Episode 146: What Does Green Even Mean? How a Ski Racer Fixes Million-Dollar Blind Spots with Paul Koetke

In this episode of the Throttle Up Leadership Podcast Dr. John Dentico welcomes Paul Koetke, Founder of Koetke Consulting. From ski racing to saving millions in project chaos, Paul Koetke brings hard-won wisdom about what actually works when Fortune 500 companies can't find $40 million in their own budgets. As founder of Koetke Consulting and the top solo Smartsheet Platinum Partner in the US, Paul has implemented over 100 enterprise PMO solutions—and he's got the battle scars to prove it. This isn't your typical tech-bro pitch about software fixing everything. Instead, Paul drops truth bombs about why your shiny new project management tool might just amplify your dysfunction, why "green status" means ten different things to ten different people, and how he convinced construction crews to embrace technology by letting them keep their beloved paper logbooks. Dr. Dentico and Paul dive deep into the dance between leadership and management, explore why 66% of project leaders are flying blind, and debate whether AI will save us all or just make really expensive help desk bots. Spoiler: authenticity beats algorithms every time.  00:00 - Welcome and Introduction: Meet the Project Management Whisperer 00:02 - From Ski Racing to Systems: How Shaving Seconds Led to Shaving Costs 00:03 - The Iron Man Suit Analogy: Why Smartsheet Beats the Box 00:05 - The $40 Million Invisibility Problem: A Facilities Management Wake-Up Call 00:09 - What Does Green Really Mean? The Language Crisis Nobody Talks About 00:13 - Your Software Won't Fix Your Dysfunction: The Hard Truth About PM Tools 00:18 - When iPads Meet Paper: Meeting People Where They Actually Are 00:21 - The 66% Problem: Why Most Leaders Are Flying Blind 00:24 - Leadership vs Management: It's a Dance, Not a Cage Match 00:26 - AI's Billion Dollar Question: Where's the ROI Hiding? If you enjoy our podcasts please like, share and subscribe we genuinely appreciate your support.