Here's part two 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.
lthough reading about managing project teams is helpful, film is the best thing next to actual experience. Trouble is, no studio would ever green-light a script about project management. Here's what would happen. Screenwriter: "I've got this great idea for a film about project management." Movie Mogul: "Security, get this guy out of my office!" So we have to make do with great films that weren't meant to be about project management, but which have lessons for us anyway.
Here's Part Two of a little catalog that's both entertaining and enlightening. Check out Part One too.
For learning about project management, film is probably the best thing next to actual experience
Twelve Angry Men
The jury retires to deliberate, and right away it's 11-1 to convict, but one dissenter gradually brings the rest around. Watch it for the drama, or watch it to learn something about groupthink, leadership, team conflict, and team dynamics. Dir: Sidney Lumet. Lee J. Cobb, Henry Fonda, and many more greats. 1957. DVD: 96 min. .
The Flight of the Phoenix
A planeload of oil workers crashes in the Sahara, and struggles to find a way to survive and to get help. Even today, this is a great adventure film, but watch it a second and third time, and more, to learn about organizational change, leadership, problem solving and team dynamics. Dir. Robert Aldrich. James Stewart, Richard Attenborough. 1965. VHS: 147 min. .
The Wizard of Oz
Several times in this classic, we see the consequences of failing to nail down requirements. Still, because the team is so cohesive, it survives even these repeated surprises. Dir: King Vidor, Victor Fleming. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan. 1939. DVD: 101 min. .
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Here's a look at scope creep from another angle: rather than greed, we can see other causes such as unanticipated problems, lack of focus, and poor management of the team. Dir: H.C. Potter. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy. 1948. DVD: 94 min. .
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Here's a great example of getting so lost in the work that we can forget what's really important. Also a study of the tension between managing the team with respect for their humanity, and managing them by force and coercion. Dir: David Lean. William Holden, Alec Guinness. 1957. DVD: 161 min. .
Witness
A cop thriller set in Amish country, the plot winds its way through the Amish community. We get telling glimpses of the connection between team and community, and in one marvelous sequence showing a barn-raising, we see how important team and community really are. But all through the film we see examples of the importance of roles and the inherent value of all roles. Dir: Peter Weir. Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis. 1985. DVD: 112 min. .
Ground Hog Day
Ever have that feeling you've been here before and can't seem to get out? Here's a hilarious fantasy that shows you a vast array of approaches for dealing with the same situation in new ways. Dir: Harold Ramis. Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell. 1993. DVD: 101 min. .
If you have suggestions for other entries in this catalog, please send them along. But if you want to pitch an idea for a film about project management, I'll call Security. TopNext Issue
Reader Comments
Anonymous
Thanks for the tips. I was looking for films for our boy scout troop.
How about The Great Escape? Teamwork, coordination, planning, sabotage, the loose cannon doing his own thing (Steve McQueen). []
Rick: Good one! (though fictionalized, as many are). By the way, in the end, the loose cannon did join the team — by escaping (at the behest of the "project manager") to do reconnaissance, and then letting himself be caught. Even before that, the "project manager" let him do his own thing, because the absence of any escape activity at all would have appeared suspicious. (If I recall correctly, that is) One other thought made clear in The Great Escape: the project manager asked team members to do what they did best.
Anonymous: You are of course correct about the loose cannon, the sacrifice he made, the "project manager" using each members' special skills. By the way, another friend suggested Master and Commander too. [] The ship as the perfect machine, a blending of men and "technology". It is a movie about complex relationships between men (not guys, so common today) and a glorious (and bloody, dirty, ugly) exploration of duty, leadership, sacrifice, responsibility, and...relaxation. An especially important point is the delicate dance to correctly gauge discipline (of absolute importance), punishment, and leniency.
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In group problem solving, diversity of opinion and healthy, reasoned debate ensure that our conclusions take into account all the difficulties we can anticipate. Lock-step thinking — and limited debate — expose us to the risk of unanticipated risk.
Some people in your organization have done really outstanding work. You want to recognize that work, but the budget is so small that anything you could do would be insulting. What can you do? Express your Appreciation and Trust.
Sometimes we get in over our heads — too much work, work we don't understand, or even complex politics. We can ask for help, but we often forget that we can. Even when we remember, we sometimes hold back. Why is asking for help, or remembering that we can ask, so difficult? How can we make it easier?
What makes a great team? What traits do you value in teammates? Project teams can learn a lot from the latest thinking about designing teams for extended space exploration.
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Public seminars
Person-to-Person Communication for Project Managers
When we talk, listen, send or read emails, read or write memos, or when we leave or listen to voice mail messages, we're communicating person-to-person. And whenever we communicate person-to-person, we risk being misunderstood, offending others, feeling hurt, and being confused. There are so many ways for things to go wrong that we could never learn how to fix all the problems. A more effective approach avoids problems altogether, or at least minimizes their occurrence. In this very interactive program you'll learn a model of inter-personal communications that can help you stay out of the ditch. In those moments of intense involvement, when we're most likely to slip, you'll have a new tool to use to keep things constructive. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:
Organizational Politics for People Who Hate Politics
Have you ever felt powerless to implement an important new idea? Have you ever been "blind-sided" at a meeting? Have you ever lost two good employees because you could find no way to keep them from attacking each other? These are some of the issues of organizational politics. Many of us have become enmeshed in them from time to time, but we've also known some people who seem to be able to engage and prosper. How is that done? We'll inventory the challenges of organizational politics, and provide tools for anticipating and addressing them. The focus of this program is practical — attendees learn concrete techniques for dealing with the problems that arise in workplace politics, while keeping their integrity intact. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:
Managing global or dispersed teams is challenging — miscommunications, misunderstandings, and interpersonal conflict all thrive in the typical environment of the distributed team. And they're even more common in global teams, because of time-zone offsets and language and cultural differences. We'll inventory the challenges distributed and global teams face, and provide tools for anticipating and addressing them. The focus of this program is practical — attendees will learn concrete techniques for preventing and dealing with the problems that accompany global and distributed teams. Read more about this program. Here are some upcoming dates for this program:
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:
Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts is filled with tips for executives, senior managers, managers of project managers, and sponsors of projects in project-oriented organizations. Check it out!
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