The ‘Aha’ Moment: PM Influencer Series

In our series, The Aha Moment, we chat with influencers in the PM & PPM space and get to know them better. We ask a bunch of questions, some biz related and some not so biz related, in order to understand what makes them tick and find their aha moment.

This month’s feature is Leonardo Keyes, an extraordinary PMO consultant. Read all about his fascinating journey in the world of project management.

Q. What is your job title and in which industry are you working in?

A. PMO Consultant – All sectors

Q. What is something unique that most people don’t know about you?

A. I am originally from Mexico not Spain!

Professional Stuff….

Q. What led you to this career?

A. The need to solve the problems, which I always encountered in project management in all the companies where I worked as a professional

Q. What is your biggest challenge in your profession? How do you overcome it?

A. The biggest challenge is to be able to help as many individuals and organizations worldwide in leading their PMO. I overcome it by striving to create as much content as possible, both free resources and training/consulting materials, in both Spanish and English.

Q. In your experience, why do projects fail or fail to meet their deadlines?

A. From my perspective, projects fail or miss their deadlines for several reasons. Primarily, it’s due to people-related issues. Individuals may not stay updated with training, content, or new trends in how to manage their tasks effectively within their roles. Additionally, organizations sometimes fail to provide adequate resources and support to ensure people receive ongoing training and updates on content and knowledge. There’s often a rush to meet tight deadlines, which can lead to oversight or neglect of critical aspects of project management.

Q. If you had a magic wand, what’s the one thing you would change about Gantt?

A. If I had a magic wand, the one thing I would change about Gantt charts is to make them more interactive and dynamic. This would involve allowing users to easily modify tasks and dependencies directly on the chart, seeing real-time updates, and integrating with other project management tools seamlessly. The goal would be to enhance usability, flexibility, and collaboration within project teams.

Q. Why should every organization have a PMO?

A. Because 99.99% of organizations have a global project and product portfolio, in a manner where you will always need a global office to manage all 99% as a PMO or any other title.

Q. What’s the most annoying thing about project status meetings?

A. The lack of a clear agenda.

Q. What’s the most difficult thing about managing stakeholder expectations?

A. The lack of synchronization among themselves, meaning that often stakeholders working on the same areas at the same level want completely different things, and sometimes they do not solve global problems to help the company but only to help themselves.

Q. What advice would you give to up-and-coming professionals like yourself?

A. Don’t stop preparing, training… learning, and unlearning as soon as possible, blending technology with soft skills.

Q. Have you read any books, articles or other resources that changed your perspective on project management?

A. In college I read Michel Porter, and now anything every day from my PMO colleagues worldwide

Fun Stuff

Q. If you were the host of a late night talk show, who would invite as your first guest?

A. Keanu Reeves

Q. What fictional place would you most like to live in?

A. Greece in the olympic games era

Q. If you had an unlimited supply of one thing what would it be?

A. Time

Q. What three items would you choose if stranded on a desert island?

A. Desalinator (seawater desalinator), knife with sharpening stone, solar panel to use solar energy

Q. Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?

A. Keanu Reeves

Q. What’s one song or artist that you’re embarrassed to admit you like?

A. Grease

Q. Spring, summer, fall or winter?

A. ALL

Q. What is your favorite breakfast food?

A. Orange juice, coffee, milk eggs and beans with toasted bread

Q. What, if anything, have you ever re-gifted?

A. My last book

Q. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

A. I do everything i want 🙂

Q. What is your go-to Karaoke song?

A. Run like hell. Pink Floyd

Q. Do you love or hate rollercoasters?

A. Hate

Q. If you could teleport anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?

A. Mexico to visit the family 20 years ago 🙂

Q. If you could switch lives with any fictional character for a day, who would it be and why?

A. Socrates

Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and did you follow it?

A. Always keep learning

If you want to connect with Leonardo and gain key insights from her expert ppm content, look him up on LinkedIn. Thank you Leonardo for hanging out with us and answering our questions!