Einstein Project Management Tip #1: Goals Rule

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of PMThink (yep, we've passed the one-year mark and now have over 1,000 posts - meeting our goal for the first year), I've decided to have a little fun by tapping the mind of the greatest "thinker" of all time----Albert Einstein.

To many, Albert Einstein is synonymous with the word "genius," and rightfully so. In fact, the part of his brain responsible for mathematical and visual/spacial thinking was discovered to be 15% greater than the average human. In addition, it lacked the usual groove that runs through that area, which supposedly enabled his neurons to communicate more effectively. In other words, he's someone worth learning from.

Over the next few weeks, I'll enter some posts highlighting his quotes as they apply to project management. Think Einstein doesn't have anything to do with project management? Think again. Here's the first one...

"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age."

The same could be said for project management today. With all the focus on execution and delivery, many project managers fail because they make a huge assumption that the goals and requirements are clear. As we strive to perfect the ability to finish on-time and on-budget, let's not forget the need to make sure that the goals of the sponsor are crystal clear, since that's where most projects fall short.

Stay tuned for more "Einstein project management tips."