The Project Leader’s Guide to Steering Clear of Karmic Debt
When a friend suggested that I might benefit from meditation, and generally taking a more “Zen” approach to project management, I had my doubts. How in the world was I going to get anything done while being tranquil?!! Too much serenity is bad for results. On a deadline-driven project the very words “tranquil” and “serene” have the stench of impending disaster. They are filed in my subconscious right alongside phrases like “no progress to report” and “we tried our best.” Visions of status review meetings featuring updates like “everything is unfolding as the universe intended” and “it just wasn’t meant to be” popped into my adrenaline-soaked brain. No way was I going to let thousands of years of introspective tradition anywhere near my projects!
From what I understand, Zen promises the cessation of suffering. No suffering? Project managers unite! This could be a serious threat to our livelihood, since many projects are intended to end one form of suffering or another—insufficient revenues from new products, excessive costs, inefficient processes. And I think a majority of experienced project leaders would agree that most projects either include or inflict a great deal of suffering.
Not that I don’t appreciate inner peace, mind you. I wrote this entire article while sitting in the lotus position. I am always searching for ways to get in touch with that calm, quiet place within—but faster and with more surefire results than old-fashioned techniques like deep contemplation or lengthy introspection. (Did you ever notice that the word meditation is very close to the word medication? Coincidence? I think not.) But sometimes the only force driving a team forward is the nagging feeling that doom is just a couple of steps behind. And, practically speaking, what busy project leader really has time to linger in the inner sanctum of their subconscious? I’ve heard that you should meditate for at least 30 minutes a day, unless you are too busy, in which case a full hour is required. Ha! Imagine what the PMs of this world could do with 60 more minutes a day! Global warming would succumb to our collective might! Poverty, disease, and unfashionable dress among technically gifted engineers would fall before our cumulative strength!
Read the entire article at Project Connections.