People and Projects Podcast: Project Management Podcast

PPP 273 | Spy Skills for Project Managers, with former CIA spy Jason Hanson

Nov 22, 2019

Jason Hanson, a former CIA spy and author of 'Agent of Influence', shares captivating insights on applying espionage skills to everyday life. He discusses the 'confidence reflex' crucial for spies and how it can be leveraged in project management. Hanson emphasizes the importance of proactive decision-making, effective communication, and understanding behavioral cues to influence others. He also reveals how to teach children about safety through fun activities while reflecting on essential leadership traits for managing teams.

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INSIGHT

Confidence Is A Trained Reflex

Confidence is a trained reflex developed through preparation and repeated rehearsal.
Jason Hanson argues rehearsing builds the certainty needed to act when alone and under pressure.

ADVICE

Get Off The X Quickly

Get off the X by changing behaviors that keep you in danger or failure loops.
Identify what to stop doing and take a concrete alternate action to move toward safety or progress.

ADVICE

Spot And Assess Decision Makers

Spot who holds the real decision power, then assess who truly controls access.
Observe behavior and ask questions to find the small set of people who actually hold the keys.

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Project managers, you know the importance of organization and transparency when it comes to collaborating on a team. This episode is sponsored by Backlog, which is the perfect project management software to keep your projects organized from start to finish. As you'd expect, you can create tasks and track progress with features like Gantt & burndown charts. But beyond that, you can write, revise, and release code right within tasks. You can document processes alongside your work with wikis. And you can do all this and more with one easy to use tool. Try Backlog for your team free for 30 days using the special URL Backlog.com/projects. Check them out! Thanks!

OK, We're Not Spies, But...

I don't know about you, but I like a good spy movie. Start a Jason Bourne movie and I'll sit and enjoy it all night long.

My guest today is Jason Hanson, a former CIA spy who has written some intriguing books about applying spy skills to those of us who aren't spies. In this episode, we talk about his most recent book, which is entitled Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business. And though you and I aren't spies--or at least that's our story and we're sticking with it--there are lessons that can be applied by those of us who are responsible for leading teams and projects.

Learn more about Jason at https://spyescapeandevasion.com/jason-hanson-biography/.

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Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Leadership

SPY GLASS from https://filmmusic.io by Kevin Macleod License: CC BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

SPY GROOVE from https://filmmusic.io by Kevin Macleod License: CC BY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/