In the Land of Gandhi

I have been in Bangalore, India for the past week. Today's newspaper had an article about Gandhi. He once said “My life is my message.”

So what's the message we are conveying? As project managers, we should be leaders. Are we thinking about all the aspects of that role?

As I've spent time with people here, I have given pause to a number of things I have done without thinking. Even something like eating meat or having a beer with dinner. Just because we've always done something doesn't mean we have to keep doing it. And when someone's different, we should take the time to understand why. Being in a place like India really gives me the chance to understand another culture.

Mistakes of Man

One of the mistakes of man, as stated by Marcus Cicero, is to insist that something is impossible because we cannot accomplish it. If we think something is going to be impossible, then it probably will be.

Do we run into this on our projects? What do you do when faced with an impossible task? Do you give up or get more creative in trying to solve the problem? Next time, before labeling something as impossible, try looking at it from another perspective.

And to my old friend, yes it's really me. Drop me a note with your email address.

Get to Action

“Lose this day loitering, ‘twill be the same story Tomorrow, and the rest more dilatory; Thus, indecision brings its own delays And days are lost lamenting over days, Are you in earnest? Seize this very moment; What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Courage has genius, power and magic in it; Only engage, and then the mind grows heated. Begin it and the work will be completed.” - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Ever sit around procrastinating about what to to? Stop it! Just get to action. If you get started, the task will get done.

A new social network

I found a new networking site, described as "MySpace with Integrity" It's called Zaadz.

Their mission is "We're gonna change the world. Our math goes like this: you be the change + you follow your bliss + you give your greatest strengths to the world moment to moment to moment + we do everything in our power to help you succeed + you inspire and empower everyone you know to do the same + we team up with millions like us = we just affected billions = we (together) changed the world."

So if you want to connect with other people that care, go check them out.

Portfolio Management

I recently wrote an article for the Center for Business Practices on portfolio management. You can read it here.

Fear

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" - Franklin D Roosevelt

This quote comes from FDR's 1933 Inauguration speech. The US was at the height of the Great Depression and he was trying to convince people that their "common difficulties" were only over "material things."

Does fear have a place in project management? Isn't that what risk management is about? Risks are unknown events that could impact our project. Some may keep us up at night in fear.

As FDR was pointing out, there is a difference. With risk, we can assess the impact and probability and plan a response should it happen. Fear is emotional, it just happens, but we can take steps to alleviate fear.

From the Dhammapada 212-216 (a collection of sayings of the Buddha):

"From what is dear, grief is born,
from what is dear, fear is born.
For someone freed from what is dear
there is no grief
-- so why fear?

From what is loved, grief is born,
from what is loved, fear is born.
For someone freed from what is loved,
there is no grief
-- so why fear?

From delight, grief is born,
from delight, fear is born.
For someone freed from delight
there is no grief
-- so why fear?

From sensuality, grief is born,
from sensuality, fear is born.
For someone freed from sensuality
there is no grief
-- so why fear?

From craving, grief is born,
from craving, fear is born.
For someone freed from craving
there is no grief
-- so why fear?"

Water

A few years ago, a colleague of mine and I gave a presentation comparing the leadership styles of Sun Tzu and Lao Tzu. Sun Tzu authored the Art of War and Lao Tzu is credited with the Tao Te Ching.

One similarity was how both of them used the image of water. Water will seek the path of least resistance, but in its yielding can create something as impressive as a canyon.

It’s a good leadership metaphor. It is in weakness that we are strong. We’re better off going with the flow then trying to resist.