The sum of all the parts - A lesson from the World Cup

After all the hype from the World Cup in South Africa, one very driving lesson that can be applicable for any Project Manager is that the sum of the team is worth more then any single star player.

France, previous world champions, had a team full of great stars like Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka.



Italy had Fabio Cannavaro, Simone Pepe and  Daniele De Rossi.


England has Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Ledley King and Peter Crouch.


Portugal had Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao, Tiago and Deco.

Big names in their own right but when put together somehow could not deliver the goods. Similarly when forming a project team, you may have the brightest resources available, but if the team does not gel together and work effectively, then the outcome of the project will surely be in jeopardy. A good project manager is able to bring all these resources together and unite them in a common goal. It is not an easy task to gather and motivate a group of people to move as one, to support each other and to utilize each others strengths as well as to help each other improve on their weaknesses.  This is an essential skill that each PM needs to develop and to successfully apply in order to run a good and successful project.

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