The new reboot  Fantastic Four  movie is just out, and running parallel to the release is the controversy with Josh Trank, the director stepping back from the final product due to issues with Fox studios interference in the project. As a director of the movie, Josh Trank plays the same role a any project manager. He is responsible for the final product and steers the project in the right direction. A movie is a major project that has all the moving parts that needs a firm leadership to ensure it's final product is a major success. Some interesting point can be gleaned from this as a guidance for any project success. 1. Agree upfront on the requirements and scope of the project Each project should start with the list of requirements that all the stakeholders want to be present in the final product. These should be agreed upon upfront and be specifically called out. In this case, for example, 3 major action scenes were specified. 2. Key stakeholders should have ...

We all can remember that classic moment from the Peanuts cartoon where Lucy sets up the ball for Charlie Brown and pulls it away at the last moment when Charlie Brown goes to kick it.  I recently recalled this moment, when after almost completing an organization change process, the process was removed. I completely understand that there are times where due to the overall organizational needs, there is some tightening of the belts and areas of operations will get adjusted. Change is inevitable in any organization. The question here is, if the change becomes detrimental to the organization in the long run, the short term gains may not be as beneficial as it seems. If what you are expecting and working towards keeps getting moved, then after a while, exhaustion will set in and moving to that goal will no longer be a viable action for the person. Not all of us will be like Charlie Brown, and keep getting Lucy to hold the ball and trying to kick i...