Mastering the Project Dance

  ProjectsAtWork  

You can't predict the future, so focus on the present.

Project managers and clients alike often mistake probability for predictability, leading to frustration when things don't go exactly as planned. Wanting the future to act like the past, they often fail to deal directly with the realities of the moment.

Project work requires adaptability, and individuals who "escape tradition's cages" are more likely succeed, says David Schmaltz of True North Project Guidance Strategies in Walla Walla, Wash. "When unpredictability is fully acknowledged, the project manager's toolkit becomes an even greater contributor to success. Any master project manager can tell you that deploying their techniques with the assumption that they could improve predictability disables much of their real-world usefulness."

Schmaltz's new book, "The Blind Men and the Elephant: Mastering Project Work" (Berrett-Koehler; 2003), focuses on practical considerations that make projects successful and personally meaningful. Here are some of the author's core ideas:

Fix your beliefs first. Master project managers understand their limitations. They do not expect themselves to satisfy every demand. They have the skills to delight customers without ever resorting to predicting the future with "voodoo project management."

Recognize the dilemma. Acknowledge when your customer presents an irresolvable …

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