Selflessness

I had a rather miserable birthday yesterday, thanks to my latest problem, an anomoly in my left cheek. It's probably another cancer but I don't get to hear the results of the biopsys or the scans until January. Meantime My face hurts and my nose is bleeding so I couldn't get taken out for my birthday lunch. Sometimes life just sucks!

The Project

I've now completed the final chapter of Agile Time Management and am just going back through everything to double check on stuff etc. I'm also submitting the contents for peer review with the rest of the team (David, Graham and Anna), so hopefully they will spot anything I've missed. The publishers are going to release it as an eBook initially (as paper book sales are currently down) in February, with a print edition being released later in the year.

The Way

A selfish project manager will alienate the project team, or worse still, the team will think that is the correct way to behave and start to develop similar characteristics.  The wise project manager shows enlightened leadership through service.  He puts the well-being of the team above that of himself, for this is the way of the project manager. 

The Tao

Lao Tzu tells us:

The sage stays behind,  

and proceeds.  

Is detached from all things, 

and continues.  

By not having a personal agenda,  

He is able to accomplish great things.  

 

The Great Mother

 The Project

I'm now well into Agile Project Management in easy steps and the book is now due for publication in February 2023. I've just finished Chapter 3, titled Understanding Yourself and I've based it around life as a journey, learning from the Tao as usual.

The Way

Much has been written about what a project manager needs to do but very little on the way he should do it.  We have all probably met 'hard' project managers, who drive their team and themselves, but it is maybe more difficult to recall the 'soft' project managers, the ones who achieve quietly and seemingly with little effort. The wise project manager brings out his feminine side (unless of course she already happens to be one of the 20% of project managers who is a woman, in which case be thankful and be yourself), for this is the way of the project manager.  

The Tao

Lao Tzu tells us:  

The spirit of the valley does not die,  
It might be called the Great Mother.  
The origin of heaven and earth.  
Ever present and everlasting.  

Use it, it will never fail.  

Grass Dogs

Following the good news that my cancer has finally been cured after suffering through the Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy, we decided to celebrate with our first holiday in three years, Island hopping (by ferry) in Greece, should have been a great holiday Crete, Santorini, Paros, Naxos and Mykonos but Trailfinders let us down, five of the six hotels were in completely the wrong location for what we wanted to do, which was explore the Islands. To cap it all we have both gone down with Covid-19 since we returned. 

This is going to be quite a short post.

The Project

Back to the project in hand Agile Project Management in easy steps, I just got the first draft chapter finished before we left and I am waiting to hear what the publishers think of it so far. 

The Way

I think the term ‘Grass dogs’ is quite appropriate for this blog, as it is the term used in The Tao to indicate that things might be good or bad. Let us hope they are good but be prepared it they are bad. The light of awareness shines equally on what is good and what is bad.  One person is as worthy as the next. 

The Tao

Lao Tzu tells us:

Heaven and Earth are not humane, 

Considering all things as grass dogs. 

The sage is not humane, 

Considering all as grass dogs.

 

The Way is not a Thing

In my last post I told you that the immunotherapy treatment was taking its toll on me and it got progressively worse. It reached the stage where I had to ask them to stop the treatment, which they reluctantly agreed to, but insisted on giving me a whole sequence of scans to check progress. I would like to say that due to my powerful visualization and positive thinking I managed to cure myself, but that would be untrue. It seems the immunotherapy has actually worked. Today I had final confirmation that the cancer is gone. I am on a steady course of reducing the steroids they put me on and will be able to talk to my GP about what other drugs I can stop talking (hopefully the blood thinners). So life suddenly looks a whole lot rosier.

Agile Time Management

Initial feedback from my two experts was that it sounded like an advert for "4,000 weeks: Time and How to Use it" and anyone picking up my book would put it down and go and find that instead! Point well taken, I have now completely re-written it coming at it from the basis of similar open source information. 

Meantime I am still experimenting with my bread making (for fun) and writing up the story of my life (for my son and daughter) and what I wish my father had done for me. But I must make it a bit more humorous, I don't want it to be a dull read.

The Way

The Way is not a Thing; it is a single unifying principle. It is about how things happen. Poor project managers think that if they follow a methodology they are running their project the right way, but that is not the Way.  The Way cannot be found and it cannot be learned, it simply is. The wise project manager runs his project by following natural laws and the single principle, for this is the Way of the Project Manager. 

The Tao

Lao Tzu tells us:

The Tao is like a well,  

It is used, but never used up.  

It is like an eternal void,  

But filled with infinite possibilities.  

Simple Wisdom

 

The immunotherapy treatment is taking its toll on me in a number of ways, the most recent is arrythmia, which is leaving me feeling quite unstable. After numerous scans and other examinations it sounds like I am going to need to start taking blood thinners to prevent blod clots and a possible stroke. But first I have to have yet another CT scan and ECG and talk to my general practitioner, which will be another two weeks. Meantime life goes on...

Agile Time Management

I have now finished the draft of the first chapter and am awaiting feedback from son David (the Agile expert) and wife Anna (the language expert). At the moment I'm not totally sure if it is going to work so I might seek wider feedback. Meantime I am still experimenting with my bread making and writing up the story of my life. This last is for my son and daughter and is what I wish my father had done for me. I'm actually quite enjoying it but I must make it a bit more humorous, I don't want it to be a dull read.

The Way

The poor project manager is ambitious and eager for success. He wants to get on and needs to demonstrate how clever he is, but this only creates havoc for the project team, who will feel ignored or worthless. The wise project manager ignores how people percieve them and concentates instead on what the team need to do thier work effectively and protects them from external inteference. 

Getting things done will happen in a calm way, the team doesn't have to look busy, just effective. If the team act normally and co-operate with one another, they will achieve great things. The wise project manager makes sure the team functions well and that what they do is effective. This is simple wisdom, for it is the way of the project manager.

The Tao

Lao Tzu tells us:

 

Do not glorify great men, 

And the people will not quarrel. 

Do not treasure valuable possessions, 

And the people will not become thieves. 

Do not show them temptation, 

And they will not be confused.  

 

Therefore the sage would lead by: 

Emptying people’s minds, 

And filling their stomachs. 

By weakening their ambitions, 

And strengthening their bodies.  

If people lack cunning and desire, 

Those who scheme will not dare to meddle. 

Practice not doing and all will be well.