Project Success Beyond Time and Budget with Gregg Richie | #LeadWithLegacy | Episode 17

What does real project success look like beyond deadlines, budgets, and checklists?

In Episode 17 of the Lead with Legacy™ Podcast, Amanda Chambers and Sloane Lott sit down with author and instructor Gregg Richie for a powerful conversation on leadership, project success, military transition, servant leadership, and leaving a lasting impact through teaching and service.

Gregg shares insights from nearly five decades of project management experience, his REACH framework for sustainable success, the importance of understanding stakeholder needs, and how military experience can translate into meaningful civilian careers. This episode is filled with wisdom for leaders, project professionals, veterans, and anyone who wants their work to truly matter.

🔔 Subscribe for leadership insights, honest conversations, and practical wisdom you can apply immediately.

🌐 Learn more about IOL Global: www.iolglobal.com

Connect with Gregg Richie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greggrichie/

Find his book REACH for Project Success on Amazon:
https://a.co/d/073ptYUa

Service to Certified Course:
https://projectsuccessacademy.com/course/httpsprojectsuccessacademycomcoursepmp-exam-prep-service-to-certified-july-7-10

Support the Lead with Legacy™ Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2600300/support

Contact our team to book a time to be on the Lead with Legacy™ Podcast:
https://iolglobal.com/podcast

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Lead with Legacy, the official podcast of IOL Global. Here we will explore leadership that outlives titles and trends. Through conversations with faith-based and marketplace leaders, we will discuss integrity, conviction, and purpose. To learn more about us, visit us at iOLglobal.com. Hello and welcome to the Lead with Legacy Podcast. We are so honored today to be here with Mr. Greg D. Richie. I'm going to let Greg introduce himself here in a minute and tell us who he is and why we are having this podcast with him today. Before we jump in, though, if you're listening or watching and you want to make sure you never miss an episode, then subscribe. You can scribe any of the platforms that we're on Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, Amazon Music, any of those. So just make sure you subscribe and you'll get notifications about the new podcasts coming out. We have at least one coming out a week, sometimes two. And if the conversations are valuable to you, you can also support us by sharing the podcast out on your social media. And there is a way to support Arlee with Legacy Podcast on Buzz Sprouts. And we'll include all those links as well. So, Greg, thank you for being here today. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Thank you very much, Amanda. It's a pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_03 1:17

So tell us who you are. And since we couldn't change your background, you can tell us why you have a green screen in the background. There would be a good conversation to have.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

That'd be a good conversation starter. Well, uh, everybody, as you already know, I'm Greg D. Ritchie. I'm the lead instructor for Project Success Academy. Um, my background goes back about 48 years in project management. I started right out of high school in the late 1970s. Uh, went to work in the engineering field at the height of the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979. I joined the U.S. Navy and then spent 20 years traveling the world as a U.S. Navy CB. And if you don't know what CBs are, don't get us confused with SEALs. SEALs go out, they kill the bad guys, and they rescue people. Seabees, what we do is we go into an area where there's nothing, and we build the roadways, the runways, the chauhols, the bridges, the barracks, and the hospitals so that when the Marines get to town, they got a place to eat, sleep, and get their wounds taken care of. If any Marines are listening to this, yes, you might think you're in first, but Seabees are usually in with the Marines and sometimes even before the Marines. Once I retired in 1998, uh left the Navy, went to work in Fortune 500 at Grey Bar Electric. Found out very quickly Fortune 500 was not for me, and left there after about three years. Then I decided to get back into straight-up project management in the civil engineering world, uh, got my PMP in 2008. Uh, then, of course, the economy dropped out about the same time. Realized that I was not going to be a full-time project manager anymore, so I reinvented myself, took my two-page resume, turned it into a six-page curriculum vita, and started marketing myself as an instructor, a lecturer, an author. I've written a few books, co-authored a couple, and um then Ben Robeski and I, who've known each other for many years, we met at a conference, and he wanted to know if I'd be happy to come on board with him and create a new product that he was working on, and at the same time start a company for teaching. And I said, that's right up my alley. So here I am.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

And that company's Product Success Academy. And so that's why we have the green screen, because you're typically teaching. You're not typically having conversations like this.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

That is correct. That's why I have a green screen because most I've got a studio set up in my house so that most of my classes go on Zoom, so I can put nice backgrounds and I don't have that shadow that you normally have on Teams or any of the other ones that are out there. So it is a professionally set up studio. I have a very, very good microphone here. Let's see if I can get my best FM voice on. Yes, there we are. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 4:15

And I also wanted to say, too, because I had to learn this. Um C B is not C B like C B radio. It's C as in the C.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

