140: I'll Get There On Thursday with Zach Moss | The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast

In this episode of The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast, Ryan Gray sits down with Zach Moss, Project Manager in the IT department at Yavapai College, during a live recording at the Arizona Community College Technical Conference in Tucson, Arizona. Zach talks about what project management actually means inside higher education IT, where the work can stretch from campus remodel conversations to ERP replacement, portal launches, vendor coordination, and the daily challenge of keeping complex work moving across teams. The conversation quickly moves beyond timelines and task lists into the reality of leading projects when the technical answers live with subject matter experts, the stakeholders all have different needs, and the role often becomes less about having every answer and more about knowing how to remove the next barrier. Ryan and Zach also dig into transparency, ambiguity, risk tolerance, and the emotional intelligence required to manage technology projects without turning every issue into a crisis. Zach explains how taking good notes, focusing on the problem directly in front of him, building enough runway for timelines to shift, and meeting people where they are helps him keep work moving even when plans change. The episode closes with a wider conversation about accountability, trust, celebrating wins, choosing the right people for the work, and why successful project management in higher education often comes down to taking something that does not exist yet and bringing it together for students, faculty, and staff. Topics Discussed Recording live at the Arizona Community College Technical Conference in Tucson Zach Moss’s role as Project Manager in the IT department at Yavapai College Why project management looks different depending on the project Building a project management role when the position is new to the department Coordinating work across ERP, portal, campus, and IT projects Leading projects when the subject matter experts know the technical details Removing blockers without personally knowing every system or acronym Living in a constant state of emergency without treating every problem as a crisis Taking good notes and focusing on the problem directly in front of you Knowing when something is a Thursday problem instead of a Tuesday problem Creating enough runway so timelines can shift without panic The difference between real imperatives and invented urgency Recalibrating expectations when plans, features, or deadlines change Using transparency to build trust with teams and executive stakeholders The “you know everything I know” approach to project communication Working through forever projects and vendor implementation challenges Whitewater rapids as a metaphor for constant technology change Building the right project team with the right ownership Meeting people where they are in communication and work style Defining project management as taking a scope or goal and bringing it together Connect with Zach   / zach-moss-mba-pmp-4732b1290   https://www.yc.edu Connect with Ryan   / ryanagray   [email protected] Voiceover by Chris Dechter Have feedback or guest ideas? Let us know! This show is a production of Higher Ed AV Media. Visit www.HigherEdAV.com for fresh content every day!