Putting Joy and Discovery back into Project Management
The purpose of this blog post is to discuss how using the MPM model can begin putting the joy and discovery back into project management.
The Manager Project Mastery (MPM) model shows a view of all Project items or pieces essential to delivering a successful project and also how to successfully manage a project on a daily and weekly basis using particular tools at each stage that draw on the knowledge within each of the pieces.
The MPM model shows a view of all Project pieces, tools and steps to successfully manage a project
Joy and Discovery for Project Management – What’s That?
A tiny little problem about projects
If you’ve been in business for a while or have managed a project for a bit, you already know that a project is just a temporary thing with some dedicated funds, some skill sets available, and a goal to get certain things done in a particular timeframe.
Unfortunately, there is still this tiny little problem, this one very small catch. You don’t really believe you can get a project done on time and in budget; there are just too many things that come up, too many variables, and as a manager you have just too many other things on your plate, so projects create this cloud that hangs over your head. They become necessary but not much fun.
Too many things come up when managing projects
So, you start on a project and get it running and you notice negative thoughts about the project dive-bombing for your attention.
You find yourself worrying, wondering if running out of time, availability of resources, or money is imminent; questioning whether or not you can get the deliverables done, or if you have picked the right path, or the right team, or the team can even get the job done on time, or done before you run out of money, and have to go back begging for more.
Negative thoughts can dive-bomb for attention
Lingering doubts about things working out
Even though you may have proved to yourself that you can get things done with a team, or even by yourself, even though you may have had some failures, or that you know that some projects do end successfully and so yours could be in that set too, you still have these lingering doubts that it is going to work out this time.
You’re being affected by probability and the history of other projects. Your future is being affected by your past and other people’s past.
You may have lingering doubts about things working out
If you really knew a simple way to do Project Management where you could remember everything you had to do or there was a set of simple steps to follow weekly or daily that would ensure everything was done when it needed to be done, maybe even a simple checklist, to ensure success, you’d have no fear around getting everything done. You’d have no concerns that you and the team could get everything done in the time allowed, with the budget available, and it would never occur to you to look at a blog post or site like this.
Truthfully, I’m glad you did. This site and these blog posts will prove to you once and for all that you can easily and simply, and with joy and excitement, get your projects done on time, in scope and within the funds originally expected.
On time, in scope, and within funding is possible
The site and blog posts will help you rewrite how you think about project management and make it something you look forward to with excitement and energy.
You can look forward to a way to create something new, make something better, deliver something valuable while inspiring and creating a highly positive experience for your team and those who are involved with your projects; all while putting the financial side of the house at ease and giving them confidence in your abilities to deliver.
Instead of defining all the things you have to do in dry terms. Instead of using the same old tired hard-to-relate-to and hard-to-remember abstract list of project management must-haves, that you’ve read in other sites and books about how to do project management, this site and its material looks at project management though a simple five-part model.
Project management through a simple 5-part model
The model has 3 domains and 6 segments each with their related project management knowledge pieces.
The bottom part of the model as the five steps critical to getting the project done. And they align with the project bodies of knowledge, just a little tailored for a busy business manager
The central three steps Prepare & Plan, Meet & Execute, and Publish & Monitor have small weekly habits to offer you proof that you can simply and easily, and in a repeatable way, experience project success.
And those five steps all draw on the project pieces in the 3 domains and 6 segments, so that once you have all of those pieces created, you’re just pulling that knowledge into the particular tool needed for that particular step.
I know, this is just theory to you. However, simplifying your lens through which you view project management and doing some small simple habits and feeling and experiencing success will rewire your brain to see that this isn’t so complicated or out of reach; that you can create predictable success and energize and inspire those that work with you to enjoy the process and outcomes as they never have before.
Simplify your viewing lens to experience success
You know that with clarity, focus, and inspiration you and your project team should be able to create much more together than as individuals, but because you’re still viewing the project world from a frustratingly difficult to understand list of dos and don’ts, the old-style way of looking at projects, you haven’t been able to harness this energy or capability.
For your next project days, using this site and applying its principles, you have an opportunity to start feeling and getting closer to this capability and see what results are possible. And you will learn how to transform this capability into any results you want.
Summary
Projects can create lingering challenges in your mind about getting them done on time and in budget.
It can seem like there are just too many things that come up, too many variables, and as a manager you have just too many other things on your plate, so they are difficult to lead, control, and plan.
The purpose of this site and these blog posts is to prove to you that you can easily and simply, and with joy and excitement, get your projects done on time, in scope and within the funds originally expected.
Viewing the complexity of project management through a simplified lens of 3 domains and 6 segments containing all of the project knowledge you need, and then 5 steps with corresponding weekly and daily habits around using the tools to draw from the project pieces to complete project deliverables can simplify the success of project management and bring some more joy and discovery back to managing projects.
Action Steps / Apply This Knowledge
- Review the Project Management domains of the MPM model and as you are reviewing the parts and the project items are being discussed, make note of those where additional research or detail is needed.
- Start simply by doing a very brief INITIATE charter, if you haven’t already done one, even just a couple of sentences for each project item.
- Review the weekly and daily habits for the steps and set aside time early in the week to begin doing small changes to your routine each week.
- Prompt engineering guidance for AI GPTs such as chatGPT: “I’m a business leader launching a small project whose purpose is X, and it is delivering Y and Z. What are the important pieces of knowledge and steps I need to focus on for my project to be successful?”
Learn More to Do More
Business evolves through change initiatives otherwise known as projects. The key to managing these change initiatives so you have more time, and less stress is to use simple strategies and tools.
Check out the Learning Hub’s other Articles with Actionable Steps, organized with a busy leader in mind, by topic or main idea, and with some AI GPT (e.g. ChatGPT) prompt engineering suggestions under the Action steps: https://simplepmstrategies.com/learning-hub-index
MPM – Joy and Discovery
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