Be Careful What You Say

Be careful around Marketing and Sales people. They judge everything you say or do by how they imagine it will affect their next commission. Their paranoia knows no bounds.

The Future

It's the business of the future to be uncertain.

Core Competencies

There are all kinds of projects. The best ones to do embody the core competencies and values of an enterprise.

Creative Vision

At all times, the Project Manager must hold on to a clear vision of the product his or her team is creating.

Unintended Consequences

All projects have unintended consequences.

Selective Perception

There is no way to get around selective perception.

Most People Fire Themselves

Team members will let you know when they're ready to leave the team.

Goals Are Negotiable

Sooner or later, every project's charter and goals are negotiable.

Change

Change that is not institutionalized will not last.

Projects Are Group Efforts

All non-trivial projects are group efforts. One-person projects may be important, and they may require planning and discipline, but they don't require project management.

Products and People

When the point of contact between the product and the people becomes a point of friction, then the industrial designer has failed.

Designing For People, Henry Dreyfuss, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1955

Very Large Projects Can Be Intimidating

Very large projects can be intimidating until you break them down into small pieces and give the pieces to people who want to get the work done. The Work Breakdown Structure is a real dragon slayer.

Permissions

Permissions may be more important than mentors. In the worlds of art and literature, it's easy to identify crucial permissions and who gave them to us. In the world of project management, it's not so easy. Harry Hopkins was a social worker. Consider this carefully.

Peaks and Valleys

The intellect of every member of your team is like a mountain range of soaring peaks and vast valleys. Find the peaks. Stay out of the valleys.

Get The Problem Right

Every problem suggests its own solution. You have to understand the problem. Until you get the problem right, you can't hope to solve it.

Paint All Over

Don't paint inch by inch.

Conserve Your Capital

Beg before you borrow, borrow before you rent, and rent before you buy.

Never Argue With Your Boss In Public

Give your counsel and advice in private. This requires great patience and presence of mind.

Customer Satisfaction

Depending on what it's based on, customer satisfaction is everything or nothing.

Iterative Development

The beauty of a development effort structured by iterations of releases and versions rivals the beauty of a Medieval cathedral. If you doubt that, you may want to find another line of work.