21: The Nature of the Way

The Project
What a week! The publishers dropped the manuscript for Project 2013 in easy steps back to me with a whole bunch of inconsistent capitalization issues. They seem to have crept in over the last couple of releases and I had a few days to sort it all out. Chaos would be an understatement! 

On another tack an old mate of mine, Sean Connolly, hit the three score and ten this week. He probably doesn't ever look at this blog so I can say it without fear of retribution. Trouble is in six months I catch up with him. Ah well back to the Way…

The Way
Poor project managers jump every time someone yells.  The wise project manager calmly point out that to jump would impact on other activities and asks the jumpee to consider which other project activities they would like to be put aside to allow the jumper time to plan and execute the jump on their behalf.  

If we accept that everything is connected in some way (even the people asking us to jump), then we are always potentially on the way.  If we struggle and fight against what is happening then we will surely loose the way.  If we accept, in silence, that things are the way they are, then we move forward along the way.  

The greatest virtue is to follow only the Tao.  
The Tao seems wild and obscure.  
So obscure, so wild,  
But within it there is form.  
So obscure, so wild,  
But within it there is matter.  
So profound, so dark,  
But within it there is essence.  
This essence is very real,  
And within it there is truth.  
From the very beginning until now  
Its name has never been forgotten.  

“The Way of the Project Manager” by John Carroll (ISBN 978-1481076111), is published by CreateSpace and available from Amazon in hard copy and on Amazon Kindle.