[ Thanks to Daniel
Bertrand for this link. ]
Linux, says this article, is a mindset that project managers
could stand to learn from.
Most people familiar with what Eric Raymond has written about
hacker culture will find this old territory.
“Traditionally, a project manager is the person who
makes sure that all budgets, deadlines, and schedules are met.
There are any number of tools they may use to get the job
done–work breakdowns, network diagrams, scheduling charts, and so
on. I would argue, though, that being skilled at using such tools
is less important than having a good outlook–one that encourages
cooperation, yet gives each worker the opportunity to be creative.Many project managers, though, fail to heed employees’ concerns,
skills, and aspirations. Indeed, the New Hacker’s Dictionary
defines management as follows: “Corporate power elites
distinguished primarily by their distance from actual productive
work and their chronic failure to manage (see also suit).”