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I bet you didn't know it, but Wile E. was a project manager.

A specific breed of project manager.

So what lessons can we learn from our friend Wile E.? What made him so special?

Super Genius

You may remember, he preferred to use fantastic (and usually absurd) contraptions and elaborate plans to pursue his quarry.

His primary supplier was Acme Corporation, from which he procured complicated and usually ludicrous devices in the constant pursuit of success.

Two things usually happened with these devices upon implementation:

• The devices fail in spectacular ways (Kablooie!)
• The devices work, but operator error results in failure (Splat!)

But Why?

Why did our hero continuously end up smashed, blown up, or with a difference of opinion with gravity off a high ledge?

Like the time where Wile E. procured the Dehydrated Boulder, and then it became much larger than expected and crushed him?

Or the time he donned the Bat-Man outfit thinking it would make him fly, and it didn't live up to his expectations?

Teach Us, Mr. Coyote

So what do I mean, he wasn't a project manager, right?

No, not really. But he reminds me of many I know.

Wile E. Coyote relied on gadgets and tools, all of which either:

• Didn't work
• Worked too well
• Didn't fit his needs
• He didn't know how to use
• Introduced unnecessary risks

So thank you Wile E. for being the Tim Allen for my own project management career. You've taught me:

• Simpler is better
• Do only what adds value
• An ounce of execution is worth a pound of whiz-bang software
• No single solution fits all needs
• Risk management is freak'n important

So, what has Wile E. Coyote taught you? Leave a comment and let us know.

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Sometimes we can get a bit project management tools crazy.

This can be a really big problem if we fall back on our spreadsheets, gantt charts, and staffing calculations in an attempt to solve our problems.  These are tools, and can be very useful in helping to model a plan that we can then go execute on.

But putting it into a tool doesn't make it happen, and trying to communicate via entries in a tool is not an effective way to solve problems.

I hear you mumbling..."of course Josh.  Duh!  Why would you even write about this?"

Unfortunately, I write about it because I see it happening every day.

When a problem arises, what's your first step? 

Do you go talk to your team and stakeholders, or do you first go to a schedule?

Calculators don't solve problems....people do.

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