Um C A.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Yes. And so I had to learn that because when you're using um these AI video tools, they want to bring up C B. Like, and I'm actually old enough to remember what A C B is. Anyways, thank you for introducing yourself. Thank you for that information. So today we're actually going to talk about one of your books. But before we do, I think Sloane's got a couple questions for you. And I didn't even say anything about Sloan being on here. Sloan is our director of operations um for Iowa Global. Sloan, I'll let you take it away for a little bit here. Absolutely. Mr.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Greg, first I want to say thank you for your service. We appreciate uh everything you've done uh with your with your military career. And now that you've retired, we appreciate what you continue to do for our servicemen and women and their spouses. And we'll talk about that in a little bit. And and we'll give some links for those of you who are you're leaving the military or your spouse is, and we can talk about how you can go from service to certified, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:15

And so that's something that is correct.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

We'll make sure that we have those links for. I do want to start with this question here. You've said through your work that project success is more than just finishing on time and on a budget. What does true project success look like from your perspective?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Well, essentially the best answer to that question is it depends. For example, I was to build you a house, Shalone, and you and I we sat down, we figured out all the plans, the plans you give to me, and I build it exactly the way the plans are. Most people would call that a successful project. However, in our conversations leading up to getting ready to start building the house, I hear that you love to entertain, you love to have parties with up to 30 people. But then I look at the plans and I see there's a very small kitchen, there's a very small dining room, and there's a very small deck off the back slider doors. This seemingly would not accommodate 30 people. So using the reach approach, uh, specifically engagement, alignment, and communication, I would want to have further conversations with you to ensure that what the plans you have given me are what you're looking for. You tell me that you like to entertain, but I see you've got a kitchen that probably wouldn't accommodate more than three people without bumping into each other. That's not going to work. Or a dining room that only holds a really small round table that seats four uncomfortably, or a back deck that's only eight by eight, that's not going to accommodate 30 people. So every single project is different, and every project manager needs to understand what the customer, client, sponsor, whatever you want to call them, what it is that they truly want and need. Now, we all know that wants and needs are different. Okay. I always strive for the needs, and if I can get the wants in there, there we go. But there's a principle, a biblical principle of believing that you get your wants and your needs equal. And once those are equal, then you get what you need and what you want.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Yeah, I really like that. And I I just want to jump in to the reach, right? The five diamonds of reach. Tell us where we can learn more about that. Tell us a little bit about the five diamonds, and at that high level, you know, what is the framework and why is it necessary?

SPEAKER_00 7:54

So the REACH framework was actually born out of years of frustration, I guess would be the term there. Benjamin Rubeski, who I mentioned earlier and I, you know, we've known each other for over 10 years. Uh, a few years back, we were whiteboarding some ideas and we were looking at all of the different things that people were looking at. And, you know, he's had a lot of experience as well. Projects that got 90% done and then abandoned. Projects where we did all the processes right, but the end product was the end product wasn't correct. So if we were to take a look at the reach concept, people can follow processes all day long. Processes are processes. I don't care which which approach you're taking to the project, but without the factors of reach, which is risk, engagement, alignment, communication, and habits, they're just simply going through the motions. I'll give you a cooking example. If I was to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving, I can put a turkey in the oven, follow all of the right processes, time, temperature, basting, the whole nine yards, the processes that you normally follow in doing a turkey. But without adding the right spices at the right time, following the processes doesn't produce a meal that wows everybody. I mean, I'd pretty sure that all of us have been to a Thanksgiving meal where we're slicing into the turkey and we're taking a bite of it and going, hmm, oh, yeah, that's delicious. You know.

