Interview with
Rich Maltzman and Jim Stewart
Authors of Great Meetings Build Great Teams:
A Guide for Project Leaders and Agilists
Rich Maltzman, PMP, (pictured on left) has coauthored several books on project leadership, including Bridging the PM Competency Gap, and the Cleland-award winning Green Project Management. He teaches a suite of courses in project leadership, serving as a Master Lecturer at Boston University.
Jim Stewart, PMP, (pictured on right) has facilitated dozens of project meetings, from kickoffs to planning meetings to Scrum events. As an independent project consultant and Agile coach, he advises on best practices, teaches project management, and strategizes and executes on Agile transformations.
Interviewed by Ipek Sahra Ozguler
International Correspondent, PM World Journal
Istanbul, Turkey
Interview
Ipek Sahra Ozguler (Ozguler): Could you please give a brief information about your last book, titled “Great Meetings Build Great Teams: A Guide for Project Leaders and Agilists”?
Rich Maltzman (Maltzman): We know that project leaders run (and suffer through) many meetings and many kinds of meetings. Our effort went into the science of, and practical tips for, making those meetings more productive, fun, and effective, with people having more confidence in the project and the project leader when they leave the room.
Jim Stewart (Stewart): It’s a book that provides project managers with an understanding of why meetings fail and provides them with the tools to improve them. It also talks about the science behind meetings and focuses on team building and working virtually.
Ozguler: What are the key benefits of the book for Project Leaders and Agilists?
Maltzman: Of course, we expect the main benefit to be that a reader will gain tips, skills, and techniques to improve their meetings and therefore their projects and project results. But another benefit is that we put extra effort into making the book fun and interesting to read.
Stewart: Considering that both traditional project leaders and agilists run many meetings, the main benefits firstly are in understanding why meetings go poorly and then in learning how to take charge.
Ozguler: What str your opinions about the status of projects today? Why are meetings so important?
More…
To read entire interview, click here
How to cite this interview: Ozguler, I.S. (2024). Interview with Rich Maltzman and Jim Stewart; PM World Journal, Vol. XIII, Issue III, March. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pmwj139-Mar2024-Ozguler-Interview-with-Maltzman-and-Stewart.pdf
About the Interviewer
Ipek Sahra Ozguler
Istanbul, Turkey
Ipek Sahra Ozguler graduated from the Istanbul University, Turkey with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and from Middle East Technical University, Turkey with an MSc degree in Software Management. As a project manager, she has more than 13 years of experience in various areas such as portfolio management, program management, project management, software management, business analysis. She became a certified PMP in 2012 and a certified SCRUM Master in 2014.
She has gained broader insights in a variety of projects across manufacturing, defence, FMCG (Cola Cola), insurance (Euler Hermes), audit (Deloitte), telecommunication, aviation and finance sectors. In addition, she has been working as an international correspondent for the PM World Journal since 2014.
Ipek is the creator and editor of the highly acclaimed book, The Perspective of Women Project Management Professionals, interviews with leading female PM experts and professionals around the world. The book was published in March 2020 and is available here.
Ipek is based in Istanbul, Turkey and can be contacted at ipeksahra@gmail.com. Her portfolio is published at the https://ipeksahra.mystrikingly.com/ and https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/ipek-sahra-ozguler/.
