I interviewed a colleague whose career followed an interesting arc into project management. Michael S. joined the US army immediately after graduating high school, and upon discharge in 1991, entered retail management. He first attempted to apply the discipline gained by his Army service as he faced the challenge of opening a chain of five music stores in five months. However, he recognized that repetitively opening retail locations within such a short timespan required defining and controlling a set sequence of events. Without the benefit of time (nor inclination) to take formal training, he bought a book on project management. His subsequent successes (and lessons learned) led him from the world of retail into utilities and then the
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This is similar to the familiar analogy of the hen and the pig, where the hen lays an egg, but the pig becomes the sausage. To bridge this gap of involvement, Michael S. says you must always deal directly with stakeholders, in facts, honestly, and without fluff.
Michael ascribes his lack of PMP certication to the evolutionary nature of his career path. By the time this certification became available, his personal toolbox already enabled the successful completion of major projects. Although he appreciates the benefit of guidelines, identifying the most important tasks represent to Michael S. the best way to add value in a project.
This exercise helped me apply the information gained in our course to this date to a real world case. Watching Michael manage a project through meetings, emails, and discussions, I now understand the reasons behind his manner of directness. Fairness, equally applied throughout a project, is an interesting approach, both professional and individualistic. Seeing his rationale applied in real-time causes me to strive for the same level of integrity. If I can achieve that, then the projects I hope to manage in the future may be just as successful as
This is similar to the familiar analogy of the hen and the pig, where the hen lays an egg, but the pig becomes the sausage. To bridge this gap of involvement, Michael S. says you must always deal directly with stakeholders, in facts, honestly, and without fluff.
Michael ascribes his lack of PMP certication to the evolutionary nature of his career path. By the time this certification became available, his personal toolbox already enabled the successful completion of major projects. Although he appreciates the benefit of guidelines, identifying the most important tasks represent to Michael S. the best way to add value in a project.
This exercise helped me apply the information gained in our course to this date to a real world case. Watching Michael manage a project through meetings, emails, and discussions, I now understand the reasons behind his manner of directness. Fairness, equally applied throughout a project, is an interesting approach, both professional and individualistic. Seeing his rationale applied in real-time causes me to strive for the same level of integrity. If I can achieve that, then the projects I hope to manage in the future may be just as successful as