Project ≠ Project.
Project Management ≠ Project Management.
In his PM-Blog, Stefan Hagen published an article with this headline. For me, it is something like a “revolutionary milestone” when considering (project) management.
Using enlightened statements, Stefan dismisses quite a few dogmata of project management from the last century (millennium).
I was fascinated by his article. Consequently, I lost no time and immediately wrote a comment in pm-blog.de. However, I would like to use this opportunity to give you a summary of my comments, although with (significant) changes.
Let me start by citing from Stefan’s article:
“We pretend that there is such a thing as a clear definition of “project” or “project management”. This is an absurdity”.
That is not the only sentence where Stefan hits the nail on the head. In his article, Stefan asks a lot of good questions – and gives some answers, too. It is all so clear and self-explanatory that you start wondering why so many managers still stick with the old dogmata.
To me, the answer seems obvious: dogmata, even if they are antiquated, have a huge “advantage”:
They make life easier for us humans, especially if we are talking complex or paradox situations.Based on dogmata, you can basically do without thinking yourself. Instead, you can decide according to a given “pattern”. The human being who in a situation of decision is often extremely lonely will find something to hold onto and thus reduce his natural (and healthy) uncertainty.
Dogmata also take pressure off our conscience. Even if everything goes wrong, we can say we “did everything right”. After all, we acted exactly like we had been taught, didn’t we? Everything we did was according to the respective standards we have been, after all, successfully certified for. Which means that we are not to blame for the failure and/or detrimental effects of the project…
The way we have been frequently trained to act according to dogmata protects us and makes life easier. Responsibility is delegated to an authority that is perhaps a plausible book or rules and accepted as superior. Basically, it comes “from above” and we trust it will be correct. More often than not, you are even forced to act as you do by an anonymous system, which does not leave you any leeway.
In view of this, you cannot be surprised if doctrines and dogmata are highly cherished by humans. Except they should not go so far as to start questioning dogmata. Because that would mean they often will no longer believe in the world and that means the party is over. So maybe it is a good idea not to start thinking…
Because:
Dogmata are almost always inflexible and antiquated. They do not do justice to the dynamic and, after all, very complex real life, along with the needs of people in social communities. And mostly the same is true for decisions and behaviour based on these dogmata.
For “correct” decisions, and “good” behaviour of humans, the requirement is that they have enjoyed a good education, are equipped with the right amount of experience in life, a high degree of autonomy along with civil courage, the willingness to take responsibility and common sense.
That is exactly what Stefan demands in his definition of project management!
However, autonomous, self-responsible and “good” behaviour will not just fall out of the clouds. Neither in (project) management, nor in real life.
For me, this means that the biggest challenge of all for us humans is to be (become) willing and capable of living our lives in self-responsibility. And this should happen in an ethically responsible way following values shared by all humans like, for instance the Golden Rule or the UN Charta.
And just like this is true for life in general, it is also true for our “sub-lives” in roles such as project manager, leader, entrepreneur, partner, pater familias, official functionary, politician – well, basically wherever we live together socially in communities.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
😉
In this article, I took pains to not give in to the temptation of using dogmata of the Catholic Church as examples.…
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