Welcome Professionals…

…You all have probably heard about a famous quote that is often used in the context of teamwork and motivation. It goes like this:

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men and women to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

There are several versions of this quote and most of the time it is associated with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry who is best known internationally as the author of “Le Petit Prince”. I don’t know if he is the definite originator, but for sure I have heard this quote a thousand times.

While the motivational saying sounds pursuading in general, I have never really seen this working in practice. Teams perform best when led by precise orders. Sure – go ahead an give your work some meaning! Every project leader shall feel blessed whose team is yearning for results.

But if this teaching “to yearn for the vast and endless sea” is all that a project leader does, odds are that team members spend endless hours at their desk yearning, without getting any tangible results. Or they pick the easiest jobs first, or they spent time in group discussions dividing the tasks themselves, or … – whatever.

If you want to get your ship done and you don’t have time to have the team figure it out by themselves, give clear and concise orders. Control work progress in a decent number of milestones. That’s the way to go!

Now I hope I get some push-back from the little prince lovers out there.

Good luck building your ship

Malte

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