SPEAKER_03 9:35

Not at my house, Craig.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Not at your house, of course, Amanda. But no, I mean, you know, we have all seen this happen. Now, turning this to a project example, I can follow all the processes of project management. If I'm doing a predictive project, for example, you know, following the PMI processes, I can do all of those fantastically. But the outcome is not what is expected because ri risk. Risk, for example, that's why it's the first letter in reach, because it's one of the biggest things if you don't do right, everything else is moot. I don't care how much time you have, how much money you have, how many people you have, if you do not do risk management approach, everything else is moot. Doesn't matter. Engaging with the stakeholders, that's another big disconnect. We can talk to stakeholders all the time. Stakeholders give me requirements, values that they're expecting, so on and so forth, but it's not what exactly what they're they're looking they're looking at. For example, I've been on projects where I said, What does a successful project look like to you? And I'm talking to a single individual stakeholder, and they say, Oh, it's got to look good. It's gotta be user-friendly, it's gotta be fast. Okay. Those things are fine, but I can't measure them. It's really, really difficult. Same thing with alignment. In projects that are done inside companies, we have to make sure that what we're doing is aligned with the strategic goals. And we've seen this, oh my word, so many times in so many companies. I mean, I take Microsoft as an example. We have the Zune, for those of you who don't remember, that was Microsoft's answer to the Apple MP3 player. We had Microsoft ME, Millennium Edition of Windows, Windows 8.1. We had the Windows Phone, that's another one. All of those were products that were huge colossal failures. They did not align with Microsoft's strategic goals, yet they spent millions and millions of dollars on these projects. So communication is much like risk. If you don't communicate appropriately, and I'm not just talking about communication with stakeholders, I'm talking about communication with team members. Communicating in both directions, listening actively, and giving feedback. If we're not communicating irregularly, that's not that's not gonna help. If you go off and you think you're doing something that they want, but it doesn't happen that way, that's not gonna work. And then finally, H for habits. One of the things that Ben and I both have had a lot of experience with is people doing the processes, but they're not doing them as a habit. I mean, how many of us have seen in Agile projects where we start off really great, we're doing the retrospectives, everybody's all kinds of excited to get to the first two retrospectives. Then on retrospective three, we're like, no, I don't have anything we can approve. Nope, I think everything's going fine. And they don't take it seriously. So we have to set up habits. Habits, in my humble opinion, taking the H and making it a habit to do risk, do engagement, do alignment, and do communications. That's the that's the glue that holds this all together.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

And so the key here is that you've put all of this into a book. And so that's one of the way one of the things that we want to talk about today. There it is, there it is. And so people can buy this process, this model in this book and get your insights. It's really good. I've read it, um and I endorse it. It is it's a great book. You guys did a really, really good job putting it together. You're very honest about it, open with the processes and what you were doing. So um actually this came about because I said, Hey Greg, why don't you come on and let's talk about the book a little bit?

SPEAKER_01 13:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 13:37

So the book is great. Anybody who is in project management, I would highly recommend that utilizing um your your years and years of experience and learning from others and yourself and the projects that you've been on and seen other people on. Um, and so highly recommend the book. And we'll come back to that in a little bit as well. But let's talk about what you teach. Um what is it that you teach? Can you tell us um about why we would want to learn from you and what are you teaching and all that?

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Well, primarily, my primary subject that I teach right now and have full time since 2009 is project management professional examination preparation. Given over 400 classes to over 4,700 students since 2009.

SPEAKER_03 14:25

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

And I was actually on another call a couple of weeks ago, and I was tell I was telling this particular company, it's like, hey, I'm about ready to do 350 just for your company. And they're like, How do you know you've done 350? And three or four other instructors that know me says, he has a spreadsheet.

SPEAKER_03 14:43

Yeah. Who doesn't have a spreadsheet?

SPEAKER_00 14:46

I do, yeah, exactly. So that's my primary instruction that I do teach. But my philosophy is this I've lived a full and colorful life. There's not too many subjects besides, you know, brain surgery, politics, you know, things like that. There's not too many subjects that I won't teach because one of the things they taught us in the military was how to become an expert at becoming an expert. Funny story, you know, about three years ago, I got a phone call from a client. They wanted me to teach an online class on a subject that wasn't project management. My wife overheard the phone call. And when I got off the phone call, she says, You told them you would teach that subject? And I go, Yes. How can you do that? I said, I know how to be an expert at becoming an expert. She says, I don't know how you do that. How do you tell somebody you can teach a subject if you've never taught the subject? But that doesn't mean that I'm a phony or a fraud. What it does mean is that when somebody asks me to teach a subject, I dive in with both feet. I mean, and I do mean both feet. I will spend hours upon hours becoming an expert in that topic. But primarily project management, professional preparation, Microsoft project, I've actually written three books on that subject, project leadership, leading projects in trouble, developing high performance teams. I mean, it's all about, in my humble opinion, getting the next generation of leaders ready to lead.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Right. Yeah. And so people can go, um, they can buy your book or multiple of them. Um, they can take courses from you on the PMP. They can take uh like people can consult with you, bring you in, have you teach either virtually or on site any of these topics or others that you listen. And so let's let's go back to the military portion of this as well. So through Project Success Academy, one of the really interesting and amazing things you do, and again, thank you also for your service, you guys go above and beyond with that. And so you do some, I think they're they're almost quarterly ish webinars free to the public where you can come in and you can do like a virtual panel for those that have been in the military or are in the military and kind of just talk about what's going on in their training. And and the purpose of this, we call it service to certified, and the purpose of this is to help people who are in the military or transitioning out of the military, some who already have to know what their options are as far as getting training in this area in this genre. And so I want to just plug a little bit. You guys have one of these coming up May 27th. So our team is gonna work to get this episode out before then so we can kind of let everybody know as well. Um but this is an opportunity for people to sign up and it is free, right?

