Aug 23, 2006
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2 Ways to Manage a Project (or Climb a Rock)
There are two ways to manage a project: with brute force and with finesse.
Brute force managers are like rock climbers who uses their arms to pull themselves up a wall. It can get you there if you have the strength, but it sure is tiring and ugly.
Project managers who use finesse are like climbers who realize that their can legs do most of the vertical lifting. They just need to use their head to find the right placement. Climbing with their legs (which are stronger than arms), using their hands mostly for balance, they can climb a lot higher, for a lot longer and its much prettier to see.
Of course, there are just some walls, like there are projects, which need brute force moves to get to the top. The finesse climber knows how to execute those moves and will have more strength saved for them, particularly near the top.
Some people get to finesse over time and experience. At its core, though, it’s a philosophy that a person adopts. Its an outlook that a climber has when they approach a wall. They come to the rock calm, ready to meet it, to get the job done.
A brute force climber looks at a rock as a challenge to conquer, as something to beat and power through. The wall is against them. For training they lift weights and solve hard test problems so they can stomp on anything.
The same holds true for project managers.
Brute force managers spend time getting certified, reading books, solving theoretical problems. With papers in-hand, they power-through projects often with a disdainful attitude towards anyone not in the specialized project manager club.
Finesse project managers learn the same techniques. But they train by spending their time listening, analyzing projects and talking to people. They get to know their team. They also learn about themselves and how their insecurities and ego can get in the way of projects. They come to a project to meet the project goals, gracefully. They advance the organization and their project team.
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