Project Management ‘Impossibilities’: Running the PM Marathon

Josh Hoops leads teams to achieve excellence in the delivery of mission-critical facilities around the globe. As an expert in operations management and an inspirational leader, his experience across multiple industries has proven success in improving a wide array of fundamental and complex aspects of organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

  Communications Management   Risk Management  

Running a race is easy, right? You get up early on a Saturday morning, lace up your sneakers, get in line and go. You eventually get to the end and cross the finish line. Easy day.

Now, let’s be realistic. Every runner, cyclist, swimmer or other flavor of endurance athlete spends a significant period of time before “game day” preparing. Diet, training, equipment and planning are all necessary to be a successful athlete.

The same holds true for effective project management. Understanding limitations, challenges, resourcing, scope and scheduling are all critical elements in preparing to execute a project. As a project manager, it is essential to prepare the team for success. And even with extensive and exhaustive planning, problems are unavoidable and should be expected.

But what if the project encounters problems of such magnitude that the project “goes off the rails”? What if all that planning didn’t account for potential problems or conflicts that have a major impact, and now the project is in trouble because it’s over budget and behind schedule—and there doesn’t seem to be a way out? Often, this puts the project manager in what is perceived as an “impossible” situation.

Typically, when major project issues are encountered, the viewpoint from stakeholders is, “You should have been better …

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