SPEAKER_00 17:57

I I am saying Yes, that is free. The the Service the Certified Military Panel we do twice a year.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

Twice a year, okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

I wanted to do one to prepare for a class around the weekend or the week of July 4th, because most people, you know, they've got July 4th off, and we can we can get a PMP class in in those four days of the week. I also wanted to do one that was near Veterans Day. So those are the two that we do. So we normally do one in May or June for the July class, and we usually do one late September, early October for the November service the certified. Now, this came about because when I left the military in 1998, I went through the standard transition assistance program classes that they had at the time. Was not a whole lot of good, so to speak. They didn't help me find my job at Gray Bar Electric. They didn't really give me a whole lot of assistance as far as, hey, you're leaving a military environment going into a civilian environment. Here's what you should expect. Nothing like that. And that's why I said Fortune 500 was not for me, because you go from an environment where you literally put your life in the hands of the person next to you, they put their life in your hands. There is trust there, there is communications there, there is all kinds of things there. Not in the civilian world. So nobody really helped me get from military to civilian life like that. Everything we do in the military is a project. And so this makes it perfect for military people to go from what they knew in the military. And let's face it, military people, if you've been in for any length of time, you are disciplined. You understand what it means to follow orders, you understand what it means to communicate the necessary information. So you have the basics of what it takes to be a project manager. And most people enjoy projects in the military. So we decided that we're gonna let it out that we want military people to come, especially ones that are transitioning soon. Okay. We want them to come here and find that there is another profession that they can easily slide into from the military. And we wanted to show them that. And not only that, we give this course at a greatly, greatly reduced rate.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

I'm glad you let into that because that's what I want to talk about too, because you guys are very, very generous about this. And I'll let you talk to that too. But that what you're saying is so true, and I can attest to it because there are multiple of you through PSA and then some other project managers that I am in contact with that have been in the military and transitioned into project management, and it's it is such a good transition. I'm not gonna say it's all roses, but it's a good transition point because, like you said, you guys are used to structure, and those people who can work in a structured environment but also be a bit agile and move a little bit this way and that way when needed, work really, really well in this industry. So you guys do the webinar, um, which we invite everybody, we'll put the link and we invite everybody to come to that on May 27th. But then yeah, totally free for that. And then in addition to that, you offer the courses to take the training to get the certification. So let's be clear about that. So you offer the courses and then they go take a test from a company called PMI. For those who don't know, that's Project Management Institute. So you guys train them, they have to have a training.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Order to go sit for the test.

SPEAKER_03 22:01

And so you train them, then they go sit for the test, and then they pass the test because you train them so well, and then they're certified, and they are more capable of getting a position in this industry. And so tell us how much is the course if they want to come take it from you?

SPEAKER_00 22:17

So there's two options. If they are able to make the July course that we have set up, then it's $299 on our website, and that's down from $12 or $14.95, I can't remember which, but $299. And that is a greatly reduced price.

SPEAKER_03 22:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

If they cannot make that course and they want to buy a voucher, which is good for one year, and they can take any course, any course, not just the services certified, but they can buy a voucher if they can't make the July course for $3.99.

SPEAKER_03 22:55

Wow. That's an amazing deal. I guess in my head I did know, but it's been so when I first came on last year doing some marketing stuff with you guys is when we did the first one. And so it's been a it's been a long while. And now Sloan does most of the the stuff that I was doing then. Um and so I'm I'm a little further out the loop, but I'm really glad that we can share that with everybody because that's a massive discount. That's really great. And so there'll be a whole bunch of people on this panel. I think the last one, the one that I was on last October, was it October, September? Um, there was like 30 of us or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

There's 26, 26 or 27. 2020, if you take away the panelists. We had we had quite a few panelists last time. We're actually reducing that this time. Um, and just to let you know, all of our instructors except two. All of our instructors except two. We've got six, five, we have five instructors, six instructors if you count Shane. All instructors except two are former military.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

Isn't that amazing? You guys are amazing.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Yep. We have Air Force, Army, Navy, and a Marine.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Yep. And I'm not gonna find the other ones because some of the other ones either have been on this show or are gonna be on this show, and so you guys can learn about them on that and on different this is Greg's show.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:15

