Andy Kaufman

𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 & 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, & 𝘈𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼! Most people know me as a keynote speaker, podcast host, and author focused on project management and leadership practices that actually work in the real world.

As President of the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc., I lead a team that equips professionals at every level with the practical tools to lead people and deliver projects with confidence. From new managers to seasoned executives, we work with organizations around the world to help their people grow, not just in knowledge, but in influence and impact.

Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of delivering keynotes and workshops to hundreds of thousands of people across six continents. Whether it's a corporate training initiative, an association meeting, or a leadership retreat, our focus is consistent: helping people develop the skills to successfully manage projects and lead teams with confidence.

Along the way, I’ve written three books:
📘 Navigating the Winds of Change: Staying on Course in Business & in Life
📘 Shining the Light on The Secret
📘 How to Organize Your Inbox & Get Rid of E-Mail Clutter

All published by Zurich Press, these resources reflect our belief that practical insights, grounded in values, can lead to lasting change.

I have PMP® and PMI-ACP® certifications, and am a long-time member of the Project Management Institute. I’ve helped thousands earn their certifications, and many more learn how to lead projects, regardless of their title.

One of the great joys of my work is hosting the People and Projects Podcast (🎙️ PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com), a Top 50 All-Time Management Podcast. In each episode, I interview leading voices in business and leadership to bring fresh insights to our global audience. 

👉 Meeting planners, if you're looking for an engaging speaker who brings both insight and energy, visit i-leadonline.com/meeting-planners to start a conversation.

Specialties: KEYWORDS: Project management, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership keynotes, project management training in Chicago and around the world, international keynote speaker, conflict management, risk management, team-building, meeting facilitation, Christian, retrospectives (Post-Mortems, Lessons Learned, Key Learnings)

Host

Succeeding in business often comes down to your ability to lead people and deliver results. Anyone can talk a good game. But at the end of the day you have to deliver. Rarely can you do that on your own, which is why we must excel at leading people.

Welcome to the People and Projects Podcast where we provide interviews and insights to help you lead people and deliver projects. This podcast focuses on the intersection of People and Projects--where work gets done in the real world. 

I have the privilege of helping organizations around the world who want to improve their ability to deliver projects and lead teams. I have worked with people from organizations across industries and cultures, helping them deliver their projects, become more confident leaders, take focused action, and achieve results. 

Join me as I interview leading thinkers and practitioners from around the world on subjects related to project management and leadership. You'll hear from experts such as Adam Grant, Robert Cialdini, Dan Pink, Roger L. Martin, Amy Cuddy, Daniel Shapiro, John Kotter, Jim Kouzes, Michael Bungay Stanier, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Morten T. Hansen, and more.

Podcasts are a great resource to pour into your personal development (and earning PDUs if you hold a project management certification from PMI). And you can't beat the price (free!). You are invited to listen to each episode on your favorite app or on the web (https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com). 

Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments!

What if project management is not just a career skill, but a life skill?

Tony Weaver me this in episode 480:

“Project management absolutely changed my life.”

And he meant it literally.

Tony used principles from the PM world to lose more than 100 pounds.
Breaking big goals into smaller steps. Tracking progress. Managing risks. Building routines. Creating accountability.

The same thinking we use for schedules and risk management at work can transform habits, health, and personal growth.

Project management is not only about leading teams and projects at work.
It can help you deliver in any domain with clarity, structure, and intention.

👉👉 How have PM principles helped you outside of work?

Project Management & Leadership Keynote Speaker | Host of the People and Projects Podcast 🎙️ | Helping you lead & deliver projects with confidence | #ProjectManagement #Leadership #PMP

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From Seth Godin: "It’s not a surprise that we’re all pretty unsophisticated at project management. We’re pushed to begin with our very first assignments and creations in first grade, and we make projects, with increasingly higher stakes, all through school. And yet, no one ever teaches us that this is a skill that can learned and delivered with strategy and technique."

He continues: "The hallmarks of earnest amateurism are:  1) lots of resources available for emergencies, shifting time away from planning and contingencies, 2) embrace of a narrative that this particular interruption is unique and couldn’t be planned for, 3) the thrill of getting close to failure and making it work at the last possible moment."

"The professional, on the other hand, invests heavily to be sure that none of these three exciting things happen. And when surprises happen, they expect them, accept them and simply shift to the other route. The most exciting thing about professional project management is that it trades away excitement for systems thinking and intentional action. We make heroes out of people who show up with the last-minute save, but the real work is in not needing the last minute."

What stands out to you in Seth's take on project management?

𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘒𝘦𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 & 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢, & 𝘈𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼! Most people know me as a keynote speaker and author on leadership and project management. I lead our team as the President of the Institute for Leadership Excellence & Development Inc. We work with organizations around the world, helping them improve their ability to deliver projects & lead teams.

I’ve had the privilege of delivering keynotes and workshops to hundreds of thousands of people over the years, on every continent except Antarctica! Our focus is to help you and your organization learn practical skills to manage projects, sponsor projects, and lead people.

We are committed to helping you maximize your potential and the potential of your organization. 

