14: Knowing What's Happening

The wise project manager stays in the present and attends to what's happening now. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Look, it cannot be seen – it is beyond form.

Listen, it cannot be heard – it is beyond sound.

Grasp, it cannot be held – it is intangible.

These three are indefinable;

Therefore they are joined in one.

From above it is not bright;

From below it is not dark;

An unbroken thread beyond description.

It returns to nothingness.

The form of the formless,

The image of the imageless,

It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it and there is no beginning.

Follow it and there is no end.

Stay with the ancient Tao,

Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.

13: Success

The wise project manager includes and cares for the users, the team and all the other project stakeholders. He lets them be the judges of whether or not the project is successful. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Accept disgrace willingly.

Accept misfortune as the human condition.

What do you mean by “Accept disgrace willingly”?

Accept being unimportant.

Do not be concerned with loss or gain.

This is called “accepting disgrace willingly.”

What do you mean as “Accept misfortune as the human condition”?

Misfortune comes from having a body.

Without a body, how could there be misfortune?

Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.

Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.

12: Reflection

The wise project manager is guided by what she or he feels and not by what they see happening around them. Stay still and calm and be guided by your inner feelings. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

The five colours blind the eye.

The five tones deafen the ear.

The five flavours dull the taste.

Racing and hunting madden the mind.

Precious things lead one astray.

Therefore the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.

He lets go of that and he chooses this.

11. Inner Space

The silences and empty spaces reveal the project team’s essential mood.

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;

It is the centre hole that makes it useful.

Shape clay into a vessel;

It is the space within that makes it useful.

Cut doors and windows for a room;

It is the holes that make it useful.

Therefore profits come from what is there;

Usefulness comes from what is not there.

10: Unbiased Leadership

The wise project manager encourages the team and is supportive, without taking credit for the team’s achievements. 

The Tao

Lao Tsu tells us:

Carrying body and soul and embracing the one,

Can you avoid separation?

Attending fully and becoming supple,

Can you be as a newborn babe?

Washing and cleansing the primal vision,

Can you be without stain?

Loving all men and ruling the country,

Can you be without cleverness?

Opening and closing the gates of heaven,

Can you play the role of woman?

Understanding and being open to all things,

Are you able to do nothing?

Giving birth and nourishing,

Bearing yet not possessing,

Working yet not taking credit,

Leading yet not dominating,

This is the Primal Virtue.