Um, all right. So, Sloan, you have a couple more questions.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

All right, Mr. Greg, I do have a quick question for you. Let's be honest, it's not a quick question. I don't know why you might have said that. It's a question, and I want you to take all the time in the world to explain it. What is the difference between a project that finishes and one that truly delivers impact?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

So a project that finishes is one that we have completed according to all the requirements. But I get requirements all the time that means the end product isn't useful. So a product or excuse me, a project that truly delivers impact is one that I would say changes how companies do things. That changes how people look at that product. For example, and I'm gonna probably catch you no what for this, but I'm gonna use it anyway. I shied away from Apple products for decades. I kicked Apple to the curb in 1987 because I had an Apple IIe and it wouldn't do anything that I needed it to do. So what I did was I kicked them to the curb and went the PC route. Then finally, Apple came out with the iPhone and I stayed away from it. Stayed away from it, stayed away from it, stayed away from it. Then in it was actually on Halloween of 2024, I went and got my very first iPhone. I went to the dark side, as I like to say. But this phone has been truly impactful for me. This phone has helped me with not only keeping all the different things that I have, my fingers in different pies, keeping all those in line, but it's also been very helpful in helping me lose weight. I mean, I'm on a weight loss journey. I've been on weight loss journey for over a year now, lost 34 pounds. So the different apps that they have available on the iPhone that were not available on Android, it's been very impactful. But that's the difference between a project that finishes, you finish all requirements, and a project that truly delivers impact to an organization. If it changes the organization and is in line, that's the A of reach alignment, okay, if it's in line with the organization's strategic goals, then that's an impactful project.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

That's a that's a great answer. And I was also a later convert to the iPhone, not quite as late, but I was an Android user for a long time. And I was like diehard, I'm never gonna do it because I was a Samsung fan, never gonna do it. And I think it was like 2018, is when I switched over. So here's the difference. Uh we'll probably get in big trouble for this. I don't know. But so I was constantly having to replace my phone, replace my phone, replace my phone. And I was like, everybody's like, oh, you gotta go to an iPhone. I was like, I can't do it. And so I finally did. And since 2018, and this is I don't know if this is good publicity or bad plus publicity, but I think I've only had two since then. And so in eight years, I've only had two, and I would have had literally would have had 12 uh Androids, literally. And so yeah, I'm a fan too. I have like an old version. So if Apple wants to like, you know, shout out and send me a new one, that's fine too. No, I'm actually really happy with it. Um, the one that I have, I've been super happy with. And so yeah, I I think when you put out a really good product or you finish a really, really good project well and you go above and beyond, people are gonna notice it. And then the difference is I might not buy 10 iPhones, but I'm gonna get an iPhone for life, right? And so I'm gonna keep exactly, you know, I'm I'm gonna be beyond Team Apple for the iPhones for life. And so I think that's a better engagement in in a in a customer is when the product or the project or whatever we're putting out really keeps the person happy or the entity happy or the organization happy. Um, I think that makes a huge difference. Greg, I love what um what I'm gonna say we're because we're all working together um and I'm really blessed by that. Um it's been a real honor to get to know all of you um as a big group of people to be on host some of these webinars and and be on some of this stuff with you guys. And then kind of I'm I'm more of a behind the scenes kind of girl. And so when God said you're gonna do a podcast, I was like, No, I'm not. And here we are.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

Here we are.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

So but I it's been it's been really great. Um so grateful to you and to Ben and the entire team at Corbo and PSA. Um, all right, so we're gonna we're gonna wrap up a couple of questions for you. The last two, um, I'll ask you the the first one. I'll let Sloan close it out. Who has influenced your leadership the most?

SPEAKER_00 29:08

There's been so many. I've had I tell this to my PMP students all the time. I've had leaders in my lifetime, some of whom are still alive today, one of which lives in Rogers, Arkansas. His name is Jack Buffington. He was the King Bee, which is the chief of naval Seabees at one point in my career. If Jack called me up tomorrow and said, Richie, grab your guns, we're going to war, even at my age and my current physical state, but I'd say, Jack, where do you want me to meet you? Because he's such an inspiring guy. And I'll give you an in I'll give you an indication. He's 86 years old and he still works at the fire department in Rogers, Arkansas. Look him up.

