Project Management Battlefield
Project Management Battlefield
Sun Tzu's wisdom on project management
A Fresh Perspective
PMBOK® and The Art of War
Beyond PMBOK®
Develop a unique perspective on the aspects of programs and projects in the context of your environment.
Develop an understnading how the lessons of The Art of War are similar with the intent behind PMBOK®
Develop a perspective to balance he conflicting needs and interests, need to contain the resulting organizational power games and communication challenges.
Sun Tzu says that “The commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness”.
Project manager hears, “A leader should be wise, trustworthy, caring, courageous, and strict. Some of the important interpersonal skills to have include leadership, team building, motivation, communication, influence, the ability to make decisions, political and cultural awareness, and negotiation”.
Sun Tzu says that “The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought”.
Project manager hears, “Project managers must have good decision-making skills. A project manager who spends time in planning the solution before embarking on the project has a much greater chance of success“.
Sun Tzu says that “It may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people’s fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril”
Project manager hears, “Project success and failure depends on the leadership qualities of the project manager. These qualities could have an impact on the future of the organization he is part of and also on the future of other team members in the project/organization“.
Sun Tzu says that “There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general –
- Recklessness, which leads to destruction;
- Cowardice, which leads to capture;
- A hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;
- A delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;
- Over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.”
Project manager hears, “these are the requirements for a lasting professional success –
- Recklessness can be thought of as hasty decision-making without adequate planning and/or not following proper risk management practices.
- Cowardice could be construed as the inability to make the right but difficult decisions that one may often need to take during the course of a project.
- A hasty temper can be thought of as having improper communication and/or a lack of political or cultural awareness in dealing with stakeholders.
- Sensitivity to shame could refer to his interpersonal skills and might make him second guess his decisions too often for fear of failure.
- A leader may have to make difficult decisions that may be against the short-term interests of his team. All of the above qualities can potentially lead to bad project performance”.