The people who know me know that I work smart and fast. I prioritize well, and move swiftly from one task to the next. For most of life, it has been a source of pride, but I had one boss who changed that, giving me a completely different perspective on what I considered to be one of my better qualities.

He told me a story about when he was working for a local utility. He was out with his family on a weekend and spotted a company van pulled off to the side of the road with several men standing idly around. Despite the car full of family, he turned around and went to investigate. It turned out that the utility workers needed sign-off in order to do their work and no one with the proper seniority was available due to the weekend. My colleague signed off, work resumed and his family continued heading to their destination. The whole event took 10 minutes.

After telling the story, he told me “You’re so focused on completing your work, you would never stop to see if you could help that truck pulled off to the side of the road.” I’ve taken this lesson to heart and always try to spot the opportunities to help, even when no one is asking for it.

Project Management is like that. Yes, it is about making sure the project moves forward on schedule and budget, delivering a quality product. But it is also about realizing that an off-hand remark is really a risk, or understanding when a key stakeholder goes “radio silent” there is a deeper problem that requires management.

STIGroup has teams that can help you apply the latest in cyber security, managed service, human resource and project management solutions to your business. Reach out to see how we can help.