SPEAKER_03 29:52

They the local I'm gonna ask you to be on podcast, Jack.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

I'm not kidding you. The local TV station did a story on him. He's a retired two-star admiral and he's working as a first responder at 86. Hello? That's inspiring.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

That's the military leader. I've had two leaders that I have met in the civilian world since I became a civilian in 1998 who have had a huge impact on me. I'll talk about the second one Benjamin Rabeski. I met Ben Rabesky over 12 years ago when I was bringing him on as an instructor at another company. And I remember he was the only guy that I ever brought on as an instructor that I sat in the back of the room and went, Oh my gosh, this guy is good. He's better than I am. Only instructor I've ever said that to myself on. Now I've had the opportunity to watch Ben's leadership style. And if you were to look up servant leader in the encyclopedia, Ben's picture would be right there. He is truly a servant leader. I have learned so much from that guy. In just the past three years, I've been working with him on this project. It's just watching how he does stuff is amazing to me, and I've learned so much from him. He is probably the one that's had the most influence on how I've changed in the past five years.

SPEAKER_03 31:23

Yeah, I agree. Ben is wholeheartedly just genuinely so good and so kind and just willing to do anything for anybody, and sometimes to his own own demise, right? But he, yeah, I 100% agree. Um, when when God brought this opportunity through through Tanya, and I'm gonna give her a shout-out. Um, she's the one she and I were connected um through some other projects, and then she said, I was kind of looking for just some side work, and and she said, Hey, you know, let me talk to Ben. And then I got on the line with Ben, and it was just, yeah, he's he's one of a kind for sure. You are too, Fred. You know, both of you lead so well and so compassionately and so kindly, um, and always taking into account what other people have going on. And not everybody does that, not everybody looks at the whole picture rather than just going like we have to get this thing done right now. Um, guys really care about what we have going on, um, the the entire team as a whole. And if somebody comes to you with an issue, you do everything you can to to rectify it or serve them as best as they can. So was that everybody, or you got somebody else?

SPEAKER_00 32:33

Uh no, that was it. Ben, Ben, the military leader, Jack Buffington, and Ben is the survey.

SPEAKER_03 32:39

That's a great answer. It's really, really good. Both very, very good. All right, Sloan, take us away. All right.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Mr. Greg, when you think about legacy, what do you hope to leave behind?

SPEAKER_00 32:49

This actually came up with my mentor when I was getting ready to do my PMP. My mentor was Naomi Carroll. I still remember her name. She was she is a great lady. She moved away from the Seattle area. She lives back in Kentucky now, I think. But I chose her as a mentor because she did it the hard way. In other words, she was a high school dropout, she got her 7,500 hours, she got all her education and got her PMP first time out. And that's why I chose her as a mentor. I told you that story to tell you this one. During our conversations, she knew what I wanted to do. She knew I wanted to write books, she knew I wanted to teach. And she said, Why are you doing all of this? And I said, Well, and again, this was 12 years ago. This is when I was still in my 50s. I said, I want to leave a legacy, not where people are going to keep my name on their lips 10 years from now, but leave an impact of my experience with the next generation of project managers. And this is what I hope my legacy will be. I don't want people to necessarily just, you know, buy my books and remember my name. That's not what I'm in this for. What I'm in this for is that I want my students to know that there's somebody out there, me, that's willing to help them reach their goals, no matter what it is. And that's what I hope the legacy will be is that somebody will look and remember Greg Ritchie as the instructor who not only taught them well, but cared genuinely about their path in life.

SPEAKER_03 34:43

I'm pretty confident that there's a pretty long list of people that already feel that way. So if you're on here and you're listening, you can shout out to that too. Greg, thank you so much for being on with us. I really appreciate you taking the time. I know you're really busy. You have a lot going on. So you and your wife, you're out in Seattle, Washington. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 35:02

Yeah, a little town called Orting, O-R-T-I-N-G, Washington. It's actually a heritage town. It was a town before Washington became a state, an old logging town. And we've got Mount Rainier out the front of our house and the 10th fairway of the golf course we live on out the back. So yes, we're terrible.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

You guys also have like a beach house or something because you're at the beach sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 35:23

Well, yes, we do have a house that was available to us. Unfortunately, it's not our house, but we have friends that do have a house out in Westport, and my wife loves the water, and we go out there, and in order for me to pay back to the individuals that let us use their house, I fix their house all the time, you know.

SPEAKER_03 35:40

Need some friends like that. I need I need I need some friends at the beach.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

Well, I take my CB skills and I apply those to help others as well.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

That that sounds like a good plan. We could we could take that a long way and learn a lot.

SPEAKER_00 35:55

Everybody needs an electrician, okay, and that's what I am.

