Disturbing Wisdom

Someone wise once said "expect the unexpected" and it has often been repeated. It is true of life in general but it does seem to be particularly relevant in project management. But no matter how much we try and expect the unexpected, unexpected things will happen on a project and it is important that the project manager finds out how and why. 

The wise project manager finds out and acts accordingly. The poor project manager, even if they do manage to find out, dismisses it as nonsense. The poor project manager thinks kindness is weakness and selflessness is not the way to get ahead.  

The Way 
People who do not see how things happen are skeptical about the wise project manager’s behavior. Because his motives are obscure he is hard to figure out. It is not easy to understand a person whose foundation is invisible. But this is the way things happen.

The Tao  
Lao Tzu tells us:

The best scholar hears of the Tao,  
And practices it diligently.  
The average scholar hears of the Tao,  
And sometimes practices it and sometimes not.  
The foolish scholar hears of the Tao,  
And ridicules it.