Agile Coach and 30-year software veteran Shawn Wallack strips the corporate theater out of product delivery, taking aim at massive "Awareness" meetings, CYA governance, and the delusion that installing software equals an agile transformation. We break down the stark difference between holding rigid ceremonies and actually making decisions, why perfectly logical frameworks fail under the weight of terrible corporate incentives, and why your documentation repository is essentially a graveyard. If your team is mistaking frameworks for principles and confusing friction with progress, it's time to stop hiding behind your rituals.

Connect with Shawn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnwallack/

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https://linktr.ee/thedisgruntledpm

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

The corporate world loves to worship at the altar of the "Lone wolf" executive, but the reality of leadership is usually a lot more nuanced. In this episode, executive coach Mike Howerton tears down the delusion that your job title makes you a superhero. We dissect the difference between a consultant versus a coach. The "Delegation tax" that turns founders into the ultimate bottlenecks and the harsh truth about why your core values could actually be destroying your team’s culture are also covered. This is a reality check for anyone addicted to controlling every detail of their projects.

Connect with Mike:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehowerton/

Website: https://www.howertoncoaching.co

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

In this episode, Guest Justin J. MacBale strips away the corporate theater of enterprise project management to expose what actually drives business value. Justin breaks down the systemic dysfunctions of M&A integrations, the fatal flaw of treating PMs like glorified administrators, and why forcing arbitrary personal expectations onto a burned-out team is a guaranteed career killer. We skip the toxic positivity and dissect the messy reality of mitigating disaster, reading the room, and forcing terrified decision-makers to actually make a choice before a project bleeds out.

Connect With Justin:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinjmacbale/

Website: https://www.pragintionpm.com/

PM Career Growth Project Management Learning Platform: https://www.pmcareergrowth.com/

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

Most project professionals treat HR like the corporate principal's office, that we place we all try to avoid until someone makes a bad joke or a hire falls through. In reality, abdicating your talent management to a siloed department is the fastest way to doom your deliverables. Former Sazerac CHRO Joe Bongiovi drops in to explain why positional authority is a complete joke if you lack the influence to back it up. We tear down the "Golden Rule" in favor of the "Platinum Rule," expose the delusion of Ivy League recruiting, and break down why treating people like static puzzle pieces destroys project agility. If you think shouting "I'm in charge" actually makes you the leader, prepare for a harsh reality check

Connect with Joe:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-bongiovi-686a903/

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

This week, Kayla Quijas tears down the romanticized idea that your experience "Speaks for itself." We get into the trenches of project management in a law firm, where buzzwords die fast and effectively managing highly skeptical stakeholders is the only metric that matters. If you're tired of screaming into the ATS void while tweaking your resume with AI to match every generic job description, you need to hear about what Kayla refers to as the "Trust gap." The real reason hiring managers are passing on you. It is time to ditch the emotional support credentials, stop acting like a desperate applicant, and start approaching interviews like the battle-tested consultant hired to solve their dysfunction.

Connect with Kayla:

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayla-quijas

Website: https://kaylaqcareercoaching.com/

Podcast: https://www.kaylaqcareercoaching.com/podcast

Free PM Readiness Assessment: https://www.kaylaqcareercoaching.com/pm-readiness-assessment-1

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

In this episode, Conversation Designer Jake McKee breaks down why surviving on secondhand insights from your sales or support teams is the fastest way to build features nobody wants. We strip away the corporate theater of treating users like data points to mitigate risk, and dive into Jake's Conversation Compass. We expose the conversation debt teams accumulate when they prioritize risk abatement over genuine, two-way connection. If your idea of customer research is an interrogation disguised as a focus group, prepare to have your entire roadmap dismantled.

Connect with Jake:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakemckee/

Website: https://jakemckee.com

Podcast: jakemckee.com/podcast

Conversation Lab: Jakemckee.com/conversationlab

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

In a corporate world obsessed with suffocating projects under layers of administrative bloat and toxic positivity, William Stewart wants to strip project management down to its bare, functional bones. Drawing from decades of aerospace engineering and rescuing doomed initiatives, Stewart dismantles the illusion of the solo Project Manager and exposes the absurdity of demanding solutions for every problem. He argues that complexity is the enemy, flowcharts beat Gantt schedules every time, and your meticulously crafted risk budget is completely useless if you're too terrified to show a red status to your executive team. This episode is a brutal reality check for anyone tired of running the same failed plays disguised as "best practices."

Connect with William:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billstewart/

IFPPM: https://ifppm.org/register/?secret=disgruntled (free exam link for listeners)

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.

Corporate bureaucracy is where good ideas go to die, suffocated by endless red tape and managers terrified of making a decision. In this episode, Freedom Fitness Equipment owner Ashton Ferrazzo breaks down exactly why he abandoned the Fortune 100 grind to build a physical business where executing action actually trumps endless consulting and planning. He exposes the toxic reality of corporate egos, the painful necessity of shedding your own terrible leadership habits, and why textbook project management frameworks often just get in the way of moving the needle. If you're tired of putting Band-Aids on bleeding wounds while waiting for committee approval, Ashton's brutal honesty about scaling a massive operation, some of his logistical nightmares, smelling salts, and more is exactly the reality check you need.

Connect with Ashton:

Website: https://freedomfitnessequipment.com/

Smelling Salts Video (VERY FUNNY): https://youtu.be/zbgQuIpVQlc?si=D5MRNNr6RgRhAovh

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomfitnessequipment/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXgkvIR-5ishTlFGJgNK9tw

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LinkedIn Show Page:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thedisgruntledpm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_disgruntled_pm

📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpmK5LZHPLJMH0YlNPrRlAA

🎙️Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/6qIhx0QwilQrw41n0aLXnK

🎙️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-disgruntled-pms/id1809317932

💵 Patreon: patreon.com/TheDisgruntledPMPodcast

The intro music for this podcast includes portions from “The Wandering," composed and performed by The Ravened. Find more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/@the-ravened. Used with permission by The Ravened.