SPEAKER_03 35:59

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 36:00

That is not a lie. I rely on my dad for that.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:04

If there's plumbing or electricity, my dad is one of those guys that you can call and he can do all the things. And he like he's just a whiz at it. So yeah, he's my go-to on that for sure.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Awesome.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Well, thank you so much for being on here. I really appreciate it. There's never a time that you and I are on um on something or having a conversation that I don't learn from you. And I've been really blessed to learn a lot from you. Um, Sloan gets to hear all the conversations that we all have, kind of like your wife hears on your end. And so she learns a lot too. She's like all the time, I really like Greg. I really like Greg. I'm like, I know, me too.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

And my wife says the same thing. My wife says the same thing about you, Amanda. And and because you know, now you're but now you're more involved in the in the ILS conversation. And she said the same thing about Valerie. She says, Wow, Valerie's really got her act together. And unfortunately, you know, Valerie's moved on, and that's great for her. Yeah, yeah. Dina, Dina listens in on the conversations because I sometimes have them on my iPad downstairs in the kitchen rather than up here in my office.

SPEAKER_03 37:06

Yeah.

unknown 37:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

So we're all on stairs.

SPEAKER_03 37:10

Sloan will be in the office with me, and I'm over here on my computer, and she's over there listening in. And so, yeah, we kind of have the same setup, and so we hear, and she's like, and then we can discuss it afterwards, all in good ways. We all have we always have good meetings, and so they're always, you know. And that's one of the things I love too about working alongside you guys, is like it's always positive, and we all work worked well together. Whatever needs to be done, we get it done.

SPEAKER_00 37:31

And exactly.

SPEAKER_03 37:32

So, yeah, so shout out to Corbo Tech, uh, Project Success Academy, Greg Ritchie. Um, we're gonna put um the books on Amazon, easy to buy. And so we'll put the link to the book. And they can also go to the PSA site, which we'll put, and they can book to take a class for you. We'll put your LinkedIn as well, and so you can connect up with Greg and learn more from him. Um and then you can also book him to come um and do some consulting or training um at your company if you want. Highly recommend you're doing great things, and I'm I'm really grateful. I know like when the further we get in life, same with me. It's like, what are we gonna do, you know? Are we still bringing value? And I really want you to know that you are bringing value. You brought a lot of value to us, you know, over this last year, just kind of learning and listening. And I know that there's so many people that you've impacted in in great ways, and we are really blessed to be connected, and and it's been it's been a great ride so far.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

It has been, and I really appreciate all of your insights and always love the conversations with you. Whether they're in a meeting or they're in a one-on-one, doesn't matter. I love the conversations with you. You have got a great company in your in your own. And I I showed your card to my wife the other day. Serve God, serve people. I love that. That is fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 38:54

Thank you. That that is all gone because um, you know, I don't know if you've heard this on one of their podcasts or not, but I was I wasn't even gonna open the company. Uh, this is my parents' company, and we reopened it and because my dad had been on me to do it. And so I actually took some some contract work and then was like, well, I better I actually signed with Ben. And then I was like, you know what? I probably should like just go ahead and do the company and run it through the company. And so we redid all the contracts. He was so he was so gracious with me. And we redid all the contracts and put it in the company name, and I was trying to figure out, okay, like how do I brand myself? Because I'm really good at branding other people, but when it comes to yourself, it's a little different. And um, I was really just praying about it, and I just the Holy Spirit was like, I want you to say, you know, in the timeline, serve God, serve people. And I was like, I can't do that. Everybody will, you know, everybody will get mad. And because I've been in corporate so long, and I just I was wrestling with the Holy Spirit about it, and and he was just like, Yes, this this is the message. I just need you to obey me and do this. And so I did. I changed the LinkedIn, changed, you know, we created all the marketing and everything, and we have been so blessed. God has been so good to us. We I cannot thank God enough for what he's done and what he can us to do.

SPEAKER_00 40:13

John, third John 2. I wish above all things that they'll prosper and be in health. I mean, that's just that's it. And so uh also John 9 and 10. I'm come that they may have life and may have it more abundantly. I mean, that's that's just all there is to it.

SPEAKER_03 40:27

I had another one of our uh mutual, we're all kind of like, I don't know, but Matt Zafirski, he um he sent me a voicemail the other day that I listened to. He said, I got your card in the mail, and it said, serve God, serve people, and I went running around the house. Hey man, and you just never know what God's gonna do. Think I think the point is to be obedient, right? Because I wasn't I wasn't fearful of that on the that that's how I live my life. It was just in the corporate world, it's a little bit different. Um, it's not something that we all always come out and be like, you know, now you and I might have conversations and we have, and other people may as well, but you know, it it's not something you like put on your LinkedIn on the regular, you know. And so, but I'm really grateful that I was obedient to that. Um, and I've listened, and and we've been really blessed and so blessed to to encounter and be in partnership with people like you and Ben and and Tanya.

