27 Real-Life Lessons from $450M+ in Projects
Simple sentences that'll teach you more about project management than a $60,000 college degree.
👋 Hey, Kyle here! Welcome to The Influential Project Manager, a weekly newsletter covering the essentials of successful project leadership.
Filed under: Construction, Project Management, Leadership & Managing People
College completely failed in teaching me how to manage projects.
So I spent over 10,000+ hours in the field and studying legendary project leaders.
Then, I distilled what I learned into 27 simple sentences.
But unlike college, these won't cost you $60,000.
They’ll save you a year’s worth of headaches and teach you more about project management than any course or college degree.
Here they are for free:
1. If it doesn't have a clear goal, budget, and deadline, it's not a project - it's just work.
Define your project's purpose, allocate funds, and set a timeline.
Without these elements, your efforts will lack direction.
Clear goals and resources keep everyone accountable.
2. The power is in planning, not the plan. A plan is just a way to store your research and decision-making.
“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower
All plans are forecasts and all forecasts are wrong. Forecast error varies with forecast length and level of detail.
Planning is dynamic and does not end until the project is completed.
Involving those who will supervise or perform the work in the planning process leads to better plans and makes it easier to adapt when needed.
3. What we do for a living is design, make, and build things. Everything else is administration and support.
Project managers or executives don’t run construction projects. Not like everyone is led to believe or the title implies.
Project managers typically control documentation, administration, and finances.
The best managers understand the difference between driving work and supporting it.
Those who drive work-in-place have the most influence on the project.
4. Successful project teams are full-time and dedicated. Focus is everything.
The right team is crucial for a project's success.
Dedication means seeing tasks through to completion.
A dedicated team aligns with your goals and stays committed.
5. Anything is possible if you break it down into small enough steps.
“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” - Henry Ford
To achieve big goals, start with small habits.
If something is still too difficult, it means you haven't divided it into small enough steps yet.
6. Agreements are flexible, but deadlines are not.
Set clear delivery expectations and respect milestones.
Understand how all your resources depend on deadlines.
Create realistic schedules and explain them to stakeholders.
7. Gantt charts are outdated the second you press save.
No Gantt chart has ever survived the real world.
Static charts make spotting issues difficult and hiding problems easy.
All construction schedules should be formatted in a time by location manner to see production principles, lean construction, flow, and other key components of a successful project.
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8. A bad executive is a distraction; a good executive shields a team from distraction.
Good leaders resist their own tendency to exercise power: They keep meetings short and listen to their team.
They make it safe to disagree with the boss.
Good bosses protect their team and take the heat, showing humility, intelligence, and bravery.
9. The greatest threat you face managing a project isn't external; it lies within your own biases and thought patterns.
It’s easy to think that projects fail because the world throws surprises at us: price and scope changes, accidents, weather, new management - the list goes on.
In reality, the biggest risks are often in our own heads.
Recognize and manage your biases to become a better leader and improve project outcomes.
10. Lead with the answer. People have busy minds. Give them what they came for first, then back it up with the details.
Start with the answer/solution, then back it up with details.
Most people struggle with constructing compelling arguments that hold people’s attention.
In business, start with your recommendation, then support it with key points and data.
11. A picture is worth a thousand words. Use diagrams, charts, and models to explain complex ideas.
Visuals convey information in seconds, getting everyone on the same page.
They help refocus the team’s priorities and remind them of project objectives.
Simple visuals are effective for tracking production, materials, and schedules.
12. Create one team room where everyone works, shares data, and laughs together.
Laughter keeps a team emotionally connected.
Strong relationships are crucial when problems arise.
Build those connections early; don’t wait until issues occur.
13. The only acceptable answer to "who owns this" is one single name.
Shared ownership means no ownership.
Accountability breeds responsibility.
Define clear ownership, provide support, and get the heck out of the way.
14. The daily huddle is the 15 most important minutes of the day.
A well-run 15 minute daily huddle can save you 15 hours of confusion.
