The Entrepreneurial Project Manager

Chris Cook

• Publisher: Auerbach Publications
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781032476674
• eBook ISBN: 9781351651455
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Project Management
• Index: Business

Doing more with less is a skill mastered by entrepreneurs. Budgets are tight, deadlines are short, and time is of the essence. Entrepreneurial project managers use these parameters to their benefit. Hurdling over obstacles with the bare minimum of effort makes their projects and teams stand out. Focusing inward to develop the skills and mindset necessary to accomplish anything with anyone sets an entrepreneurial project manager apart from the group. This book builds on the basics of project management knowledge with tools and techniques to get you as well as your projects and teams performing on an advanced level.

No matter your industry or experience level, this book gives you practical ways to improve any project. More importantly, it shows how you can improve your own performance. The biggest improvements a project manager can make are about him- or herself. Personal limitations can be the hardest obstacle to overcome, and this book explains how to overcome them. The techniques have been tried and tested by the author who shares them with you in this book.

Whether in your projects or career, all the right things can be said and done, yet the results are always unpredictable. We all have little control over events. This book's tools and techniques give you the ability to handle anything that may come your way.

Entrepreneurs are constantly changing and adapting to the world around them. They must stay cutting-edge to make their businesses thrive. This book explains how to take a cutting-edge approach to project management. The goal is to take your technical skills as a project manager, add the elements of an entrepreneur, and create a high-powered team around you as well as become the best project manager you can be.

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Contents

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Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Philosophy

1.2 Sales

1.3 Imposter Syndrome

Chapter 2: Traditional Mindset

2.1 The Midas Touch

2.2 Setting Goals Through Stoicism

2.3 Taoism

2.4 Sales

2.5 Belle the Dog

2.6 Importance of Trust

2.7 Low Friction vs. High Friction

2.8 Passion Without Purpose

2.9 Old School: Kicker and High Jumper

2.10 Waste in Traditional Organizations

2.11 Leadership Modeling

Chapter 3: Entrepreneurial Mindset

3.1 Stoicism

3.2 Taoism

3.3 Sales

3.4 Vertical Slices

3.5 Six Thinking Hats: Use Them

3.6 Five Actions of an Entrepreneur

3.6.1 Investing

3.6.2 Trading

3.6.3 Speculating

3.6.4 Betting

3.6.5 Gambling

3.7 New School: Kicker and High Jumper

3.8 Fixed and Growth Mindsets

Chapter 4: Organizational strategy

4.1 The von manstein matrix

4.2 Stoicism

4.3 Taoism

4.4 Sales

4.5 Common organizational mistakes (and how to avoid them)

4.5.1 Ignoring the slacker

4.5.2 Skipping the initiating phase

4.5.3 Skipping risk analysis

4.5.4 “Sugar-coating” status

4.6 Gym teacher vs. coach

4.7 Project management office maturity

4.8 Followership

4.9 Execute your strategy

4.10 Relevance and meaning

Chapter 5: Exploit Challenges

5.1 Stoicism

5.2 Taoism

5.3 Sales

5.4 Freeze-Thaw Your Challenges

5.5 What Do You See?

5.6 Problem Finders vs. Problem Solvers

5.7 Becoming an Insider

5.8 Five Strategies to Overcome Obstacles

5.9 Obstacle: Culture

5.10 Obstacle: Mindset

Chapter 6: Entrepreneurial Agile Management

6.1 S.C.A.M.P.E.R.

6.1.1 Substitute

6.1.2 Combine

6.1.3 Adapt

6.1.4 Modify

6.1.5 Put to Other Uses

6.1.6 Eliminate or Minimize

6.1.7 Rearrange

6.2 Stoicism

6.3 Taoism

6.4 Sales

6.5 Lean Construction Management

6.6 Not Your Grandparent’s To-Do List

6.7 How to Grow as an Agile Leader

6.8 “We Asked Questions. We Got Answers.”

