What on earth does gardening have to do with projects?  Well…projects are defined as a series of structured tasks, activities, and deliverables that are carefully executed to achieve a desired outcome.  Furthermore, they are seen as temporary endeavors undertaken to create a unique project service or result.

Gardens too have similar traits albeit the temporary nature of some gardens is relative.  An overseas visitor to the United Kingdom once asked a gardener of the late Queen how long it took to make Windsor Castle gardens look like royalty…the gardener replied, “about 900 years”.

Perhaps the original gardener only thought of growing a few trees, a lawn, flowers and perhaps some vegetables rather than producing an international and historical icon.  So, what can we learn from gardening?

Initiation, Planning and Development

Almost every endeavor starts with initiation of some sort followed by at least some rudimentary planning prior to the start of execution.  Despite such preparation the wild enthusiasm of a new venture and preconceived ideas must be adapted during execution and as things eventually pan out.

Our gardeners don’t just plant a few seeds, shrubs and saplings and leave them to grow.  They consider the time it takes for plants and trees to grow as well as the risks associated with weather, the fertility of the soil, and the resources needed.  The many stakeholders who inhabit and use or abuse their garden must also be addressed.

The gardener also needs to manage the scope of the garden and the environment in which it will exist, as well as the costs and the returns on investment be they monetary in terms of sales of fruit, vegetables, and flowers but also the provision of amenity and pleasure.  Gardening, like managing projects, should also provide some fun and enjoyment rather than just toil.

Stakeholders & Risk

Project Stakeholders can take on many guises from the active protagonists who treat it as their own to the those who have little interest until something goes wrong.  Stakeholders contribute to a project’s risk profile and, like risks, if they are not managed then the triple constraint of time, cost and quality can be severely tested.

Gardens too have a multitude of stakeholders who are, by definition, “an individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project. Program or portfolio.”  However, garden stakeholders are not necessarily people and while some can be supportive others, as on projects, are pests and parasites.

And then there is risk.  Projects consider risks in terms of technical, economic, political, and social categories as well as considering time, cost, procurement, resources, quality, stakeholders, and the physical environment.  Gardeners also need to address risks and to manage them it requires, quite literally, hands-on management and a high degree of monitoring and control, after all it can be a matter of life and death.

Monitoring & Control

Iin projects there tends to be a lot of monitoring, but ‘control’ can be reactive.  Reaction in a garden environment often means hard work and if problems or risks that arise aren’t addressed quickly then a garden can be ruined.  Gardeners also need to keep a weather-eye open rather than just metaphorically as high winds, hail, frost, and snow can decimate their work.

An infestation of green-fly or an invasion of slugs and snails can devastate some species overnight, so it’s not just about monitoring there’s a need for vigilance.  Invasive weeds or errant plants need to be cut back, and even cultivated plants need to be trimmed and pruned before they become overgrown.  A once prim and proper garden can easily become an unkempt jungle if we our eye is taken off the ball and there is the temptation to rest on yesterday’s laurels.

Gardeners walk around and see what is, as well as what is not happening and quickly fix, repair, and maintain things.  They quickly kill parasites, trim errant plants, and prune and cut growth that is out of kilter.  Seasonal crops are harvested, flowers cut, and fruit picked rather than being left to rot.  And removing dead wood that is not contributing to the greater good is essential.

Constant Gardening

A neglected garden can be easily recognized.  Overgrown grass and invasive weeds or bald patches are easily spotted as are roses that have become briar.  Fallen branches and upswept leaves with unpicked and rotten fruit are a sign of uninterest while, when coupled with a mass of weeds with tangled undergrowth readily shows the signs of negligence that neglect brings.

Projects also suffer from negligence but for the most part it’s not always immediately obvious, things in projects often take more time to germinate than in gardens.  In a garden the responsibility and duty of care falls on the gardener and his or her team and similarly that for project delivery lies with the project team and the Project Manager.

Whilst a garden is a living thing, projects are inanimate but the success of both depends on the performance and attitude of people who can either make or break them.  Our gardeners are constantly tendering to and nurturing gardens and if they don’t then failure will result.  Similarly, our project managers need to tend to their own ‘garden’ and remove deadwood before it falls and weed out those who adversely affect or stultify others.  But it’s not just about adverse elements.  For those who show signs of promise they should be nurtured while others should be encouraged to grow.

Project Managers need to be constant, as well as diligent gardeners as neglect of their own ‘garden’ may well lead to negligence and failure.

Concluding Remarks

Many years ago, I worked on a major infrastructure project with a cohesive team and no real barriers.  Constructive and oftentimes boisterous arguments were commonplace but in the end the arguments were about getting the job right rather than imposing and growing egos.

The project was the start of a major program of projects and when our project manager left and the other projects started, he said, somewhat profoundly, that “and now the garden fences will be built.”  He was so right.

From having one garden with several gardeners the program soon became many gardens with a few competing gardeners.  Fortunately, our Project Director took the role of ‘head gardener.’  The hierarchical system of lead gardeners in small gardens, or allotments, was replaced by a team effort and a matrix organization ensued.  Deadwood was removed and overgrowth was trimmed which resulted in a successful project.

Too many cooks can spoil the broth but too many gardeners can lead to the unfortunate experience of being led up those all too familiar but well-trodden garden paths of overwhelming disappointment and underwhelming performance.  The rose-tinted spectacles of wild enthusiasm can tend to obscure the reality of the briar that can so easily and quickly take over the order of even the best well-tended Rose Garden.

Bio:

Malcolm Peart is an UK Chartered Engineer & Chartered Geologist with over thirty-five years’ international experience in multicultural environments on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro, hydro, airports, tunnels, roads and bridges. Skills include project management, contract administration & procurement, and design & construction management skills as Client, Consultant, and Contractor.