By Lori Milhaven, Executive Vice President, IIL
October 29, 2026
I’ve been part of every single IPM Day. All 22 of them. I was there when it was an idea shared by Frank Saladis in 2004, a bold bet that project professionals would show up for one day of learning together. I remember the conversations, the uncertainty, the “will anyone actually come?” And I’ve watched that bet grow into a global tradition that brings thousands of people together on the first Thursday of every November.
Project management is no longer just a job title. It’s something we all do.
Think about your last week. You launched something, fixed something, negotiated a deadline, rallied people who didn’t report to you, and made a decision with half the information you wanted. Maybe at work. Maybe at home. Probably both.
That’s project management. It’s in how we plan a wedding, care for an aging parent, coach a team, start a business, or get four kids out the door on a school morning. It’s in every hospital, every classroom, every product launch, every community effort that turns an idea into something real.
Project management stopped living only in the PMO a long time ago. It lives in all of us.
AI Gets the Headlines. People Get the Results.
Everyone wants to talk about AI. And yes, it’s changing how we work. It shows up in our tools, our workflows, our meetings, our inboxes.
The real story is this: as machines take on more routine work, what’s left is human work. Judgment. Empathy. Courage. Communication. The ability to bring people together around something that matters and see it through when it gets hard.
That’s not a threat. That’s an invitation. The future of project management isn’t just about AI. It’s about becoming better humans.
That’s why this year’s theme matters so much to me: Purpose, Progress, and Power.
- Purpose is knowing why your work matters, beyond the deliverable
- Progress is moving forward when the path isn’t clear
- Power is earning the influence to lead, not just manage
Notice that none of those words are about technology. They are about people. That’s intentional.
The World’s Best Thinking, in One Day
After 22 years, I can tell you this is our most global and exciting lineup yet.
Our speakers come from different countries, industries, and cultures. But they are facing the same questions you are. How do you lead through constant change? How do you keep people at the center? How do you deliver when the path isn’t clear?
Same challenges. Very different answers. And plenty of practical ideas you can put to work Monday morning.
Mick Ebeling. Dr. Al Zeitoun. Dr. Elissa Farrow. Dr. Joachim Dehais. Shannon Leppky. Nicole Petite. Alicia Morgan. And that’s just part of the lineup.
And then there’s the conversation I’m personally most eager to hear. Dr. Ed Hoffman and Joti Balani present “The 40-Year Disruption, AI as Catalyst: Not Cause.”
Everyone wants to blame AI for the upheaval we’re feeling. Ed and Joti push back on that. AI didn’t create the disruption. It accelerated one that’s been building for decades. That’s a reframe every leader needs to hear, because if AI isn’t the cause, then technology alone isn’t the cure. People are.
The People Behind the Day
None of this happens alone.
I’ve had the honor of working side by side with team members I’ve grown alongside. People who drove innovation when it would have been easier to repeat what worked last year. People who kept going when an idea didn’t land, picked themselves up, and rose to the occasion anyway.
That’s project management at its most human. Not the plan. The people who keep showing up for it.
For that, I’m forever grateful. And they will be right there with me again on November 5, bringing you this year’s event.
Why I Keep Showing Up
I’ve spent more than 35 years at IIL. People sometimes ask why I’m still this excited about IPM Day after 22 of them.
It’s simple. Every year, I see what happens when thousands of professionals across the globe spend a day learning side by side. A new idea lands. A stuck problem suddenly has a path forward. Someone who felt alone in their work realizes there’s a whole community out there wrestling with the same questions.
And every year, someone reaches out afterward to tell us what changed for them. A conversation they finally had with their team. A project they rescued. A career move they finally had the confidence to make.
IPM Day has never really been about project management as a discipline. It’s been about the people who practice it and the impact they have on everyone around them.
A Personal Challenge
Here’s my challenge for you this year.
Pick one session that makes you uncomfortable. The topic you think you already know. The speaker whose view you’re not sure you agree with.
That is where the real growth happens. I’ve seen it 22 years in a row.
November 5. Bring an open mind. Leave with a new one.
Executive Vice President at International Institute for Learning (IIL)
Our deepest purpose is to enable growth and success of individuals, teams and organizations with long-lasting, high quality learning in a technology-driven world. Lori is honored to have been with IIL over 30 years, and to make it her mission to focus on continuous improvement, client driven success and to go above and beyond to meet expectations.
