Taking the Plunge as a First-Time PM

Andy Jordan is President of Roffensian Consulting S.A., a Roatan, Honduras-based management consulting firm with a comprehensive project management practice. Andy always appreciates feedback and discussion on the issues raised in his articles and can be reached at [email protected]. Andy's new book Risk Management for Project Driven Organizations is now available.

  Estimating   New Practitioners  

It’s okay, we’ve all been there. You went all out to try and get that job as a project manager, but you didn’t really expect to be successful. But there you go, it happened. You’re now a full-fledged PM and your first kickoff meeting is tomorrow. You are concerned that the team is going to see right through you. They’re going to know that you haven’t the faintest idea what you are doing, and they are going to mutiny before the work even begins.

Well, relax. That’s not how it’s going to go. Everyone on the team wants you to succeed, because they want to succeed—and the two are connected. You don’t need to earn their trust, you already have it—you just have to avoid losing it. That takes common sense, not a huge amount of experience.

You don’t have that experience; I know that, and so do they, but it’s okay. They’ll help you get it; just don’t try to be what you’re not. The answer to most questions you’ll face in the first few weeks is going to be: “I don’t know.” That’s a good answer. Just follow it up by saying “but I’ll find out.” (And then do so, by the time you say you will.)

So let’s get you prepared to manage your first project…

The basics
The kickoff meeting is really just a get together with the team. It…

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