There are so many managements in the corporate world that I can no longer quote them.
They are all very important in their specific contexts. But after all, what are we managing? In particular, in the context of Project Management, whenever I ask this question, people get confused, not to say paralyzed. Some respond that we are managing costs, others, schedule and there are even those who say the scope or the stakeholders. They are all right, but within a certain limit.
If we think a little deeper about this we will see that, in reality, all we are managing are risks. Let me explain. How many certain things we have in life? Benjamin Franklin said: taxes and death. Maybe there are some other things besides that, but just a few. So, all the rest are uncertain events and they can, potentially, affect our goals and this is what we define as a risk. Therefore, we are dealing with risks all the time, no matter what we are managing. If there are no risks, there is no need for managing something, we simply do it.
If a client asks us to build a house until the end of the year, before Christmas, and says money is no problem, we won’t spend a single second planning costs, because the focus will be on time. There is no need to manage costs, since there is no risk to be over or under budget.
You have a critical task to be done and there are two available employees. One of them is an expert and the other is good, but not so much. If you don’t finish the task on time you will have to pay a fine. Which employee would you chose? You are not managing people. You are managing risks.
If you are behind schedule in your project, and if the product won’t be released in a few weeks, your organization will lose the time to market and a lot of money. So, you decide to perform some tasks in parallel to shorten the schedule. Are you managing time? Or your risks?
If there is a deliverable in your scope and you are not sure about the capability of your team to develop it, you can outsource it. This is not procurement management. This is a response to a risk.
If you are in a decision-making process, trying to choose between different alternatives, you are dealing with an uncertain future, and you will do your best to minimize your threats or maximize your opportunities. This is risk management.
Why do you brush your teeth? Why do you leave home earlier before an important job interview? Why do you work out? Why you are always trying to improve your professional skills? You are managing risks. All the time.
I can spend hours giving examples of what you are really doing at the core of every management process: Risk management. You always identify uncertain facts that may affect you, measure them, plan a response, implement it and monitor the process. No matter what you are managing or doing. The tools and techniques are different but behind everything, this is what you are doing in your everyday life.
Understanding this and developing your skills in risk management is very important. Incorporating this mindset and consciously integrate this attitude into your management processes makes the whole difference between success and failure.
At the moment you comprehend that, you see things in a different perspective and you abandon the naive approach that your plans will happen exactly as you dreamed and start having a more realistic view of your life, your projects and your business. Try to do it.