I think you’re generalizing too much. Could you describes the size of a “small” project and what domain and context? It’s more informative to your readers when you do that.

I think you’re generalizing too much. Could you describes the size of a “small” project and what domain and context? It’s more informative to your readers when you do that.

I have had to manage numerous projects without the luxury of having any good resources working on them. The key skill a project manager must have is to ensure they can deliver even without the right people in place. After all there are many more projects running than there are enough really good resources to work on them.

My comment re the glorified admin assistant was a tongue in cheek remark not one to be taken literally. Perhaps my “Englishness” just didn’t come across.

So to give you an example of this:

When I was in the US I once wore a T Shirt which had the slogan “got oxygen?” on it. You find them all over the place as a momento of visiting usually a ski resort which is at a high altitude, and is a play on the fact that until you acclamatise, it’s easy to get out of breath quickly.

Needless to say in the UK no-one would have taken it literally because it obviously was a flippant comment and not mean’t to be taken seriously. But in the US I had to stop wearing it because so many people kept stopping me to ask whether I was OK or if I wanted them to call an ambulance. I was getting really paranoid and wondering if I looked that ill, until a friend pointed out it was just Americans taking the slogan literally.

What I was trying to get across was than on smaller projects, if you have a really good team working on it, you won’t need as experienced a project manager to run it. Obviously on huge projects and programmes this doesn’t work because having a really good team simply means you have a better chance of finding solutions to all the problems which arise.

So my apologies that that obviously didn’t come across. I need to remember in future that I’m talking to an international audience.

Regards

Susan
Site Editor: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com

I have had to manage numerous projects without the luxury of having any good resources working on them. The key skill a project manager must have is to ensure they can deliver even without the right people in place. After all there are many more projects running than there are enough really good resources to work on them.

My comment re the glorified admin assistant was a tongue in cheek remark not one to be taken literally. Perhaps my “Englishness” just didn’t come across.

So to give you an example of this:

When I was in the US I once wore a T Shirt which had the slogan “got oxygen?” on it. You find them all over the place as a momento of visiting usually a ski resort which is at a high altitude, and is a play on the fact that until you acclamatise, it’s easy to get out of breath quickly.

Needless to say in the UK no-one would have taken it literally because it obviously was a flippant comment and not mean’t to be taken seriously. But in the US I had to stop wearing it because so many people kept stopping me to ask whether I was OK or if I wanted them to call an ambulance. I was getting really paranoid and wondering if I looked that ill, until a friend pointed out it was just Americans taking the slogan literally.

What I was trying to get across was than on smaller projects, if you have a really good team working on it, you won’t need as experienced a project manager to run it. Obviously on huge projects and programmes this doesn’t work because having a really good team simply means you have a better chance of finding solutions to all the problems which arise.

So my apologies that that obviously didn’t come across. I need to remember in future that I’m talking to an international audience.

Regards

Susan
Site Editor: http://www.my-project-management-expert.com

Thanks for your comment.

I agree that it is possible to deliver projects without really good resources and obviously the ideal team resource is one who is technicall adept whilst being a team player.

However whilst I wouldn’t want an entire team made up of maverick geniuses, in certain key positions I would always prefer someone like that over an average performer who is a team player. This is simply because sometimes you just need really brainy people who can come up with solutions for you.

Regards

Susan de Sousa
Site Editor http://www.my-project-management-expert.com

Thanks for your comment.

I agree that it is possible to deliver projects without really good resources and obviously the ideal team resource is one who is technicall adept whilst being a team player.

However whilst I wouldn’t want an entire team made up of maverick geniuses, in certain key positions I would always prefer someone like that over an average performer who is a team player. This is simply because sometimes you just need really brainy people who can come up with solutions for you.

Regards

Susan de Sousa
Site Editor http://www.my-project-management-expert.com