The 4 lessons I learnt as a nerd PM
Disclaimer: this article is about Project Management. If you got here thinking I would have any key to become the next world political leader, I’m really sorry to disappoint you. I still hope, though, I can make it up for you by sharing a few considerations I did in the last few months and that, somehow, also have some political background.
First things first: I’m a nuclear engineer who is working as PM in a fast-paced retail marketing function. What did I learn as a nerd in a business environment?
Before starting, I wanna share some definitions of the main topics I will cover in this article. Let’s face the reality: without definitions I wouldn’t feel comfortable. At the end of the article you can find the sources.
Uncertainty
“A situation in which something is not known or not certain”. Ok, so what? For me, it’s a key aspect of society. It became popular at the beginning of the XX century with Heisenberg’s principle. This period was deeply marked by great events: just think of WWI and the Russian Revolution, but also of the activity of incredible artists and scientists. In this context, Heisenberg broke a paradigm: science is uncertain. If we think of an apple thrown in the air, we have no doubt it will fall on the ground (thanks gravity!), but if we try to analyze an electron in its movement around a nucleus, we cannot be fully sure of its position and speed at the same time. Does it sound abstract? Well, this principle affects all the electronics of our modern devices!
It is important to note that it’s not a matter of human interpretation or lack of measurement instruments, to be uncertain is an intrinsic characteristic of nature!
System
“A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something”. It is important to reflect a second on this definition and why I chose it.
It may seem a broad definition, but this is exactly the goal: everything that surrounds us is a system! The key aspect here is that we can divide this everything into smaller and smaller pieces till we get to the tangible reality each one of us experiences daily. The only requirement is to create the most accurate possible assumptions on what’s outside of our reach.
Project
“A piece of planned work or an activity that is finished over a period of time and intended to achieve a particular purpose”. For me it is also the opportunity a company, it doesn’t matter the size, takes to learn something new while achieving specific business goals.
Management
“The control and organization of something, esp. a business and its employees.”
Project Management = Project + Management
Great job, Sherlock! But it can also be interpreted as a system that has a deep connection with a bigger system, i.e. the company and the social context in which it is developed.
Resilience
“The ability to bounce or spring back into shape, position, etc., after being pressed or stretched” (that’s engineering, not a tattoo on your hippie friend’s arm). The concept is of primary importance because, as all physical properties, it has limits.
Done with definitions, I finally feel ready to start. Let’s get into the rabbit hole!
Lesson #1: uncertainty is your new best friend, whether you like it or not
Uncertainty plays a key role in project management, but it doesn’t really get accepted in its deepest form, especially by finance, both on corporate and investment perspectives.
In project management 101 classes we learnt that when we allocate budget and resources, we should always have some buffer to face the unexpected. The implication here is that project management is a linear behavior practice in which we have only minor setbacks. But what if, after convincing the management, building consensus, finding people, training and motivating them, the project starts its lifecycle and you, as PM, notice that the results are far from the expectations? If in other terms, the project shows high levels of non-linearity? Well, welcome to your reality check!
Every project starts with some assumptions (in mathematical terms boundary conditions) that, it doesn’t really matter how accurate they are, will eventually be extremely wrong just because reality is much different from a perfect Excel sheet. It is not about how good you and your team are, it’s not about management skills, it just happens.
If you don’t trust me, let Donella Meadows tell you the hard truth:
“The system, to a large extent, causes its own behavior! An outside event may unleash that behavior, but the same outside event applied to a different system is likely to produce a different result”
What to do then? Learn how to cope with an elephant walking in your garden!
Lesson #2: hard findings must be communicated fast
What to do if your project has different outcomes from the ones you were expecting and you have a budget for that specific outcome and nothing else?
- Try to understand the key factors that led to these outcomes
- Share them with the top management, putting A LOT of the effort in making them understand which circumstances led you in front of them
- Eventually, proactively propose to cut part of the budget.
There is a lot of teaching on grinding and exceeding in business and cutting budget might look as a way to admit failure. This kind of business vision, though, demonstrated to be unreliable in the modern economy. Understanding company boundaries is as important. Why? Putting as Foo Fighters would:
“It’s times like these when you build a resilient corporate culture that enables you to face uncertainty”
Or at least that’s how I remember the quote.
Money isn’t unlimited. As project manager, it is your responsibility to respect what a company and stakeholders gave you to manage. You have the social responsibility of that portion of capital because your company and the markets could have taken a different decision and could invest somewhere else!
Understanding the context, being realistic and stepping back, you can make an even bigger impact. Like in basketball, when you make an extra pass so that your teammate can hit the winning shot. It sounds cliché, but I truly believe that business is a team sport: sometimes being a team player can be painful for your ego in the short term, but if you play it well enough and your intuition happens to be true, then you created yourself the chance to shine even more.
Lesson # 3: the budget is not the project, people are
Do you remember the definition of project I shared at the beginning? There is no reference to budget and I did it for a reason: budgets come and go, but people are forever. Unless they quit.
A project is probably the biggest opportunity for people development, retaining and incentivizing them to stay for a cause.
By enforcing feelings like enthusiasm and trust, the blossoms of commitment, accountability and entrepreneurship will flourish. All you did is simply freeing your people.
Furthermore, the entire company benefits from it in terms of job satisfaction, employer branding and attractivity for hiring new potential stars! It’s a jackpot and it’s up to you to use this credibility for your career development.
Lesson #4: aim to be the Vitruvian man
The three major topics I talked about are uncertainty, communication and people. The order is not by chance. All the three aspects are complex but each one in its own way. Uncertainty plays with your logic, communication with your expressivity and people with your empathy. Mind, body and soul, connecting the dots towards the final outcomes, while being aware of your social role. The square and the circle are built around you, allowing you to be free to shape your vision and what surrounds you. The reality is that this is a great job to do.
Sources
D. H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008
Cambridge Online Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
