Well, that was the last century. We have now arrived in the Internet age, in which time is critical, and clearly a competitive weapon. Today, with accelerating technology, some products are obsolete within months. Move fast, or become history…
Project management today is not quite the same as it used to be in past decades. Budgets are tight, competition is fierce and time frames demanding. And the penalties for failure are severe.
我记得我尊重的技术大师过去宣讲的一个基本宗旨。他的公理：“项目可以是好，便宜且快速的 - 挑选任何两个。”在当今的竞争环境中，奖品将授予那些可以在没有妥协的情况下交付这三者的人。
Who are the best project managers? Can project management skills be taught? There are plenty of good management courses, but they teach only the general guidelines: define things up front; build a team; delegate well; communicate clearly; organize and manage information properly; use good work breakdown structures for staffing, scheduling, and supply; and don’t use wasted steps. But all those things are just theory—the paradoxes of good project management are absorbed only through practice. The best project managers become successful using wisdom that cannot be learned, or bought.
You’ve probably heard the expression, “Think outside the box.” It relates to the puzzle that shows nine dots that you must connect using only four straight lines, without any disconnect between the lines. Many people assume that they are limited to stay within the box, and end up finding it impossible. But it’s easy—if you go “outside the box,” as shown in the illustration here.
优秀的项目经理不会“假设”任何限制，即人，时间，时间，距离。许多据称的基本要求可以更改，最小化甚至消除。必须考虑每种实际可能性，而无需牺牲质量和性能。
I recall one consistently successful project manager who used free resources and excess inventory around the plant in ways that no one thought possible. He expanded time through working shifts around the clock. He was tough, but always fair with his people. They enjoyed working for him and competed to be on his team. They were proud to be on budget, on time, every time! To succeed, he simply went beyond normal hierarchical limits and conventional thinking—he operated “outside the box.”
Technology difference
当今技术开发的差异是技术本身 - 提供更便宜，更快，更有效的工具。有许多新的选择和选择使昨天的不可能成为可能。实时，网络调度软件可用于涉及多个时区远程位置之间密切合作的项目。人们有能力在不牺牲质量的情况下同时和无缝地工作以满足关键日程安排。
There is no trick to what I am pointing out—just plain, Internet-age common sense. Let me relate a real-life example.
1996年，当时相对较新的柯达首席执行官乔治·费舍尔（George Fisher）认识到，他的公司最好快速提出一个好的数码相机，或者冒着失去市场的风险。费舍尔问柯达开发项目小组开发新的数码相机需要多长时间。他们说三年 - 从传统意义上讲，这是一个合理的估计。
But, recognizing the company’s predicament, Fisher went “out of the box.” He gave the project to a rookie manager with orders to come up with a new digital camera within six months and put it into high-volume production to be available on the shelves by Christmas 1997.
The project manager accomplished the task. How? By using round-the-clock, Internet-based project management and product development teams at several worldwide Kodak development centers and alliance partners around the globe. While some slept, others were working and handing off results to others in the chain.
在当今快速发展的商业环境中，那些没有或无法看到新增长的可能性的公司失去了市场份额。令人高兴的是，有些人认识到机会。他们成为明天的领导人。
吉姆·平托（Jim Pinto）是行业分析师，评论员，作家，技术未来主义者和天使投资人。您可以通过电子邮件发送给他：jim@jimpinto.com。或审查prognostications and predictions on his
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