Project Managers are men and women that desire more than the status quo. They see a problem, create a solution, and work to see the problem solved. Project Managers and Creators are not over-the-top extraordinary people. Rather they are everyday Joe’s and Ann’s wanting something different, wanting a change. The humdrum rhythm of life has serenaded them too long. Now they are walking to the beat of a different drum. The goals they have set have been reached and new goals are being created. Their life is finally going in the direction they want because they are seeing through the projects they create...all the way to the end.
However, the road to reach the end of a project is bumpy. It is not often the road to Achievement is smooth. Speed bumps, downed trees, potholes, dirt roads, and car troubles get in the way of the destination. The traveler must react and persevere throughout the entire journey. Project Managers become different people along the journey. They start out with hopes and uncertainty, and finish with accomplishments and confidence. The journey is what helped them to become the men and women they are today. They did not wake up one morning and become experts or adventurers. It was a process. Driving down the road, it won’t take long to find a business that has failed. Reality TV shows highlight the dysfunctional leadership and the inadequate laborers of businesses trying to make ends meet. . Local business leaders sometimes find themselves trying to achieve goals without having the skills necessary to get there. They may want to create a better work environment, but they don’t how to do so. Goals are not always achieved, but goals are constantly created. Projects are created but rarely finished. Kickstarter.com, the leading source for artistic entrepreneurs looking to gain some quick cash to fund a project, lists its successful project completion rate to be around 50%. Throughout Scripture, the men and women of God faced oppression and prosperity and each came with its set of difficulties. The prophets had to grapple with disobedient Children of God. The strong women of Judges had to deal with men that would not lead. The disciples of Christ had to make tough decisions in the midst of turmoil and persecution. Yet each one found a way to achieve the God approved and designed goal. Leaders and Goal Seekers can become achievers by following the examples of Scripture instead of learning-as-you-go. Throughout the Bible, there are high-achievers and there are stumblers. Successes and failures. Men and women of the Bible were no different than you and I. They had goals. They had aspirations. Then, Jesus spoke to them. Jesus revolutionized their way of thinking. God spoke to the prophets and their lives changed. And even with God’s guidance many of them still stumbled. They couldn’t find it in themselves to believe 100% in the plan of God, so they began to create a plan themselves. Some of them fully denied God altogether. Their failures seem to pile higher than their successes. But the key ingredient in their success is God. Each of them relied on God to come through on His promises, and in the end, He delivered. It is here that we find the most central, most common, characteristic of a Project Manager - God. He designs, engineers, and carries out the project. A statement of work, according to projectsmart, is the bible for the work of a project. The statement of work is the key governance tool for the vendor or for the work directly, which means the SoW must contain a description of all the work that is to be completed. Before a project begins, there is always a period of creativity where the leaders or thinkers of the corporation come up with a statement of work that details the rationale for completion, project goals and objectives, and scope of work. This “bible of work” gives the project leaders a skeletal framework to follow as they complete each phase of the project. Without this handbook, the project would accrue unnecessary costs and completion delays. The project manager refers to the statement of work to ensure that the project is on schedule and is not causing delays from completion of work not necessary. Projects are often undertaken with little thought or with much opposition. Failure is very common. Project risks are not analyzed to its full extent. The excitement over the completion of the project tends to cloud our judgements and we rush in with both hands not knowing what is ahead. This can be seen in households across the country as home remodeling projects are begun or as Mr. Fix-It is called upon to fix a leak or even a broken light bulb. Some people are made for engineering, or design. They can look at a mechanical object they have never seen before and fix it. Some people are not cut out for the fixing game, but they are cut out for other projects. Art, Sports, Finances, Mathematics, Gardening, Etc. Projects do not have to be long, complex projects in order for them to meet failure. Most of the time, the statement of work, whether a 100 page novel or a hand-drawn blueprint of a bookshelf, is the last thing that is consulted or even created. Before you begin a project in your life, you must have a statement of work. You must set goals, you must have something guiding you to the right point. Life goals guide us to the places we want to be and keep us away from the places we don’t want to be. But we must be relentless in our pursuit. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for a lack of ideas. When NFL running back Herschel Walker was in junior high, he wanted to play football, but the coach told him he was too small. He advised a Herschel to go out for track instead. Never one to give up, he ignored the coach’s advice and began an intensive training program to build himself up. He won the Heisman Trophy. The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before being picked up by 20th Century Fox. General Douglas MacArthur applied for admission to West Point but was turned down twice. Upon the third try, he was accepted. When the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book was completed, it was turned down by 33 publishers in New York and another 90 at the American Booksellers Association Convention in Anaheim. Health Communications finally agreed to publish it. It has sold more than 8 million copies and has branched into 32 titles and is translated into 31 languages. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series has sold more than 53 million copies combined. Be relentless, be prepared…..life projects can be anything relating to some sort of change or alteration to our lives. We can get married, deal with depression or addiction, buy a home or purchase a very large item, change jobs, have kids, need counseling for help dealing with life issues, or many more. Life projects are not just about big changes. Small changes are difficult for us as well. Putting down the 5th snack of the day. Finally working out on a consistent basis. Reading Scripture daily. Spending time in Prayer and reflection. Getting off the couch to care of the mess that is our living space. Fixing items that have sat untouched for days, weeks, months, or years. Cleaning up the yard. Throwing out the trash or the mountain of unneeded items that line the walls. Projects are mounting, how are you handling them? And what does Scripture say about project undertaking? In a new series about Project Completion, we are going to look at the Success and Failure stories of Scripture in order to learn about the do’s and don’ts of project completion. We are going to learn how to apply it to our lives. After all, every year we start out on a new project, we have resolutions that go unfinished 1 day after initiation. How can we become people that finish what we start, and finish with same product as imagined in the beginning?
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