PMcrunch

I say, a resounding YES to the question “Is a political campaign a project?”. Why? Well, a political campaign has a distinctive beginning and end, and in between there is a lot of planning, a great deal of execution, and a great deal of monitoring and controlling. And of course there is a closing – usually with lots of lessons learned. Let us look a bit at these elements.

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The Student Syndrome is something that we all have experienced one way or another. It is evident that most of us tend to do at least to some degree of cramming for exams, completing papers, completing projects, doing problem sets and more. The student syndrome is based on our human tendency. For example, the student syndrome is demonstrated where, if we have 25 days to do an assignment, we put off most of the work until the final days or hours before it is due!

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We as Project Managers are often in situations that put us in leadership roles, directly leading teams of individuals. In such roles, there is sometimes a tendency to ‘detach’ ones self from the collegiality that might exist on – and be beneficial to – the team.

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As project managers, we are at the center of one of the biggest things life has to offer – time. So often, the push is on getting more and more out of our time – personally and as groups. Patient leaders tend to delegate better and operate more effectively – because they take the long view.

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Leadership and management are not entirely different, but they are different in many ways. Comparing leadership and management is more accurately the comparison of a combination of strong leadership and management skill with a level of management skill where the leadership component is missing. It is a difficult comparison to make explicitly, but examples in real life abound!

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George Pitagorsky examines the possibilities of using Zen practices to become a more effective Project Manager in his article “Manage Wisely” on Projects@Work (August 9, 2007). The article is an edited excerpt from Chapter 1 of “The Zen Approach to Project Management”. I thought it was relaxing just reading the article – and thinking of the possibility of being relaxed with eyes and mind wide open! And I think this was the intent.

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