Managing Projects in the Real World: The Tips and Tricks No One Tells You About When You Start

Leading When the Music Stops

Ever been to a cakewalk? This was a quaint and rather popular social fundraiser when I was a kid. The idea here is that a table holding a delicious cake is placed in the middle of a circle of chairs. Participants walk around the chairs while some jaunty tune plays. The music is then stopped suddenly and everyone scrambles for a chair. The poor schmuck who’s left standing after the scramble loses; a chair is taken away, and the music is played again. This continues until there’s only one lucky winner sitting in the last chair and that guy goes home with the cake. In project management, the music stops and your project ...