SPEAKER_00 41:21

And it's just yeah, well, there's there's two huge examples that are out there Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A.

SPEAKER_01 41:29

Yeah. Look at both of those companies.

SPEAKER_00 41:31

Yeah, both of those companies put God first and look at and look at them. I mean, they're successful. That's all there is to it.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

Yeah, and I mean one of my overarching goals really, um, and which which we've prayed a lot about too, is just to be able to truly serve and bless other people. Um, it and while doing that, serve God and and do it in the best way possible. And so God's really opened doors. He allowed me the opportunity to have Sloane on my team, which is I can't even tell you. She's just amazing. There's not words enough to express.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

That is fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

You know, you always hope that you can get somebody that is as good but better than you. Um, and they can do things that one, you don't want to do, and two, you know, they can do I mean that's the truth.

SPEAKER_01 42:18

It is the truth. That's what business people do all the time.

SPEAKER_03 42:21

And I tell so we have another lady working for us, Amy, now, and then of course my dad does some work with this as well. And I tell them all the time, like, I want you to be doing work that you enjoy because we're all gonna have to do things that we don't want to, but mostly I want you to do the work that you like. And so I'll I'll kind of joke with one. I'm like, Do you want to do video? And she's like, No, like, do you want to do accounting? No, no, she's like, I like what I'm doing. I'm like, okay, just be honest about it.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

We're gonna that's one last thing about what I do I teach, and it is it gives me so much joy when I see the light bulbs come on over people's heads. I get it. That's my benefit because you know, I sometimes I sometimes feel guilty when I submit my invoices.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:10

Until I hit send, then I don't feel guilty anymore. But I mean they pay me to do this, and it's something I enjoy doing. And apparently I must be good at it because people keep coming back.

SPEAKER_03 43:22

It's funny you say that because Phone and I have the same conversation a lot. We're like, these people are paying us to do this, and we love doing it, and it's so good. Yeah, exactly. And you know, but like we have uh how many times, Phone, like 15 probably times we sit here and go, Well, we'll get a new client and we'll go, really? They want to pay us a job.

SPEAKER_00 43:40

Yeah, yeah. You can actually you can actually do this and get money for it.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

Yeah. And you can tell a difference when people love what they're doing, right? Because just what they produce, whether it be a service or a product, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:52

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 43:53

It's better. You can tell when somebody loves it.

SPEAKER_00 43:56

You can't like I told you earlier, I used to bring on instructors for an Other company. Within the first 30 minutes, I could tell whether this is something this person wanted to do or are they doing it for the money? I mean, seriously. It's very, very easy.

SPEAKER_03 44:10

Absolutely. Actually, one of the greatest compliments I've ever gotten is from Ben. And um, I had I'd been on with you guys for a little while, and he and I were Ben likes to have meetings. I don't like to have meetings, but Ben likes to have meetings. And so I'm trying, I'm working really hard at it. Um, but he and I were talking and he said he he was like, my contract was coming up. We're doing some renewal and stuff. And he said, Man, you just do things different. You're just different. And I was like, I hope so. I hope it's different, you know. I hope that what I am doing is bringing value. And if it's not bringing value, I'm not the person that you need to have. Um, and I hope I'm doing it differently. I hope we're doing it better and faster, like he says. And, you know, we're we're getting the thing done at a good quality. And so that was one of the best compliments I think I've ever gotten.

SPEAKER_00 44:53

From my position as the lead instructor, seeing what you guys are doing for us. I've seen a lot of people do a lot of social media stuff. You guys knock it out of the park as far as I'm concerned.

SPEAKER_03 45:06

Thank you. We try really hard. Yeah. And and I'm gonna tell you again, Sloan has she's blown me away because I we really didn't know. Like when I hired her, it was it was kind of a hope and a prayer. Not because of her skills, but because I didn't know what we were doing. Um, and so yeah, it's been great. So thank you. Thank you for believing us and and and being a friend and a partner and just a part of this. And I again highly recommend all of your training, your books and everything. And and I wish you guys the absolute best. Maybe we'll come out to Washington one day. You never know.

SPEAKER_00 45:39

Well, if you do, if you if you come out to Washington, then let me know and I'll I'll play tour guide.

SPEAKER_03 45:46

Hey, that would be fun. So thank you, Greg. I know your time is precious, so we will we will let you go, but thank you so much for being on here and and for being a guest on the show. It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

And I really truly appreciate the opportunity.

SPEAKER_03 46:00

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 46:01

Okay.