09: A Good Team

The wise project manager  lets the team have the floor. The wise project manager does not try and take the credit for what happens and has no need for fame. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Better stop short than fill to the brim.

Over sharpen the blade, and the edge will soon be blunt.

Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it.

Claim wealth and titles, and disaster will follow.

Retire when the work is done.

This is the way of heaven.

08: Go With the Flow

The wise project manager is like water. Water goes anywhere freely. It is yielding and flows naturally. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

The highest good is like water.

Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.

It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.

In meditation, go deep in the heart.

In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.

In speech, be true.

In ruling, be just.

In business, be competent.

In action, watch the timing.

No fight: No blame.

07: Selflessness

I am currently working through the revisions to Project Management in Easy Steps. The second edition is going to be titled Effective Project Management and is due for publication in February, with Agile Project Management to follow in March. 

The wise project manager shows enlightened leadership through service. He puts the well-being of the team above that of himself. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Heaven and earth last forever.

Why do heaven and earth last forever?

They are unborn,

So ever living.

The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead.

He is detached, thus at one with all.

Through selfless action, he attains fulfilment.

06: Reflection

Much has been written about what a project manager does but little on the way the wise project manager does it. The wise project manager brings out his feminine side.

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

The valley spirit never dies;

It is the woman, primal mother.

Her gateway is the root of heaven and earth.

It is like a veil barely seen.

Use it; it will never fail.