The Fantasy Project League

Every sporting season brings with it another league from a parallel universe... the fantasy league.  This is where people get to "play Frankenstein" with their sport and build the perfect team specimen.  I'm always amused by the fervor with which sports addicts approach this little scenario.  They amuse me.

But maybe I shouldn't be so condescending about it.  What if... and mind you, I'm just saying what if... we project managers could do the same thing?  Who would be on your fantasy project team?  (The rules are simple... pick anybody... living or dead... fictional or non-fictional.  Once somebody has been chosen, they're off the roster for another person's team.)

For example, as my ideal project manager, I think I would choose Moses.  Relatively level headed, he's able to lead massive resources over long durations.  Although, the long duration would have been a lot shorter if he and his team had just listened to their Project Sponsor in the first place.

For the project controller, how about General Petraeus?  After all, can that man write a status report that gets people talking?

The risk manager is easy:  Bob the Builder.  All he ever says is, "Can we fix it?  YES WE CAN!"  I really want that go-to/can-do mindset on my project team.

Subject matter experts?  Hmmm, I suppose it would depend on the project, but how about a team of Leonardo da Vinci and Hermione Granger (Harry Potter fans know who she is).  After all, you want people who really know a lot about a lot of stuff and aren't afraid to tell others how much they know.  Perhaps throw in some of Albert Einstein's humility just to make them bearable.

For the project office manager, my pick would have to be MacGyver.  Richard Dean Anderson's character could make anything out of duct tape and discarded wire, and I want that level of innovative scrappiness when devising our project templates.

The project sponsor is the toughest of all.  Maybe Jesus.  He was able to set a vision and then entrust it to others to execute and knew when to get out of the way.  He also knew when to kick some Pharisee tail, when they tried to sabotage his project.

OK, that's MY fantasy project team.  Who would be on yours?  Let the games begin!

Comments

[Jerimi Kopsa]

Project Sponsor = God - How can anyone argue that? (Excluding Atheists)

Project Manager = Tim Johnson (Okay not really, but there’s no better way to get brownie points than to put your professor on a pedestal with Mosses).

SMEs = Ken Jennings – The guy won 74 Jeopardy shows straight. He Knows Almost Everything (unfortunately a large portion is useless)! .
= Bill Gates (the man we all love to hate) – He made billions of $ by creating something that began in his garage a decade earlier. Plus you are more likely to get the IT support needed if Bill Gates is on your Project Team.

Risk Manager = A Chuck Norris Bobblehead. All questions will be framed up with the question “Is it okay if I proceed with ______.” I chose Chuck Norris because if anyone pushed back on a decision, the project manager can tell them to take it up with Chuck Norris!

Project Controller = Hitler (Although this may not be a popular choice) - He had a way of getting people to do whatever he wanted, even if they knew it was wrong. However, I may have some internal project management tribulations by having Hitler and God on the same project team????

I am willing to put this fantasy team up to any project challenge.

Thanks,
Jerimi

[Timothy Johnson]

Jerimi - awesome selection although I agree with assessment that Hitler and God may have some issues with each other. Thanks for playing along... very creative. It would be interesting to see how well the fantasy football fanatics would do on this league.

[Elizabeth]

The project sponsor ... I'd have to make this one a tag team, GOD and Jesus.
Having GOD on my team is critical, in everyday life I pray for guidance. Besides having the LORD of all creation on your team is never a bad idea.
Jesus was able to set a vision and then entrust it to others to execute and knew when to get out of the way. He also knew how to make a point and make it stick, throwing over the tables of the money changers in the temple. "You are making my father's house a den of thieves." Clear and concise is a good thing. :)

(I don't think your rule shouldn't apply to GOD and Jesus, they have enouph to go around something about being all powerful and ever present.)

As my ideal project manager, I think I would have to go with Jacob. Relatively level headed, eventually Pharaoh trusted him with his whole kingdom so the guy has to have some serious management skills. He'd be companionate, after all his been threw a lot his own brothers tried to kill him, failed and decided to sale him into slavery. Dude, that would give anybody a good dose of humility. An arrogant leader doesn't win respect, a companionate leader inspires loyalty.

For the project controller, how about General Erwin Rommel, aka the desert fox. he was a world war 2 general for the Germans. His nickname says it all. But just to clarify he’s the General who cost the allies dearly in the campaign in North Africa

The risk manager: My mom, Esther Lyn; she's spent most of her life in ether the military or government service so she's used to working with very little in really bad working conditions. Her, GOD and Jesus are going to have some serious issues to start off with but she has a biblical name so I have every confidence GOD can fix her before going forward with the project. :)

Subject matter experts? Albert Einstein, besides it's never a bad idea to have a good Jew on your team. (the original post only used one of his attributes not the whole man)
The guy who invented pasteurization, Louie Pasture; at lest I think that's how his name is spelled. He lived in a century when there was very little scientific understanding and still came up with pasteurization. The inventor of Byzantine flame thrower, those I don’t think anyone knows who actually invented it I’ll take my chances.

For the project office manager I'd need a team, my good friend who works for NASA labs (in house IT support), my dad who is a former Marine sniper spotter and had his own mortgage company at one time, his years in the core mean that he can make anything out of duct tape and discarded wire, innovation is key.