337: Blockbuster Lessons for PMO Leaders with Dawn Mahan

December 7, 2025·30 min·2 clips

Laura's 18-year-old son Grayson led the Moneyball chapter, revealing how baseball strategy transforms project outcomes.

Host Laura Bernard interviews Dawn Mahan, founder of PMOtraining.com and co-editor of the upcoming book "Project Land Goes to the Movies." The episode explores how lessons from blockbuster films can be applied to project management challenges. Dawn explains the book features over 20 expert contributors who connect movie themes to professional strategies. The book is organized into three sections: "Setting the Stage" for vision and strategy, "Directing the Show" for leadership and teamwork, and "Herding Cats" for stakeholder engagement. Laura co-authored a chapter on "Moneyball" with her son Grayson, focusing on strategic innovation and outcome-focused thinking. James Evans contributed a chapter on "The Martian," using the film to illustrate agile problem-solving and iterative processes. Another chapter analyzes the documentary "We Are the World" to provide strategies for managing high-profile stakeholders and complex collaborations. A negotiation expert wrote a chapter based on the film "Cash Out," offering seven practical lessons for project leaders. Dawn's own chapter draws on "The Italian Job" to discuss team dynamics, handling betrayal, and navigating environments as the only woman on a team. The book also includes a chapter on "12 Angry Men," contributed by Joe Puz, examining group decision-making and collaboration. A chapter on the Italian cult film "Fantozzi" was contributed by an expert named Bruno, introducing a unique international perspective. The "Lord of the Rings" chapter, co-authored by another team, uses the fellowship to explore team formation and diverse role integration. Laura shares that her son Grayson, an 18-year-old with a baseball background, took the lead in writing the "Moneyball" chapter, connecting the film's data-driven strategy to project setup. Dawn recalls being emotionally moved by a personal story Grayson included in the chapter draft. The episode reveals the book aims to make project management concepts more accessible and engaging by using popular culture as a teaching tool. The tone is enthusiastic and conversational, with both hosts sharing personal anecdotes and excitement about the collaborative project. This episode is ideal for project, program, and PMO leaders looking for creative, story-based methods to motivate teams and manage stakeholders. Listeners who prefer strictly technical or theoretical project management content might find the movie analogies less directly applicable.

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