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“Fresh out of school, you are

storming the gates with a head ful l

of knowledge and a heart ful l of

eager. Take a breath. Gather your

confidence. Move forward with the

patience to listen. Nobody is going

to give you a project

based on your

knowledge alone.

Managing projects

takes maturity. More

specifical ly, it takes

the maturity to l isten.

And learn from what you hear.

Demonstrate this maturity and be

confident that the same brains and

spirit that got you to this point can

get you to the next phase of your

l ife.

“You are coming into a complex

world built by hard work,

happenstance, quick thinking and

forces beyond our control.

“Things may not always be

operating by the book or even close

to any chapter in the book. But they

are operating. And running. And

moving.

“Understand how the machine

works before trying to fix it.

Understand why the machine came

to work the way it did. I t may not be

perfect, but it works. People who

are there already or who were there

before you are your best source of

knowledge. They can tel l you the

why's and the what's. I f you listen

careful ly enough, they wil l tel l you

the how's. They know how the

machine works and who to talk to,

what levers to pull ,

which people to

speak to, to get

things done.

“The mayor of a

major city came into

office and made it a point to

frequently meet with his

predecessor. For one hour his

predecessor would yell at him at

what a rotten job he was doing. The

next hour his predecessor would

dole out priceless pearls of insight

into running the city. The mayor

eventually left office and his

successor came in. He never met

with the previous mayor. He didn' t

want to l isten. He got himself

elected but never stood in front of

his predecessor and listened. He is

now in jai l . True story.

“Remember, people are the most

important aspect of any project.

People deliver results. Work with

them and you' l l be fine. And listen. ”

“Understand how themachine works before

trying to fix it.”

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@markphil l ipspm

http://www.reinventingcommunication.net

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Mark Phil l ips is an accomplished CEO and thought leader with a passion for

project communication. For over seventeen years, he has built a project

management software company, Vertabase, and consultancy servicing

clients including multinational automotives, web start-ups and financial

services. He led product development on a cutting-edge US Army Research

Lab program.

He is the author of Reinventing Communication by Gower Publishing.

Mark is known for finding and delivering innovative solutions in complex

environments. His work has appeared in publications including Project

Manager Today, Measurable News, eWeek and the Small Wars Journal. He

delivers keynotes, seminars and workshops worldwide.

_

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