The Little Book of Big Decision Models

MODEL 65

JOHNSON’S THREE RULES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Use this as the basis for the project team’s reporting procedures.

Kelly Johnson famously devised 14 rules and practices for project work at the aircraft manufacturers Lockheed Martin. Many of these related to the working practices of the company, but contained within the list were three rules that have come to be seen as the bedrock for effective implementation of projects and decisions in both the private and public sectors.

JOHNSON’S THREE RULES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT ARE:

1. The number of people employed on the project must be kept to the minimum. The more people, the more complex communication and control become.

2. Meetings must be kept to a minimum. Johnson suggests a weekly team ...