Chapter 7: Pessimistic Optimist

7.1 Stoicism

7.2 Taoism

7.3 The Adversarial Ego

7.4 Sales

7.5 A Cautionary Tale

7.6 Illusion of Rationality

7.7 To the Film Room

7.7.1 Use If-Then Statements Negatively

7.7.2 Think for Yourself

7.8 Aristotle’s Golden Mean

7.9 Learning to Say “No”

7.10 Investing in Loss

Chapter 8: 80/20 Technique

8.1 Brief History

8.2 Application: Clients

8.3 Application: Team

8.4 Application: Yourself

8.5 Cost of Complexity

8.6 Removing Emotions from Decision Making

8.7 Stoicism

8.8 Taoism

8.9 Sales

8.10 KISS Principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid

8.11 Capacity

Chapter 9: Internalize failure and success

9.1 Stoicism

9.2 Taoism

9.3 Sales

9.4 Are you lucky or good?

9.5 Trust the system

9.6 Grow and achieve

9.7 Celebrate the wins

9.8 Can both parties be right?

9.9 Narcissistic injury

9.10 Biases: What they are and how to use them

9.10.1 Anchoring bias

9.10.2 Framing bias

9.10.3 Sunk cost fallacy

9.10.4 Regression to the mean

9.10.5 Hot hand fallacy

9.10.6 Illusion of control

Chapter 10: Speaking and influencing

10.1 Stoicism

10.2 Taoism

10.3 Sales

10.4 Skimming information

10.5 Speak through your work

10.6 Increase your influence

10.7 Office politics

10.8 Getting back on the horse

Chapter 11: It is what it is not

11.1 Stoicism

11.2 Taoism

11.3 Sales

11.4 Problem managers—Problem solvers

11.5 A = B, B = C, then A ≠ C

11.6 Alchemy

11.7 Pride—Fool’s gold

11.8 Social intelligence

Chapter 12: Giving back

12.1 Stoicism

12.2 Taoism

12.3 Sales

12.4 Happiness: it is simple math

12.5 Gospel of wealth

12.6 Recognition

12.7 Being human

12.8 Show me the tools

References

Index

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Preface

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Starting off as a laborer in the construction industry, I had the opportunity to see projects being run from a boots-on-the-ground perspective. Project managers drive around in their company vehicles, stop to look at a few things, then drive off—not to be seen the rest of the day. I thought to myself, “What an easy job!” Drive around, talk on the phone, look at plans, and do it all again the next day. Project managers were not the ones installing the storm sewer pipe or having to dig holes to expose underground utilities. They could escape the elements and go back to their air-conditioned vehicles or offices. Some of them even had the chance to go somewhere for lunch and enjoy their meal. It seemed like some far-off land.

I decided to make this my goal: How can I get out of these dirty jeans and ragged t-shirts and into a polo shirt and clean khakis? Going to college became a priority. Learning about management while still experiencing the troubles in the field became my advantage. At the same time, I was also learning about how to read plans and build estimates while putting those calculations to practice with my own two hands.

As time went on, I took on more of a leadership role, and more responsibility came my way. I started to get more involved with those project managers driving around in trucks discussing how the task was progressing and giving them feedback on the design. I saw this as an inducement to enhance my education by going to graduate school in project management. The discussions I was having in the field drove me to pursue a greater understanding of the science behind the thought process.

Attending graduate school led to the writing of this book. I was presented the opportunity to write about the project management profession. It was an honor. I started to look around at project managers and see what needed work. I would sit in the meetings, hear them talk, then observe how those messages were translated. I would talk with field personnel to get their feelings on the direction of projects. I began realizing that the message being conveyed and the actions being taken were vastly different. The disconnect was evident, yet actions to bring the sides closer were not present.

These observations and my interest in other fields are the reasons for this book. My interest in sports and the team dynamics of project management have a closer correlation than appears on the surface. Also, my interest in philosophy started to rise. People have dealt with problems throughout history. Problems more severe than a project behind schedule or over budget. Problems that put people’s lives at stake. Melding these dynamics together is the goal of this book. Using words from great philosophers such as Marcus Aurelius and Lao Tzu paired with teachings from great coaches such as Bob Knight and Bill Walsh shows how a project manager can apply the same techniques these people did to their situations.

