Chapter Summary

Did you ever see one of those movies with the ace reporter scrambling into the newsroom with just minutes to go before his deadline? He writes a fantastic article on the mayor, the mob boss, or the sports team with just seconds to spare. Meanwhile, his cigar-chomping boss is ranting about this reporter’s usual skin-of-the-nose behavior.

That’s how IT project management can be. The really awful part? Sometimes it’s not even that close. Projects are consistently late, over budget, and half- cooked. IT project management is not about implementing a technology. It’s about leadership, integrity, decision-making ability, planning, and time management.

To be a successful project manager, you have to start each project with a clear, concise vision of what the project will yield, when it will end, and how you can lead your team to that destination.

Project management is governed by business cycles, dedication, time, and sometimes weekends. Successful project management takes more than implementing the latest whiz-bang technology. To succeed in project management is to succeed in leadership.