Over a series of posts I will summarize what I learnt from the excellent book by Dan Ariely “The honest truth about dishonesty” and talk about how the lessons apply to project management. It is an excellent book and one that I highly recommend that you buy.
I discovered Dan Ariely through the enlightening “Behavioural Economics” course on edx.
Benefits of cheating v risk of being caught and possible punishment. Cheating is a logical choice if the benefits outweigh the chance of getting caught or punishment
But it is not unlimited, people cheat but try and stay to a level of cheating that they can live with. So our own sense of morality is connected to the amount of cheating we are comfortable with. So we cheat up to a level that allows us to retain our self image as reasonably honest individuals.
Conflicting motivations – We want to benefit from cheating and earn as much money as possible while being able to look at ourselves in the mirror and see an honest person
Cognitive flexibility – we cheat just a bit
The fudge factor – how much we are willing to cheat by and still feel good
Oscar Wilde – “morality is like art, it means drawing a line somewhere”
How does this apply to project management?
The Project Manager must be careful when they accept cost proposals, direction or information. While I want the world to be an honest and pleasant place it is unfortunately not always the case. So I need to understand the motivations behind the information and actions of everyone involved in the project.
Are we cheating on the timelines or workload? Can we really meet the deadlines or are people telling the project manager what they want to hear?
It is better to give honest feedback to the project manager (and client) that to cheat with what is possible and what is not possible.
In projects sometimes, the punishment can be financial (increased costs, missed milestones, late to market) and reputational (cannot believe what the project manager or organisation says)
Successful International Project Management 