The Tao of Project Management

I am an old project manager and have just finished working at the University of Exeter. I am the author of Project Management in easy steps and Project 2007 in easy steps. The blog is my attempt to observe project management life and how it maps onto Taoist philosophy and maybe learn some understanding of what happens in projects and life.

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04: The Way Is Not a Thing

Mar 12, 2010 6:42am

I was looking back at some notes on project costs and one interesting factor is the number of organisations that totally ignore the cost of their own people working on projects. “That’s not the way we do things here” they say. Yet those staff cost the business real money. If...

03: Being Oneself

Mar 5, 2010 8:39am

The Project My current project is producing “Project 2010 in easy steps”. I’ve just finished the chapter covering the new fluent user interface (ribbon) and I have to admit that I am still not keen on it (maybe it’s my age but I can’t change the way I am). It...

02: Opposites

Feb 26, 2010 7:36am

The ProjectLast night I finally had my much delayed leaving drink with my old colleagues from the University. Seems my old project is now firmly stuck so it’s just as well I got out when I did. None of the team has seen anything of the new project manager and...

01: The Way

Feb 19, 2010 9:06am

BeginningProjects don’t start with an Initiation Stage even though that is a nice formal, well-understood process. Projects start with an idea and at that time very little is known about the project, it is just the beginning. From this beginning many things will unfold and happen, these things will make...

00: Ending and Beginning

Jan 15, 2010 8:39am

Chapter 81 is the last chapter in the Tao so last week’s blog was the end of the series. But it is a cyclical process so out of the ending comes a new beginning. I will be away travelling in San Francisco, New Zealand and Hong Kong over the next...

81: The Reward

Jan 9, 2010 4:03am

Once again I find myself at the end of the cycle. Chapter 81 is the final chapter in the Tao. How very appropriate for coincidentally this week was my last working week at the University.The ProjectI called in after lunch on Thursday (my last day) to say goodbye and clear...

80: The Simple Life

Jan 1, 2010 6:32am

So I have survived another Christmas and New Year and managed to put on another two kilos in the process. Basically I ate and drank far too much so now I need to get back to the simple life. First step a very bracing run on a frosty but sunny...

79: Win or Loose

Dec 25, 2009 7:22am

The ProjectSo finally it came to my last working day on the project. I produced a status report, budget reconciliation and end project report and handed all the files and documentation over. It seemed quite strange and just a wee bit sad as I went round handing stuff over and...

78: Soft yet Strong

Dec 20, 2009 8:09am

The ProjectI’ve started winding down now. Handing stuff over and documenting things. I wonder how things will work out on the next phase of the project, assuming of course they get the extra funding they need to continue. It’s interesting the way they go about estimating things and I do...

77: Cycles

Dec 11, 2009 7:46am

The ProjectThe week started with a few issues. First we had to take the network down in the School of Psychology, so we could begin their upgrade. Unfortunately there are two other buildings that currently hang off their switches so we had to take them down as well and they...

76: Flexible or Rigid

Dec 4, 2009 8:28am

The BookI’m currently reviewing Project 2010 beta against “Project 2007 in easy steps” to see what changes will be required and they will be substantial. Up to Project 2007 I was able to cover all earlier versions from Project 98 onwards in the book but that won’t work this...

75: Without Greed

Nov 27, 2009 9:11am

The BookI have just received the beta version of Microsoft Project 2010 so it’s time to start working on the next version of the book. I had planned to change the title back to “Microsoft Project in easy steps* with a subtitle of “Covers all versions to 2010” but it...

74: Judge & Jury

Nov 20, 2009 8:50am

The ProjectOver to Northcote House first thing on Monday morning to check everything was OK with the Executive Suite upgrade and it was. So many thanks to everyone for an excellent upgrade. There are now just two more buildings to upgrade to complete phase two of the project.It was my...

73: Freedom & Responsibility

Nov 13, 2009 10:39am

The ProjectIt was a fairly tense week again, with the upgrade of our top executives’ part of the network on Thursday and Friday. Thursday went quite well but there were some problems with the new network Friday morning. It was a bit nerve-wracking but all sorted out by 2pm and...

72: Spiritual Awareness

Nov 7, 2009 3:14am

The ProjectIt was a fairly quiet week for a nice change. It gave me a bit of time to catch up with things and think about preparing the papers and reports for the next project board meeting. Come to think of it this will be my last project board as...

71: All the Answers

Oct 31, 2009 4:49am

The ProjectI had a nice bit of feedback this week so I must be doing something right. But it’s all down to the team effort really. I might be able to do some things right and I might even be able to ask the right questions sometime, but technically it’s...

70: There is Nothing New

Oct 23, 2009 9:20am

The ProjectWe managed to get the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies upgraded this week but again hit a few problems. The cabling contractors never told us that they hadn’t finished testing the new fibre cables which delayed us for half a day. Then a mix up on the active...

69: A Fight

Oct 16, 2009 8:46am

I’ve just finished sorting out a trip to New Zealand for the end of January, so that’s something to look forward to. Ah well back to reality…The ProjectHaving tried to raise a project exception I was instructed by my boss’s, boss’s boss (She Who Must Be Obeyed) to muddle on...

68: Opportunities

Oct 9, 2009 10:11am

The ProjectAnother heavy week, struggling through the problems and issues. The issue now is getting the groups still scheduled for upgrade this year to let us take the network down while we upgrade them. No-one wants to loose the network, even for a day. Fortunately the Institute of Arabic and...

67: Three Leadership Qualities

Oct 2, 2009 6:51am

The ProjectFollowing the problem with asbestos in the building we were scheduled to upgrade next, we have had much chopping and changing around of the schedule to try and work around it. We need to free up some of the existing network IP addresses as we need them for other...

66: Open and Supportive

Sep 25, 2009 7:14am

No blog last week as I was away in the Algarve on what should have been a cycling holiday. Unfortunately on arrival at the hotel I went for a swim and slipped over and suffered a rotator cuff injury so it turned into a walking and sight-seeing holiday but at...

65: Theory and Practice

Sep 12, 2009 5:27am

The ProjectWhen the building work costs started to snowball we looked to see where we could make any savings and picked on building cabling. The theory was we could use whatever cable was already in place as long as it was fit for purpose rather than put in new fibre....

64: Beginning, Middle and End

Sep 8, 2009 1:37pm

This blog is covering a couple of weeks as I struggled to do one last Friday and I am going away on holiday for a week on Sunday and need to pack. More important I have to go and watch Exeter Rugby’s first home game on Saturday against Doncaster.The ProjectMy...

63: Encounters

Aug 28, 2009 7:51am

The ProjectI have just spent another fairly critical week trying to balance the books and keep all the balls in the air. The project finances are on a knife edge and I’m having to challenge almost any expenditure. The good news is that the project team are making great progress...

62: Whether You Know It or Not

Aug 21, 2009 8:44am

The ProjectAfter last weeks preparation the upgrade of the Peter Chalk Centre went nearly as smooth as clockwork. A great team effort and the team are being rewarded for their excellent work over the past few weeks with a few beers this afternoon. I have the day off so I’ve...