Do They Truly Agree?

A (rather emotionally unstable)
neighbor was throwing away
a cracked garbage bin.

I needed another garbage bin
for my backyard composting.
I planned to put holes
into it.
The additional crack
wouldn’t bother me.

I asked him
if I could have it.

He said, “Of course.”

I told him
I had to drop off
the things I was carrying
and would be back for it.

When I came back,
mere minutes later,
the garbage bin
had been smashed
into a thousand pieces.

People tend to agree
to EVERYTHING
asked of them.
They don’t want
to look unhelpful.

Their actions tell us
if they TRULY agree.

If you are counting
on that agreement,
test them
with a small action first.

Project Managers Align

The zucchini/courgette plants
are starting to flower.

These plants have male flowers
and female flowers
and you need both
to create viable fruit.

The male and female flowers
don’t always
flower at the same time.

It is the gardener’s job
to align them,
which sometimes means
picking the male flower
and saving it in the fridge
until a female flower flowers.

Project managers have a similar job.
We align people and tasks and resources
to ensure the production
of a viable product/service.

It doesn’t happen naturally.
It requires work.

Put in that work.