The Tao of Project Management
“ I am an old project manager working at the University of Exeter. I am the author of Project Management in easy steps and Project 2007 in easy steps. The blog is my attempt to observe project management life and how it maps onto Taoist philosophy and maybe learn some understanding of what happens in projects and life. ”
|
|
Latest posts from "The Tao of Project Management"
Showing page #1. Displaying items 1 through to 20 of 68...
During the middle to late stages of a project there are often some battles to be fought. And at the same time will be a lot issues and problems and some team members will need help and encouragement to get their work done under a lot of pr...(more)
People who blindly follow PRINCE, PM-BOK or any other technique or methodology to the letter are not usually wise project managers. The wise project manager needs no guidelines or methodology to do the right things and steer the project su...(more)
One of the things I love about Tai Chi is the feeling of being centred. Being centred means we can keep our balance in the midst of action. One of the things I also remember from one of the more vigorous of the martial arts I once studied w...(more)
Describing the way is not easy. It is not a thing. It has no form or qualities. It is not divisible and it does not change. The way is the principle of how everything works. It is one, it is unity, it is everywhere and it determines everyt...(more)
A project manager trying too hard is a sure sign of insecurity and incompetence. When we are in control and know what we are doing we are relaxed and at peace with ourselves and our project. The WayThe poor project manager tries to be flas...(more)
The wise project manager does not spend all his time talking about problems and issues and rushing about trying to fix things. He only speaks when it is necessary and demonstrates what needs to be done by being rather than by doing. The Wa...(more)
One of the interesting observations about project management is that when we try too hard we seem to achieve nothing. Yet when we stop trying, things seem to fall into place by themselves. The WayThe poor project manager tries too hard to ...(more)
Projects can sometimes get very confusing and it is not always easy to see the way. If the way was clear and simple, it would be easy to see that if we took one option it would be right but if we took a different option it would not be. Bu...(more)
The middle stages of projects are usually where the problems start to emerge and this has certainly been my experience on most recent projects. The project manager’s role is to facilitate process and clarify conflicts. This is not someth...(more)
post info
share
comment
Mentions:
PM Templates
PRINCE2
It’s funny the number of emails I get that offer to make me richer, slimmer, better endowed, healthier, happier or a better project manager. But no teacher can make you be happy, rich, healthy, sexy and powerful or even a better project m...(more)
There is often a lot of pressure at key times on a project and the danger is that we loose sight of the way and start to panic and run around in circles. The poor project manager gets caught up in this pressure and consequently looses sight...(more)
Lao Tsu said that there are four types of leaders: those that are despised; those that are feared; those that are loved; and those that are not seen. The worst are those that are despised. The sort of weak, ineffectual project manager that ...(more)
In project management there is no point in striving to be perfect, secure or admired as these are not things that make the team or the project successful. By letting go of all that emotional baggage and just being part of the team we not on...(more)
I had a nice email the other week to tell me this blog has been added to the Top 50 Project Management Blogs at mastersinprojectmanagement.org and it was sitting at number 18 last time I looked. It is a good site and I wish it had been ther...(more)
One sure sign of a poor project manager is one who doesn’t know what’s going on in his project. He may keep questioning the team to find out, but that will only irritate the team members and it is not the way. We need to become sile...(more)
One of the issues I have always been interested in is how to measure success in project management. The easy answer is of course: on time, within budget and with all the required features and functionality. PRINCE adds that the project shou...(more)
Project 2010 in Easy Steps is with the publisher. I’ve not heard anything back from them yet so hopefully that is good news. The WaySome project teams can become quite frantic when the pressure is on. This is not helped if the project man...(more)
The BookManaged to finish off Project 2010 in Easy Steps this week, burned it onto a DVD and sent it off to the publisher. Just have to sit and wait now to see if they want any changes.The WayWhile the members of the project team work toget...(more)
One of the fine lines a project manager has to walk is not taking sides and not getting involved in squabbles. Leading the team without being possessive or dominating and more importantly without talking the credit for the work of the team....(more)
Project 2010 in easy stepsIt’s been a hectic couple of weeks but I managed to finish off the final chapter last week, then my publisher contacted me to say that Microsoft had released the product to manufacturing, so I downloaded it at th...(more)
Showing page #1. Displaying items 1 through to 20 of 68...

Times Voted Up (all posts):
Times Voted Down (all posts):