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The Closer's Mentality
One of the founding fathers of project management chides those looking for a fast way up the corporate ladder, bashes the conventional PMO model, explains why you shouldn’t ask for permission, and extols the virtues of always finishing what you start.
What can an octogenarian who retired from the field in 1987 share with today’s project leaders to make them more efficient and effective on the job? First and foremost, you don’t start something you can’t finish. In his 20-plus-year run as a project manager, Eric Jenett claims to never have started a project he didn’t see personally through to completion. That closer’s mentality served Jenett well during a career that began before the formal field of project management existed, included his co-founding of the Project Management Institute, and culminated with the PMI Project Management Excellence Award that bears his name.
A recent conversation with ProjectsAtWork.com began with Jenett talking about spending the Saturdays of his retirement “futzing around” in the hardware store, but quickly picked up steam. Before the conversation ended, the 82-year-old Jenett exhibited the determination and candor that made him successful, expressing disdain for those who view project management solely as a way up the corporate ladder, bashing the Project Management Office concept, and explaining the riddle of why good project managers are like…
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"You must be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi |