Search This Blog

Thursday, December 02, 2004

What I Believe

Tom Peters is an inspiration to me. He brings so much passion to his beliefs and states them in a way like no one else. After reading his "This I Believe! - Tom's 60 TIBs" I became inspired to start a series entitled "What I Believe". I certainly don't have Tom's passion, nor do I have his brain power or writing abilities, but I do know "What I Believe" and I will attempt to pass some of those beliefs here (as I have in the past).

In the Project Management world What I Believe is the average project team member has a very low level of what I call "project success maturity". My experience has shown that many of the people I have worked with - or that have been assigned to my project - are only interested in themselves or their "silo" of responsibility. I have to say this is one of my greatest frustrations as a project manager. After saying that I also realize that this is my problem to solve.

When managing projects, I understand that I have to be the focal point of the energy, emotion, and passion that drives the project forward (and hopefully inspires those around me to see the bigger picture). If there are people on the team that don't want to play, and I and the other team members have made a concerted effort to get them on board to support the project, then they need to find somewhere else to play. I have no problem telling them that and helping to facilitate the process of having them removed from the team.

As Tom Peters says "... all quests worth undertaking - a Girl Scout merit badge or a Nobel Prize require audacity and willpower." To paraphrase Tom, we need to continually challenge conventional wisdom, accept the lumps, and persist until vicotry.

What I Believe? Be a great leader, be passionate about what you are doing, and always challenge assumptions.

Don't allow unmotivated, emotionally unintelligent people to change your course or dictate new rules.

Can I get an AMEN?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amen|