I’m a certified trainer and author of "Navigating the Winds of Change: Staying on Course in Business & in Life", "Shining the Light on The Secret", and an e-book entitled "How to Organize Your Inbox & Get Rid of E-Mail Clutter", all published by Zurich Press. I’m a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP), and a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). 

One of the joys of my job is hosting 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 (https://PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com) which provides interviews and insights to help listeners lead people and deliver projects. We are in the Top 50 All Time Management Podcasts in multiple countries.

𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘸𝘸.𝘪-𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Specialties: KEYWORDS: Project management, keynote speaker, leadership, leadership keynotes, project management training in Chicago and around the world, international keynote speaker, conflict management, risk management, team-building, meeting facilitation, Christian, retrospectives (Post-Mortems, Lessons Learned, Key Learnings)

At some point, another resume tweak is not what will get you hired.

Kayla Quijas joined me in episode 482. Here is what she shared:

“You don’t need a perfect resume to get hired. You need to tell a better story about your experience.”

It is tempting to spend hours adjusting bullet points or rearranging sections.

But opportunities are rarely lost because a resume is imperfect.
They are more often lost because the real strengths behind the experience never come through.

Your story is not just what you have done.
It is how you think, how you solve, how you adapt, and how you help others succeed.

If you are job searching, try this:

Identify a few of the top challenges you have faced over the years. How did you respond, and what did you learn?

That is your story. Build from there.

👉👉 What lessons have you learned about improving your chances of getting an interview and thriving during it?

SOMETIMES WE STARE SO LONG AT A DOOR THAT IS CLOSING THAT WE SEE TOO LATE THE ONE THAT IS OPEN. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL

What I saw: A boss who I wasn't getting along with. As best I could tell, it wasn't going to end well. My time at the company was closing down.  A door was closing.

What I could have missed: The door was opening to go out on my own.

What happened: I made the jump, and over 24 years later, I can't tell you how glad I am that the door to that previous "door" was closing. 

👉👉 What are some examples of this quote playing out? Add your voice to the discussion in the comments below.

Michael Solomon joined us to talk about his book 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳. As we near the end of 2025 and look forward to the year ahead, queue up episode 304 for an insightful discussion on opening doors for your career in 2026.

Our joy at work is rarely only about the task.
It is usually about the people.

In episode 478, Bree Groff shared this:

“Even shoveling tough work can be joyful if you like your co-shovelers.”

My favorite teams over the years got serious work done. We delivered great value despite significant obstacles.

But what I remember most is the people. Teams that laugh together, check in with each other, and genuinely care for each other tend to carry the load with more energy.

Good teams are not just efficient.
They are connected.

👉👉 What is one practice that has helped your team feel more connected during intense work?

In Jeff Gothelf's book Forever Employable, he shares how we woke up in a cold sweat on the morning of one of his birthdays.

It wasn't because he had been laid off. It was because he realized "the farther up the ladder you go, the fewer positions there are--it's just the nature of the corporate beast. There are very few C-level, chief design office jobs...." As he looked at those coming up the ranks, "they were younger, faster, hungrier, smarter, and more technically capable than I was, and they were paid considerably less.... And if it wasn't the younger designers who had their sights on my job, it was the non-vacation-taking AI-enabled bots that would soon be after me."

The book is his story of how he went from waking up in fear to creating a career he loves. 

👉👉 What are some ways that people can future-proof (or future-prep) their career? 

👇👇 Leave a comment below.

Queue up episode 310 this week for some inspiration from Jeff's book 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦.

"One version of confidence is: I've got this figured out. Another version is: I can figure this out. The first is arrogant and close-minded. The second is humble and open-minded. Be humble about what you know, but confident about what you can learn." James Clear

A keynote we're increasingly asked to deliver is related to executive presence. Some clients prefer it to be called "leadership presence", but in both cases we're talking about the way someone shows up. You can probably think of people who show up with presence. There's something about them that makes people more likely to listen to their viewpoints.

Presence is easier to recognize than define. But a definition we include in the session is from my discussion with Amy Cuddy: confidence without arrogance. 

The quote from James Clear in this post tries to describe the difference between the two. How about you? From your perspective, when does confidence spill over to arrogance?

I ask because I've had a lot of conversations with people on this topic. Never once did someone say, "Gee, I'm glad we had this discussion because I have a real arrogance problem!" We often don't see when we are crossing the line.

So let's hear from you on this? What are some examples of where confidence goes over the line into arrogance? Or how lack of confidence hurt someone's presence?

Queue up episode 142 of the People and Projects to hear Amy Cuddy talk about this more. Have a great day!

For years, I've been a happy em-dash user. Then AI ruined it. 

It's always been the easiest tell that someone used AI. So I severely reduced the use of my friend, the em-dash.

If Sam lives up to his promise, I can now start bringing the em-dash back. 

Sometimes it's the little things. Happy Friday!

"HOW TO PREPARE FOR A POTENTIAL LAYOFF

Steve Jaffe wrote an insightful book entitled The Layoff Journey. It's a practical guide about what to do if you get laid off. 

In episode 495 (which will be published early next year), I asked Steve a different question. What could someone do now, before there's a layoff, to prepare in case it happens unexpectedly.

Here's what Steve shared.

What else would you add?"

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