how to be a great project manager

Reacting Emotionally

A subcontractor responded
extremely rudely
and over-the-top emotionally
to one of my questions.

My first reaction,
based purely on emotion,
was to tell him
to f*ck off.
I’d work
with someone else
to finish the job.

Except that
might have placed the project
in jeopardy.

It would have definitely
delayed the project’s completion.

So I sucked back
my anger
and I am continuing to work
with him.

For this project.

For future projects,
I’ll work with other people.

And he definitely won’t
be receiving any referrals
from me.

Don’t make decisions
or shift relationships
based on emotion.

Think before you react.

We had an outside project manager
for our solar project.

He sucked great big donkey b@lls.

He was terrible at scheduling
and time management.
But we would have been
okay with that
if he had communicated
the changes in scheduling.

He told us
work would start
on X day.

On X day,
we cleared our schedules
and waited around the site
for the team to arrive.

They never arrived.
The start day had been pushed back
yet again
and the project manager
didn’t inform us.

Communication is a HUGE part
of project management.

Aligning everyone
is often 90%
of the project manager role.

The right people have to be
in the right places
completing the right tasks
at the right time.

Ensure you communicate well
and often.