Episode 378

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Published on:

20th Sep 2026

378: Think Like a Business Owner

Welcome to the PMO Strategies Podcast + Blog, where PMO leaders become IMPACT Drivers!

PMI Talent Triangle: Business Acumen

A few years ago, I was listening to PMO leaders compare the size of the portfolios they managed. $50 million. $100 million. $500 million. Billions.

Those numbers sound impressive, but they only tell me what the organization invested. The business question is what it got back.

That is the shift I want you to make in this episode. Thinking like a business owner means looking beyond activity, utilization, schedule, scope, and budget to the measurable outcome the work was funded to create. It also means being willing to make harder portfolio choices when too much work is slowing everything down.

🔹 Why a project can be green and still fail the business

🔹 The three questions that reconnect work to measurable business value

🔹 Why 100% resource utilization can actually destroy throughput and flow

🔹 How to bring leaders stronger choices about capacity, timing, cost, and expected value

Press play to hear how business-owner thinking changes the way you lead projects, portfolios, and the PMO.

P.S. If you need executive funding, authority, or resources to build or strengthen your PMO, the conversation cannot stay focused on headcount, tools, governance, or explaining what the PMO does. In my free training, How to Build a Business Case for a Strategy-Driven PMO, I’ll show you how to connect the PMO to the business problems your executives already care about and make the case in a way they can understand and support. Register for the free training.

Thanks for taking the time to check out the podcast!

I welcome your feedback and insights!

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Warmly,

Laura Barnard

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About the Podcast

PMO Strategies
with Laura Barnard
In this podcast, PMO leaders and those wanting to capitalize on the best of project management to deliver the organization’s strategy will uncover the hidden secrets of the best PMOs, learn the game-changing techniques that transform any PMO into a value-driven IMPACT Engine, and explore the best ways for the PMO to become an integral part of the fabric and future of an organization. After spending two and a half decades helping organizations deliver change, with 15 of those years in the shoes of PMO leader inside organizations, Laura strongly believes that there is more to making an IMPACT than templates, tools, and process. She’ll show you how to make the shifts necessary to become a business-focused PMO that will become an invaluable organizational asset. With her guests and insights, we explore the sticky situations and tough challenges PMO leaders face, from sorting through all of the “noise” about what the PMO “should” do to finding the best ways for your PMO to make an IMPACT. Listen in, and you can discover how to shift your focus from outputs to outcomes, fundamentally changing the game for your PMO and personal success.

About your host

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Laura Barnard