4 lessons learned in Project Management
Keep an open/honest channel of discussion with your boss/manager: Sometimes it is important to understand that management expects nothing but the best their team members. What should you do when things do not go well? Keep an open dialogue. Explain to your boos about the situation and always propose a solution to the problem at hand. Most direct reports do not approach the boss with solutions and merely present the problems, almost always exasperating the senior manager. This is important because it teaches crisis management and delivering bad news.
Closing down a project: Closedown is the final phase of project management. Every project has an end point-the time at which objectives are achieved and deliverables are handed over to stakeholders. At that point, the project must fold its and the members must return to their assignments. This step is important because every project team should reflect on the their past activities- what went wrong? What could be done different in the future? The lessons learned through reflection must be recorded and incorporated into future projects.
Commitment to a common goal is important: A shared understanding of the goal is extremely important but really effective teams go a step further. Their members are committed to the goal. This is extremely important because there is a big difference between understanding and commitment. Commitment is a visceral quality that motivates members to do work and keep working when things go downhill.
A paradigm shift (or revolutionary science) is, according to Thomas Kuhn, in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962), a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science. The implications of this book are profound and in general very relevant today. Many companies have managed to “question” the way they do things and have changed their strategy on business. Companies like Apple and Sony are now the major disrupters in technology and are determined to challenge current paradigms.