[Just enough time to squeeze in a short entry this week ... I'm getting ready for the company quarterly planning meeting next week and wrapping up a very long to-do list from the PMI Region 7 Leadership meeting last weekend. Be sure to drop in a comment if disagree or agree with this message.]
Neil Whitten as the keynote speaker at the PMI Region 7 Leadership Meeting last weekend. While some of the feedback indicated his message wasn't relevant to Region 7 Leaders, there was a very powerful underlying theme which shouldn't be overlooked by any Project Manager. In fact, he spelled it out at one point as 7 very powerfully arranged two letter words: "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Business owners hire us as Project Managers expecting business results. If we spend our time whining and complaining about situations -- we don't have enough resources, there's not enough time, we don't have the budget for it, headquarters isn't helping, the field office isn't cooperating, ad infinitum -- we're missing the point. In spite of adversity, its up to us to do our best and get the job done in a thorough, professional, and quality manner. Neil related one project where he drove to the airport to intercept an executive to escalate a project need. Now we don't all need to go to these lengths, but the message is important. Buckle down, clearly identify and back up needs with business cases, and escalate in a responsible manner if you are not getting what the team truly believes is needed and can responsibly demonstrate project impact.
So on our next projects, let's all make sure we understand -- "the buck stops with us"!
Neil Whitten as the keynote speaker at the PMI Region 7 Leadership Meeting last weekend. While some of the feedback indicated his message wasn't relevant to Region 7 Leaders, there was a very powerful underlying theme which shouldn't be overlooked by any Project Manager. In fact, he spelled it out at one point as 7 very powerfully arranged two letter words: "If it is to be, it is up to me."
Business owners hire us as Project Managers expecting business results. If we spend our time whining and complaining about situations -- we don't have enough resources, there's not enough time, we don't have the budget for it, headquarters isn't helping, the field office isn't cooperating, ad infinitum -- we're missing the point. In spite of adversity, its up to us to do our best and get the job done in a thorough, professional, and quality manner. Neil related one project where he drove to the airport to intercept an executive to escalate a project need. Now we don't all need to go to these lengths, but the message is important. Buckle down, clearly identify and back up needs with business cases, and escalate in a responsible manner if you are not getting what the team truly believes is needed and can responsibly demonstrate project impact.
So on our next projects, let's all make sure we understand -- "the buck stops with us"!
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