Appearing Foolish

Rugby
At last the end is in sight! The end of the cricket season that is and the start of rugby. We can't put the posts up yet but we are running our men's trials this evening with a BBQ to follow. Plus we've a pre-season friendly down at Sidmouth on Tuesday evening. Just enough to whet the appetite. Roll on September. Meanwhile the walking rugby goes from strength to strength and I've started registering the players ready for the new season.

Project Management
Some project managers like to be seen as experts on everything and they are always ready to give their views on the right way to do something, regardless of how little they actually know about it. Some also like to appear busy and never have any time to deal with the little niceties of life. But they do always seem to have enough time to check up on the team members and interfere with what they are doing.  

The wise project manager tries to keep things simple and may often appear to do be doing little. This lack of needless intervention allows the team to develop and be productive and effective. But it can sometimes appear that the project manager is sitting there with no idea of what to do, which can be disconcerting for a team member who is used to project managers behaving more dynamically.  

The Way  
When the wise project manager speaks, it is often to say something obvious and it can sound simple. Because what he says is also honest it may seem perplexing. The project manager’s stillness may even appear to be foolishness. But the project manager’s stillness overcomes the team’s agitation. The project manager’s consciousness is his primary tool and this is what gets things done.  

The Tao  
Lao Tzu tells us:  

Great perfection seems defective,  
Great straightness seems crooked.  
Great dexterity seems clumsy.  
Great eloquence seems awkward.  
Movement conquers cold.  
Stillness conquers heat.  
Purity and stillness set things in order in the universe.