Bank Where PMs Manage 40+ Projects
In Episode 9 of the Project Management Operating Room, we take a look at 3 cases:
Code Blue in the PMO - A junior PM lands a job in a banking company where PMs are assigned 40-70 projects at a time
Symptom Blindness - A PM uses AI recordings to identify key dependencies that affect an imminent project launch
Infectious Blame Syndrome - A PM tries to navigate an environment where leadership blames the team first when things go wrong and asks questions later
Have feedback? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
15 Sept 2026
PM Declares "AI Makes Project Managers Lazy"
In this special episode of the Project Management Operating Room, we examine a post where a new project manager declared other PMs were "lazy" for using AI to generate a WBS and project plan.
We examine whether there is any validity in this very bold claim. We also talk about how critical it is to apply experienced project management human judgement to any AI output.
Feedback? Send it to: pmor@allerionsolutions.com
10 Sept 2026
Ep.8: When A Developer Becomes Project Manager
In Episode 8 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases:
Unlicensed Practitioner - A "Junior Developer" in job title is made the project manager for 2 projects and struggles to keep the team allocated with sufficient tasks.
July Resident - A new PM joins a commercial construction project and is requested by the property owner's president to be removed from the project due to a very direct communication style.
Fibonacci Fraud - A Scrum Master decides to implement a very unusual Fibonacci scale, creating confusion within the team along with concerns about "ticket padding."
Feedback? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
28 Aug 2026
Ep,7: When Risk Management Is Done From The Sidelines
In Episode 7 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at what happens when risk management is done from a project manager relegated to working on the sidelines. This episode covers:
Hyper Hubris - A 2 person team decides they are no longer happy with the UI of their SaaS PM tool and decides to create one from scratch
Sensory Deprivation - A new PM joins the team and is asked to manage risk, but is not invited to all of the meetings and feels like they are not contributing to the project
Over Prescription - A new PM is trying to lead a small Indie game development team, but is getting hung up on what tools to use and what work to assign
Feedback is always welcome at pmor@allerionsolutions.com
If you scroll through Linkedin and immediately want to close the tab, this episode is for you.
In this special edition of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at some of the "thought leadership" posts on Linkedin and break down how so many of these viewpoints don't hold up outside of social media.
00:00 - The LinkedIn "Thought Leadership" Problem
00:28 - Case 1: Spiderwoman: The Dependency Mapper
04:26 - Case 2: The Translation "Miracle"
10:14 - Case 3: PM Responsibility in Changing Organizations
16:14 - Case 4: AI Requirements "Shortcut"
22:10 - The Takeaway: Why Real PM Work Isn't One-Size-Fits-All
All feedback is welcome at pmor@allerionsolutions.com
13 Aug 2026
Ep.6: Why A Project Manager Ended Up In Tears
In Episode 6 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases:
Acute Spinelessness - A PM refuses and is unwilling to stand up for the team during messy handoffs from sales
Platform Rejection - A PM decides to use tools against company security policy because they don't like Microsoft tools
Contagious Panic - A PM struggles to navigate a toxic work culture during a company-wide panic, but in the process adds fuel to the fire
Have feedback? pmor@allerionsolutions.com
5 Aug 2026
Case File: When A Project Manager Demands Authority
In this episode of the Project Management Operating Room, we focus on a case file of a project manager who demands that two developers who aren't doing what the PM says be made direct reports of the PM. We take a look at the many misconceptions this PM has, examine the other advice on Reddit and why it is misguided, and then offer practical solutions.
Have feedback? pmor@allerionsolutions.com
31 Jul 2026
Ep.5: When Project Management Is Done Via 80 Slack Chats
In Episode 5 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at three interesting cases:
Misdiagnosed Authority - A new PM is struggling to mesh with the team on an urgent project and wants management to make the lead and senior developer the PM's direct reports
Agile Dysfunction - A PM struggles to adapt to a new environment where the team works informally across Slack without following any Agile framework
Phantom Artifact Pain - A PM is frustrated that they spent a lot of time making a beautiful Gantt chart, but the team wasn’t interested in reviewing or discussing it.
Have feedback? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
18 Jul 2026
Ep4: PM Burnout, Unchecked Scope Creep, and PM Fighting The Wrong Battles
In Episode 4 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at three cases:
Third Degree Burnout: A PM neglects their 50-person team to pursue a two-year personal tech plan, while justifying it by claiming soft skills are "stupid."
The Double Bypass: Informal discussions between the client and developer yield new scope that isn't brought to the PM's attention, which leads to delays.
Conflicting Treatment Plans: A debate between the PM and the team over horizontal vs. vertical spreadsheet layouts exposes a bigger question about which battles we should fight as PMs.
Have feedback to share? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
4 Jul 2026
An Agile Coach Who Doesn't Practice What They Preach
In episode 3 of the Project Management Operating Room, we take a look at a case where a brand new project manager is struggling with being responsible without authority. Then, we look at a case where an Agile coach is concerned that the team is pushing back on their desired ceremonies. Finally, we look at a case where a PM is frustrated that their efforts to implement Notion were not well received by the team.
Have feedback? I'd love to hear it - PMOR@allerionsolutions.com
20 Jun 2026
Project Manager Believes Team Is Using AI Too Much
In Episode 2 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases. First, we break down a case where a project manager has lost their privileges for scheduling meetings due to a series of mistakes that were made. Next, we look at a case where a project manager is potentially stepping over a boundary with the team when it comes to the use of AI. Lastly, we look at a case where a failure to document decisions is hurting the project.
All feedback is welcome. You can send it to PMOR@allerionsolutions.com
11 Jun 2026
Project Manager's Error Sends Project Into Chaos
In this Project Management Operating Room Case Files episode, we do a deeper dive on a project where a project manager relied solely upon a verbal agreement to complete project work only for the team to come back 6 months later and say they never made that commitment. Project chaos ensues.
10 Jun 2026
A Project Manager Struggles To Adapt To New Leadership
In Episode 1 of The PM Operating Room, we examine three real project management problems sourced from the project management community and diagnose what's actually going wrong and what to do about it.
Case 01: Template Amnesia The same types of projects are executed over and over, but the team starts from scratch every time. No templates, no shared repository, no reuse of previous work. We diagnose why a seemingly simple problem is not that simple and where responsibility lies.
Case 02: PM in Quarantine A veteran PM with 15 years of experience gets a new CIO who bars them from planning and estimation sessions. The tactical quarantine creates a context gap and leaves the PM questioning what the role even means going forward. We break down what's really driving this dynamic and what the PM should actually do about it.
Case 03: Self-Induced Coma A PM secures a verbal commitment from a team member to own critical testing work. Six months later that person claims they never committed to anything. The project is in chaos, deadlines are at risk, and everyone is pointing fingers. We diagnose how this really happened and how to start fixing it.
No textbook answers, no buzzword mumbo-jumbo. Just practical solutions from someone who has been there.
Send feedback to pmor@allerionsolutions.com
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