Audio Transcription:
Ben Aston:
We appreciate you tuning in. This is The Digital Project Manager podcast. I’m Ben Aston. Today, Colin Ellis is my guest. He’s a speaker, trainer, mentor, and author on project management. He is a Liverpudlian, who now calls Australia home. I don’t know if it’s rainy Melbourne or sunny Melbourne, but I’m grateful for his presence on the show.
Colin Ellis:
It’s Ben’s pleasure and it’s sunny today. It’s currently 24 degrees, which is quite nice. Yesterday it would have been rainy Melbourne.
Ben Aston:
It’s always a good idea to understand the weather. Thank you for-
Colin Ellis:
It’s a very British conversation.
Ben Aston:
Exactly.
Colin Ellis:
Let’s get this out of the way early.
Ben Aston:
It has been raining in Vancouver. It has been raining heavily in Vancouver for the past few days, but it is forecast to stop.
Colin Ellis:
People don’t realize, Ben, that when we talk about weather, we Brits aren’t actually talking about the weather. We’re talking more about our emotions than the weather. “Oh, what’s it like?” “Actually it’s slightly overcast with a possibility of rain.”
Ben Aston:
Exactly. The good news is that Vancouver’s forecast for the next few weeks is sunny.
Colin Ellis:
That’s good.
Ben Aston:
With a hint of cloud. All in all, it’s a win-win situation. This is actually a new podcast for us on The Digital Project Manager podcast. Although podcasts are rare, I can honestly say that there haven’t been many. However, this is the first time we have done a podcast where I talk to someone and have a conversation. Although we’re not discussing a specific article, Colin reached out to me and I thought some of his writings were really interesting. So I asked him if he would be willing to join the show. One of the topics that Colin speaks a lot about is project leadership. This is something I am passionate about. It involves developing strong team cultures and building strong projects. We also discuss how we can lead our projects to success. Let’s first get to know Colin. We’ll get to that later. But, you’re not a project manager by trade. At least, I don’t think so. So tell me about your story. How did you get started in project management?
Colin Ellis:
My first job as a project manager was probably what you would call a digital project manager role at the time. However, it was not common in the late ’90s to use the term digital. Ben and I were panicking about the end of the world. At the time, we were working in telesales for the Liverpool Echo. I didn’t have the skills to sell newspaper space. But, they did offer a car and a phone and they would travel the UK for four year. That was my 20th year of project management.
