Thursday, February 10, 2022

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. 


7 comments:

Brad Sersion said...

Greetings! I came across this blog years ago and had a random nudge from the universe to revisit. I am so very glad to see you are writing a new book about Agile project delivery because I feel like I can relate to a very very high percentage of everything you write about and directly apply it to what I am doing in my current position.

Your blog on leading teams as a PM has given me clarity like no other business training or education that I have come across before has done. Something just clicks and all of a sudden it's like I always knew and the answer was so obviously sitting right in front of me the whole time.

Best of luck and please consider (in the spirit of agile delivery) releasing what you have completed of your book so that it can begin to be used as a tool for those seeking wisdom!

P M Blogger said...

Many thanks Brad, always great to get feedback and thanks for the suggestion. I'll send you a copy of the first chapter as soon as it's been proof read so you can see where I am going with it.
Cheers,
John.

Anonymous said...

Hi John,
since I began to read about daoism, doing my job as PM seemed more and more ..false, meaningless,.. creating so much artificial struggle and disturbance with ever-new plans, approaches, concepts. Where is the benefit of that?
With your thoughts on daoism in PM the things start to fall into the right places again.
Thank you for sharing!
Kind regards
CR

P M Blogger said...

Hi CR,
Thanks you for your kind words and understanding. People who keep trying to change the process don't understand what they are doing to the team. I am trying to encapsulate this concept into Agile Time Management. Send me your email address and I'll send you the draft first chapter to see what you think.
Enjoy the journey,
John.

Anonymous said...

John, I hope you are doing well and fighting the good fight.

I am following up with you b/c I am seeking wisdom and am hoping you have been able to find the strength and time to progress on your book.

Please feel free to send anything you would like and I would be glad to dive in.

email: bsersion@gmx.com

Godspeed,
Brad

P M Blogger said...

A few setbacks Brad, so I am a bit behind with the new project, back onto it now so should be ready in a few weeks time. Will get back to you then.
Cheers,
John.

P M Blogger said...

Brad - I don't have you email address, if you lket me have it i'll forward Chapter 1 so you can see where I'm going. I'm just finishing Chapter 4 - it's due for publication Feb 2023. Cheers, John.