It's where everyone catches up on the project's status, the day's top priorities, any roadblocks, and shares crucial info related to the weekly work plan.
Regular meetings are key to risk and production management.
15. Risk management is done continuously, not once. Assumptions change, so should your response.
It has taken me many years to realize that identifying risks at the beginning is not enough.
Monitor and update your risk and opportunity register weekly.
Make sure your biggest issues are covered with the right people at the right time.
16. One small scope change won't derail a project, but 100 will.
Fight scope creep like your life depends on it.
Clear requirements and communication prevent scope creep.
Manage changes with standard processes and stakeholder agreements.
17. People come and go. Standardize onboarding and off-boarding for team members.
Standardize anything that occurs 3x or more.
Clear onboarding and off-boarding processes provide a roadmap for tasks.
Develop processes for integrating new team members.
18. Don't plan like there is no variability - embrace it instead.
Variation in production systems can be reduced but never eliminated.
Predictable variation can be managed with buffers to protect targets.
Unpredictable variation needs flexible plans and teams to handle it.
19. Something that works "out of the box" always requires more work than you think.
At its core, innovation is about solving difficult problems.
Approach challenges without preconceived notions.
To develop the best ideas, make a critical new assumption: There is no box.
20. Celebrate small wins every week to build momentum.
Recognize and celebrate every small win.
Small wins build positivity, confidence, and energy.
When you have a win, you look for ways to achieve more.
21. Your project's purpose is your guide for decision-making and storytelling.
Every project is a story; management frames that story.
The most influential project managers aren’t the smartest people in their organizations. They are exceptional at aggregating data and communicating it simply & effectively.
If you can build that storytelling skill, you’ll always be valuable. Use the project's purpose to inspire and unify the team.
22. Healthy debates, but one decision. One team, one voice.
Encourage open discussion and diverse opinions.
Make sure final decisions are unified and supported by all.
Consistent decisions strengthen team alignment.
23. Best-in-class managers are prepared to handle change orders, and so are their clients.
If you don't bill for changes, your company pays the costs and loses profit.
As a project manager, your job is to sell the client on the added value of change order. Get change orders approved and billed promptly to avoid weak bargaining at the end.
Have a method for handling them in place at the start of the project, and make sure the client is aware of and on board with this process.
24. Completion percentages are a waste of time - too subjective. A task is either done or not done.
Percent complete on activity progress is subjective and optimistic.
Evaluate tasks as either 0% or 100% complete.
Simplify progress tracking with clear, objective criteria.
25. If you accept behavior once, you've just lowered the bar for the whole team. You're leading. They're watching.
Tolerating a problem has the same consequences as not being able to identify it.
When your team sees you ignore issues, it hurts your reputation and their morale.
Leaders must take action: either remove problematic people or coach them to improve.
26. Spend 80% of your time on the top 20% of your stakeholders. They can make or break your project at the snap of a finger.
20% of your stakeholders account for 80% of your time.
Prioritize critical stakeholders who impact project success.
Who should you really be in front of to drive the most value and achieve your objectives? Prioritize them.
27. Finish, document, reflect, and learn before starting a new project.
Capturing lessons learned should be an on-going effort throughout the life of the project.
Don’t rush to the next project without reflecting on your performance.
Build the review session into the project plan from the start. These sessions always generate valuable insights and improvements for future projects.
If these ideas resonate with you, please to share with others and subscribe to The Influential Project Manager for more in future!
Until next week,
Kyle Nitchen
LAST WORD 👋
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Such an extensive list! Wow.
"Anything is possible if you break it down into small enough steps."
This specifically proves itself time after time.
When you don't feel like doing anything you need to focus on one small thing to achieve for the session, without overthinking it.
Then, over time, you'll see that you managed to do so much.
Great stuff Kyle! Tracking completion percentages… aka wasting hours tracking something that changes rapidly…. Fresh outta college me felt that one to a T.