Jerry Manas is the author of the best-sellers Napoleon on Project Management and Managing the Gray Areas, and a recognized thought leader in organizational project and resource management. His latest book is The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook (September 2014). Jerry's work has been highlighted in a variety of publications, and he has appeared on radio programs nationwide.
In these quotes, you will get a feel for the principles that led to Napoleon's successes: exactitude, character and simplicity, and above all, an inherent belief in the value of planning.
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Motivation
"In war, everything is mental. There is nothing more contrary to military principals than to make known the strength of your army. When induced to reveal the strength of your forces, you should exaggerate and present them as formidable...and when mentioning the enemy you should diminish his force by half or one third."
We need some creative interpretation to apply this maxim to corporate project management. When we cut to the meat of this message, it concerns the importance of presenting a positive picture, so as to maintain your team's morale and not to give adversaries too much "ammunition." Patton's method of accomplishing this was to minimize threats somewhat, as he felt people have a tendency to overestimate them.
I would caution against using this message as a means to blatantly lie to your team or to stakeholders. In project management, the message should be merely to avoid painting an unnecessarily negative picture, and to be aware that your statements could have potentially broad implications, both politically and to your team.
"A leader is a dealer in hope."
This is one of Napoleon's oft-quoted maxims. Again, I'd caution that there is a fine line between dealing hope and misleading your team. Hope implies not only optimistic anticipation, but expectation and trust as well. It's important to be honest to your team about the facts and not to deny obstacles; however, it's equally important to then convince them that the goals can be met (provided that you yourself have a reasonable idea that they can be met). If you think there's no way that the project can be met, then the project should be canceled or avoided at all costs. We'll discuss this in more detail later.
Like Napoleon, Patton also inspired hope, as evident in his numerous motivational speeches to his troops. The most famous of these was memorialized in the film Patton, in which the general opened by stating in no uncertain terms what he needed them to do, followed it up by assuring his team that they'll live up to the challenge and closed by crafting a vision of a safe and victorious future and by telling his troops how proud he was to serve with them. Throughout this speech, Patton's words are always slanted toward the strength of his troops and downplay the strength of the enemy, much in line with the previous maxim from Napoleon.
"If there are tired men in these different columns, send them to a convalescent hospital...and leave them there for about a week. In this way you can save men and cut back on illness. You know the importance of that."
Napoleon was a strong proponent of operating with troops who are in good health, and not exhausted. Likewise, in project management, excessive overtime can not only demoralize a team, but in extreme cases, actually cause illness. Brief focused overtime, in order to overcome a major hurdle or raise a sense of urgency is okay. Continued excessive overtime is not, and has been proven to decrease productivity.
The Value of Historical Data
"Something is lacking in a great state where the young studious male has no way of receiving good direction in what he wishes to study and is forced to grope his way and waste months and years of searching through useless readings for the real meat of instruction."
It's important to learn from history, and just as important to capture the meat of the learning--the real lesson, not just dates, events and irrelevant details. All too often, massive historical documentation is captured, but not in a way that enables it to be useful to others. Save people the trouble. Summarize key points. Gather the potential learnings from your project and organize them into a "lessons learned" document for others (or yourself) to use later.
"My son should often read and meditate on history; it is the only real philosophy. And he should read and meditate on the campaigns of the Great Captains. This is the only way to learn the art of war."
All project managers should find a mentor and/or study at least some of the great leaders of the past and present, be they generals, CEOs, movie producers or anyone who has successfully led teams to undertake a "temporary endeavor to achieve a unique product or service" (the definition of a project, according to the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge). Be creative in your selection of "mentors." Read books on project management, leadership or even biographies. Get ideas. Take what you like and leave the rest. Study the art.
By following what was done in the last war you will order what is to be established along this line.
Napoleon was well aware that the best things generated from history are those that can be reused on later projects. Why reinvent the wheel?
Up Next: In the next article we'll explore Napoleon's thoughts on Responsibilities of the Project Manager. Then, in the coming articles, we'll discuss Planning and Risk Management, Post Project Evaluation, The Importance of Milestones, and more.
Jerry Manas, PMP is a project management consultant and client manager with Lever8 Solutions, a Safeguard Company. Jerry is an IT professional with over 24 years of consulting and employment experience with a focus on project management, team building, training, and product development. Most recently, Jerry has been assisting his client, an $11 billion specialty chemical company, with the rollout of a new project management framework.
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"There is not one wise man in 20 that will praise himself." - William Shakespeare |
