“Right Stuff” is a book written by Tom Wolfe in late 70s that won American book award for non-fiction. This is a story about about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft.
This is a story set in 40s and 50s when the mortality rate of the test pilots was very high. They had a certain underlying belief that kept their morale up. They believed that the machine could never let you down and if you had the right stuff you will always survive; the unspoken and unwritten code of bravery and machismo that persuaded these men to ride atop dangerous rockets. In the foreword to a new edition published in 1983 at the time the film adaptation was released, Wolfe wrote that his "book grew out of some ordinary curiosity" about what "makes a man willing to sit up on top of an enormous Roman candle… and wait for someone to light the fuse.
The right stuff is not an algorithm that you can learn by heart. It is sum total of a variety of Attitudes, Knowledge and Skill.
What I intend to discuss in this article is a set of attributes that makes up the right stuff for a project man. These are not what Tom Wolf observed for an astronaut. These are some of my observations from my experience which I have grouped as the right stuff for the prject man. I don’t say this is comprehensive nor can I give you the recipe on how to mix this together.
When we try to identify the right stuff for the project man we need to first appreciate what is so uniquely different about Project Management in comparison with General Management. It is the ‘level of uncertainty’ which requires multiple skills to manage.
In this context of managing uncertainty let us look at the ‘stuff’ that makes the ‘right stuff?’
i. Don’t Give Up…
This represents your ability to persist and look out for a new window when one after another the windows close, because when you handle uncertainty you should be capable to continuously come up with new ideas and options. You should critically evaluate what works and dump the ones that don’t. Don’t get married to your ideas. Be ready to divorce, if the idea doesn’t work.
ii. The Seal Motto ..
My God, My Country, My team and then Me.
I’ve read somewhere that the most diversified commando force of the US government called the SEALS (on account of their proficiency in fighting in sea, land and air) have an ingrained order of sacrifice. First be ready to kill yourself for the sake of your team and then be ready to sacrifice the team for the country which stands only one step below God. (This may be a romanticized version of the story; or just plain fiction. But I like the relevance in this context)
Very often the priority chart for many is exactly in the reverse order. Ready to dump the company for your gang and ready to dump your gang for your self-interest.
You need the same S’EAL binding Philosophy’ as a team and commitment to a project to be a successful project man.
iii. Right Fighting Spirit
‘Fight when you Plan and Fight when you dissect. But when you implement, fight as one.’
As we are trying to manage high levels of uncertainty, the team should have the maturity and strength to put each idea to the furnace of critical evaluation and to dissect each mistake with the vengeance of a ruthless attorney.
At the same time when you take a decision, it should be a collective one. Each one should own the decision whether you supported the idea in the first place or not. No one should dare to work towards proving his point at the cost of implementation- no room for “I_told_u_so”
iv. Get Out of the Box.
Don’t get caught up in your ideas and stereotyped readymade solutions. Be willing to experiment beyond the ordinary, with focus on the end-result and not anything else.
v. Self Confidence
““Nothing great has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances.” Bruce Barton
You need enormous self confidence to push ahead with what you believe is right. This is important to the leader as well as each member of the team.
vi. Show your Guts.
Project management need lots of guts to push and bully many uncommon ideas at uncommon speeds. You seldom gets chance to test out all your assumptions or point our credible references. Then your strength of conviction and the courage to take a position becomes very critical.
vii. Be in Synch
In projects the speed of change is quite high. The normal communication channel often fails in keeping each member updated about any new development. So each person should have the ability to judge the impact of any change in his area in the areas of others. He should take special effort to bring this to the attention of the affected party.
The project team should also have mechanisms in place to broadcast key developments to each member of the team.
viii. Fire in the belly
Every member of a project team should be a person with fire in the belly, a burning passion to make a difference and make things happen.
ix. Self Driven-SETI Vs Master Slave
Normal management structure often follows the Master Slave Model with the master distributing work and the slaves executing them. When a slave has a slack, he waits for a new job to be assigned and till then he is idling.
A project management team should follow the SETI@ home model (SETI @ home is a virus like program sitting in your computer, crunching numbers to support ‘Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence’ when your CPU is free from your work) polling his team for meaningful support when he has a slack.
x. Have Fun
Most important of all you should have fun in what you do. You should enjoy the challenges and the heartache as enriching experiences and not as sufferings in hell.
xi. Walk the Talk
A project manger should be a leader who leads from the front and not from the armchair. Be ready to roll up your sleeves and get grease in your hands.
xii. It is all in your mind..
Develop an attitude that takes pride in looking ahead and not rest on your laurels.
My favorite quote that portrays this spirit, is by Barnard Shaw
“I dread the word success. To have succeeded is to have finished one’s goal in life. Like the Male Spider that gets eaten up once it succeeds in its courtship. I like the world of continuous becoming. With a goal in front and not behind”
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