July 28, 2004	Volume 4, Issue 30
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Films Not About Project Teams:
Part I

by Rick Brenner

Here's part one of a list of films and videos about project teams that weren't necessarily meant to be about project teams. Most are available to borrow from the public library, and all are great fun.

People who work together in teams face challenges that go beyond the problem to be solved, and even beyond the technologies employed to solve that problem. They must work together under conditions ranging from calm to crisis. But because people have been working together as long as there have been people, we can learn how to work on projects from almost any story of people.

For learning about
project management,
film is probably
the best thing
next to actual experienceFilm can help. Here's Part One of a list of some of my favorites. All of them have something to say to those of us who work on projects. And check out Part Two of this list.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

A study of scope creep and team dynamics. Humphrey Bogart's "Dobbs" gives us insight into one particular source of scope creep — ambition. The team dynamics that develop as a consequence of Dobbs's greed are often mirrored in project teams. Dir: John Huston. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston. 1948. DVD: 126 min. .

Apollo 13

Watch and learn how Ed Harris's Gene Kranz, flight director, makes the right decisions to lead the team back from the brink of disaster. We also see team dynamics under extreme stress, both in the capsule and on the ground, and good examples of CYA and state-of-the-art group problem-solving. Dir: Ron Howard. Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon. 1995. DVD: 140 min. .

NOVA: Super Bridge

Apollo 13 Shoulder Patch
Courtesy NASA.

A documentary by US Public Television's Nova that follows the construction of a suspension bridge over the Mississippi just above St. Louis. Follow the designers and constructors through a bewildering tangle of delays, technological problems, floods, and biting cold as they deal with all obstacles to make the bridge a reality. Narrator: Hal Holbrook. 1997. VHS: 120 min. .

Mutiny on the Bounty

Make your project plan carefully, and don't bet on things working the way you want them to. Captain Bligh went for the gold, and ended up losing — he had to backtrack from Cape Horn, lost a year, and then tried to make up the schedule on the backs of the crew. A study in managing by force vs. leadership. Dir: Frank Lloyd. Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone. 1935. DVD: 132 min. .

Defending Your Life

An example of how not to run a project retrospective. Dir: Albert Brooks. Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep. 1991. DVD: 112 min. .

The Last Place on Earth

Originally produced for US Public Television's Masterpiece Theater, this story of the race to the South Pole between two expeditions led by Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen is based on the masterwork of the same name by Roland Huntford. When viewed as a case study in project management, it explores the issues of focus, risk management, conventional wisdom, science, and innovation. Dir. Ferdinand Fairfax. Martin Shaw, Sverre Anker Ousdal. 1984. DVD: 396 min. . .

If you look at just one of these per month, you'll be busy for half a year. Do you have favorites of your own? Send them along!  Top    Next Issue

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More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

Working Journals

Keeping a journal about your work can change how you work. You can record why you did what you did, and why you didn't do what you didn't. You can record what you saw and what you only thought you saw. And when you read the older entries, you can see patterns you might never have noticed any other way.

Virtual Conflict

Conflict, both constructive and destructive, is part of teamwork. As virtual teams become more common, we're seeing more virtual conflict — conflict that crosses site boundaries. Dealing with destructive conflict is difficult enough face-to-face, but in virtual teams, it's especially tricky.

Tactics for Asking for Volunteers: Part I

CEOs, board chairs, department heads and team leads of all kinds sometimes seek people to handle specific, time-limited tasks. Asking the group for volunteers works fine — usually. There are alternatives.

Four Popular Ways to Mismanage Layoffs: Part II

Staff reduction is needed when expenses overtake revenue. But when layoffs are misused, or used too late, they can harm the organization more than they help. Here's Part II of an exploration of four common patterns of mismanagement, and some suggestions for those managers and other employees who recognize the patterns in their own companies.

Tangled Thread Troubles

Even when we use a facilitator to manage a discussion, managing a queue for contributors can sometimes lead to problems. Here's a little catalog of those difficulties.

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Project Management for more related articles.

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Public seminars

The Race to the South Pole: Ten Lessons for Project Managers

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough, but to project managers, the story is fascinating. Lessons abound. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarNorthern Quest Casino, 100 N Hayford Rd, Airway Heights, WA 99001: June 11, Professional Development Day, Inland Northwest Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Register now.
   

The Race to the South Pole: The Power of Agile Development

On 14 December 1911, four men led by Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole. Thirty-five days later, Robert F. Scott and four others followed. Amundsen had won the race to the pole. Amundsen's party returned to base on 26 January 1912. Scott's party perished. As historical drama, why this happened is interesting enough. Lessons abound. Among the more important lessons are those that demonstrate the power of the agile approach to project management and product development. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• Download to
  your calendarThe Yard, 1211 South Mammoth Road, Manchester, NH 03109: June 15, Seminar, New Hampshire Chapter of the Project Management Institute.
   

The Politics of Meetings for People Who Hate Politics

There's a lot more to running an effective meeting than having the right room, the right equipment, and the right people. With meetings, the whole really is more than the sum of its parts. How the parts interact with each other and with external elements is as important as the parts themselves. And those interactions are the essence of politics for meetings. This program explores techniques for leading meetings that are based on understanding political interactions, and using that knowledge effectively to meet organizational goals. Read more about this program. Here's an upcoming date for this program:

• TBD, Mansfield, MA: August 21, Regional Event, PMI MassBay, PMI Central Mass, Ocean State PMI, PMI Keene, PMI Southern New England.