Model Project Managers

Model Project Managers Dr. O.P. Kharbanda March 18, 2003

Project Management

Let’s randomly choose three model project managers with an entirely different backgrounds, but each unique in his own way—Mahatma Gandhi, Henry Ford and Benjamin Franklin. This is hardly a strange set of choices, when you keep in mind that the common denominator here is project. The Oxford Concise Dictionary (Ninth Edition, Oxford University Press, 1995) describes a project as: “A plan, a scheme, a planned undertaking, a long-term task,” etc., but we in the project management field know that it is unique. Just as two projects may be nearly identical, perhaps even mirror images of each other, they are nonetheless unique. No two project managers are alike, either, and these model project managers prove it.

Our first project manager choice is Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). After Gandhi's assassination in 1948, Albert Einstein said: “Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe, that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” Yet we know that such a man did indeed walk upon this earth and enriched the lives of millions. But what is his connection with projects? Directly, none; however, Gandhi's entire life mission can be thought of as hundreds of projects with the ultimate goal of an independent India. His quotes, often repeated and falsely attributed to other authors, of  “One step is enough for me!” and “The customer is king!” speak volumes for modern management. His autobiography, My Experiments With Truth, tells it all. See also the 24 short volumes, around 100 pages each, entitled Gandhi for the 21st Century (Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, 2nd Edition, 1998), the titles of which are indicative of Gandhi's projects: The Law of Love; The Message of Jesus Christ; The Hindu-Muslim Unity; Man versus Machine; Capital and Labor; Why Fear or Mourn Death? and Service Before Self: See the diversity of projects literally from A to Z, all by one person with an underlying message of unity and peace. Perhaps Gandhi should be awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously for both. Unfortunately, that cannot be—at least not yet, anyhow!

Among Gandhi's contemporaries, I choose Henry Ford (1863-1947), famous for the Model-T. Two of Ford's gems are: “"A market is never saturated,” and “The customer can have any color [of car], so long as it is black!” (If you want to learn more about Ford, read the notable biography, Henry Ford: Young Man With Ideas [Childhood of Famous Americans Series] by Hazel B. Aird.) As a child, Ford discovered the power of steam by just pressing the lid on a boiling pot. Among his other quotes applicable to project management are: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right,” and “The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life.” For Ford, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Here’s my personal favorite Ford quote: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.”

Our final model project manager, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), belongs to the eighteenth century. Intelligent with “passion, strength, devotion, charisma, tenacity, perseverance, generosity and forgiveness,” Franklin is considered to be one of the greatest American minds.  Basically self-educated, Franklin can be summed up simply as a “jack of all trades and master of many.” Son of a candle maker, he proved that with determination and dedication, success is assured.  Statesman, inventor, philanthropist, publisher, revolutionary and thinker, Benjamin Franklin can indeed be called an Enlightened American. Franklin not only lived, but also defined, the American dream. Overall a man of projects, he would read up everything he could find on a subject and then would go on to experiment. 

In my future articles, I will be freely quoting these three unique model project managers. Their biographies are essential reading for aspiring project managers worldwide, and their legacy is inspiring!

About the Author

A chemical engineer by profession and a project manager by experience and design, Dr. O.P. Kharbanda teaches essential coursework in the Masters of Business Administration program at Bajaj IITP (India) and at Rushmore University. MBA students worldwide use his 29 finance and management books as reference works. Nearly half of these titles relate to project management. Dr. Kharbanda has years of experience as a project manager on projects in the USA, United Kingdom and particularly in his native country of India.