Best laid plans

One of my pet hates in my life as a project manager was the director or boss that insisted on having a project timeline drawn up with major milestones and dates that had to be met “or else”. My gripe is not with the milestones, but with those people who insisted on them being set, then insisted on them being brought forward to make them look good – they had to be seen to be “moving things along”, and keeping the project “on track”. Of course, had they been barred from the whole thing, it would have run more smoothly, met the original milestones, and not have to have been repeatedly rescheduled to compensate for their interference – but then they wouldn’t have been able to stand up and announce how the they had  “fixed things” and kept the plan from being even later than it was now going to be.

We mentioned that the Pentalina catamaran was due to arrive in Scotland at the end of May, or shortly thereafter, now we need to correct that. She’s still at FBMA Marine’s yard at Cebu in the Philippines, awaiting more equipment, and is now expected to leave the yard early next month, and arrive here about 28 days later. Things look good, and she is also reported to have successfully completed her sea trials.

Announcing plans is a necessary evil that can’t be avoided, but I always think it’s something best done in a flexible and non-committal way. That way, no-one can notice your “best laid plans” haven’t quite hit the mark.