No matter your industry or experience level, this book will give you mindsets to improve any project. The biggest improvements a project manager can make are about him- or herself. The individual can be the hardest obstacle to overcome. In writing this book, these techniques have been emphasized in my daily life. I find myself realizing how little control I actually have over events. All the right things can be said and done, yet the results are unpredictable. The tools and techniques used throughout the book will give you the ability to handle anything that may come your way.

An entrepreneur looks for opportunities. An entrepreneurial project manager becomes problem-seeking. Solving problems proactively puts you on another level from your contemporaries. This book was a learning and growing experience for me. I hope to pass along that same journey to you.

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Acknowledgments

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I want to thank Dr. Ginger Levin for planting the seed of an idea to write a book I never thought possible; John Wyzalek of Taylor & Francis for continuing to answer my questions and help me with this process; and Theron Shreve, Lynne Lackenbach, and Marje Pollack of DerryField Publishing Services for editing and keeping me on task. This book would not be possible without your help, and I appreciate the hours you have all given me.

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About the Author

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Over the past ten years, Christopher Cook, PMP, has spent his career in the construction industry. Aspects of the industry include heavy highway, aggregates, sewer, and grading roads. During this time, he earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Technology Management with an emphasis in Building Construction Management, Master’ss of Science in Project Management, and Project Management Professional (PMP)^® certification. In those years, he served as a laborer and worked his way up to estimator and master scheduler roles. Serving in these various roles has provided many opportunities to monitor and control projects from headquarters. The portfolio of projects is in the tens of millions of dollars annually. Working side by side with operations, he has the technical skills necessary for daily work while learning the management way of doing things to serve as a better manager. He is a member of the local Project Management Institute (PMI) chapter in Denver, Colorado. Having the right education and technical background has proven vital to his success and continued growth in the industry. He shares his project management insights weekly through “The EntrePMeur” blog (http://entrepmeur.wpengine.com).

Chapter 1

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Introduction

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Project managers have the technical skills to handle any project. You have studied the materials, worked in the industries, and provided the guidance for success. My approach is to assume those technical skills and build on your ability to lead a team through philosophies (mindset changes), sales, childlike thinking, adapting, and narrowing down the topics you focus on to take advantage of the time you have. This new approach brings an entrepreneurial spirit to the project management world. You want to take the tools and techniques you have learned over the years and expand them to new heights. Entrepreneurs are constantly changing and adapting to the world around them. They have to stay cutting edge to make their businesses thrive. Staying cutting edge is the approach I want you to take into project management. Instead of business, it will be a project, but the principles will be relatable to any discipline. The goal is to take your technical skills as a project manager, add the elements of an entrepreneur, and create a high-powered team around you as well as becoming the best project manager you can be.

Entrepreneur. A word that describes creative, driven, goal-oriented individuals, usually in a business sense. My goal throughout this book is to bring this word entrepreneur to the project management landscape. Joining an organization should not limit the ability for an individual to thrive creatively and to use unique abilities to lead a team to success. The landscape of the corporate world lies in red tape and an inability to move forward quickly. Having an entrepreneurial mindset in that landscape proves difficult because of its limitations and slow processes. The larger the organization, the longer it takes for an initiative to take hold. This situation is where the entrepreneur can come in, find ways around those obstacles, and thrive in an organization that has proven difficult.

Being efficient is not good enough; effectiveness coupled with that efficiency proves greater. Bill Gates once said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency” (Gates, 2016). The same goes for applying an entrepreneurial mindset. If you get to be extremely efficient at answering emails and getting to inbox zero, but none of those emails pertains to important tasks at hand, you are magnifying the inefficiency. No one wants to add to the problem. Putting your head down and getting to work may be the worst thing you can do for an organization that is realizing its inefficiencies. Bring the creative, solution-oriented stylings of an entrepreneur to that setting and dominate.

Aggressive may be another term used for an entrepreneur, as someone who sees a problem and is not afraid to tackle it immediately. Later on, I will discuss ways to identify a problem, find its solution, and become the go-to person for solving problems. How valuable would that be for your organization? Having a group of individuals actively seeking problems to sol...

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