[Extract From: The Lazy Winning Project Manager: Embracing Project and Personal Productivity in an AI Empowered World by Peter Taylor]
Uniform
In my well-known ‘keynote’ of productive laziness, based on my first book, I start by declaring that we have a problem in project management. We are, or we certainly were it seemed to me all those years ago, somewhat invisible.
I joke that when you go to project management parties play this game (come on, you’ve been to hundreds of those haven’t you?). OK, the game – find a project manager and get them to answer two questions with the first thing that comes into their head. OK, here goes.
Q1: What are you?
A1: I’m a project manager.
Q2: What do you do?
A2: I manage projects.
Result is – well, nothing, I am absolutely no better off understanding what you do than a minute ago.
Sigh.
The trouble is that if you actually try to get a more detailed answer then it can rapidly turn into a rehash of a body of knowledge (and that will bore everyone at the party, and you will be left all alone in the kitchen contemplating your sad existence of a life).
Check out an article I did many years ago on explaining project management to an alien https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/alien-project-management-peter-taylor/
At the time I was posing this question my youngest son was at junior school, and they had a thing called ‘bring a parent to school to tell the kids about their job’.
Never got invited[1].
Sigh.
A policemen got invited and talked about road safety and crime reporting and things like that. Quite popular.
A nurse came in and talked about cuts and bruises and first aid and things like that. Quite popular.
And who else? Oh yes, a fireman came in and talked about what to do in the event of a fire or someone was in trouble. Very popular (especially with the Mum’s apparently).
Now think about this. What do these folks have in common?
They have a uniform! Yes, they have an actual ‘look at what I do’ uniform. Respect!
Imagine if we had a project management uniform. Cape, bright underpants, capital ‘P’ on our chest. Wow!
Next day at work as you walked through the office people would cheer and say, ‘thank goodness, it’s a project manager, everything will all be OK now’.
Maybe set this as a challenge at your next team meeting – design the project manager’s uniform, it could be fun.
Community
The real point here is that visible or not (and we are certainly a lot less invisible these days I would suggest) the global community of project professionals is vast.
Forbes[2] suggests that ‘The project management industry is witnessing unprecedented growth and is set to increase in demand over the next few years, with a predicted 25 million needed to fill the gap across various industries globally. Some of the most popular sectors with opportunities for project managers include technology, construction, manufacturing, and finance.
This comes at a time when the technology sector is booming, with AI spurring the need for over 90 million new jobs. It turns out that roles requiring project management skills and capabilities such as people management, stakeholder management and engagement, budgeting, project planning, and resource management are becoming more of a necessity for most organizations’.
And the number of conferences[3], events, chapter meetings, presentations, webinars, books, articles, and more is massive, with more each and every day it seems.
So become part of this community and don’t just sit inside your own organisation and see only your world, Experience the bigger world, and contribute to it and draw value from it.
It’s bloody amazing!
Be part of your project world
I would urge you to consider the vast opportunity of the global world of project management and reflect on what part you want to play.
Project Manager is a verb (a doing word) and not a noun (a describing word) goes the old saying and it is true, you cannot be passive in this profession, but you can be somewhere on a spectrum of active to hyper-active within the overall project community around the world. This is your choice of course.
By more luck that intention I have found myself to become something of a figure within the profession (not one of the serious leaders because a) that just isn’t in my nature and b) I am happy to ‘talk with the masses’ and not just the elite c) I seem to annoy some of the powers that be and d) give me practice over just theory any day)[4].
What I would say is that none of my success (if this is the correct word to use) is unique to me, you can do the same, or similar, or better. You just have to want to have some kind of voice in this project world and get on and make your voice known, through speaking, through writing, and through communities, through events, through volunteering or through just plain ‘doing’[5].
Don’t hold back – just go for it!
The Book
Fully updated to reflect developments in artificial intelligence (AI), remote working and more, this book brings together two well-loved titles to address emerging trends and challenges in project management and personal development, offering a unique and comprehensive reference book for a new generation of project professionals.
In the ever-evolving world of project management, The Lazy Project Manager has been a guiding light for those seeking efficiency through unconventional strategies as well as honesty and a whole lot of fun. With The Lazy Winner, Peter Taylor brought his straightforward and humorous approach to personal productivity and success. Now, Peter has combined these two books to ensure a comprehensive guide for professionals seeking both project management excellence and personal fulfilment – the goal of a great work/life balance. But this book goes beyond evergreen principles, adding rich content on:
The effectiveness of the productive lazy approach in harnessing the power of AI, demonstrating that project managers and individuals alike can leverage this hot technology
Ways to manage projects remotely and strategies for individuals to thrive in virtual work environments, all using the productive lazy approach
New and updated case studies showcasing how the productive lazy approach has been successfully implemented in project management scenarios and personal development journeys
The preferences and strengths of the new generations within the workforce, and how the productive lazy approach aligns with their expectations and workstyles
Project management professionals worldwide, from new starters learning the ropes to seasoned pros looking for fresh inspiration, will welcome the latest insights and tested strategies from a project management legend.
[1] DAS: You will, if you have ever met Peter, know that he is really sensitive to these things.
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwells/2023/11/10/25-million-project-managers-in-demand-as-median-salaries-soar-to-120k/?sh=2f2a306157a8
[3] As I am writing this I am actually in Orlando at a conference – it is 6am and I am enjoying a Starbucks (other coffees are available).
[4] This slightly non-conformist attitude became apparent when I hosted an international conference some years ago and I watched the wise and the worthy take to the stage – some of whom had never actually run a project and others who probably last ran a project 20 years. At this point I vowed to remain a real practitioner.
[5] One of my greatest pleasures has been to facilitate nearly 100 people get published in some way, from a quote in a book to a chapter contribution all the way to co-authorship.
Fuente: The Lazy Project Manager (Now is an amazing time to be in project management).
