Porquê?

"It's the Benefits, Stupid! A project leader pointed out that project teams and owners focus too little on the benefits of their projects and too much on costs and schedule. It's not that cost and schedule are not important, emphasized this leader. But the ultimate reason for doing projects is their benefits. Cost and schedule are means to an end -- the end being benefits - not ends in themselves. We must therefore keep our eyes on the benefits, or we lose sight of why we do what we do, the leader concluded. - Again, the cohort was sympathetic. And again, our research supports the heuristic. First, we have found that most projects don't even measure benefits, making their study difficult. Second, project managers who do measure and manage benefits perform better than managers who do not. Not only do these managers perform better in delivering benefits, but also in delivering on budget and on time. It appears that once project managers know how to get benefits right, they know how to get everything right. They have graduated to the level of the mature and effective project leader. Therefore, if you don't already focus on benefits in your projects, now is a good time to start. You will not truly master project management until you do."

Relacionar os sublinhados acima com o tema do último artigo de Cavaco Silva.

"Ask Why? This will focus you on what matters, namely the benefits the project will achieve, which are the ultimately purpose of the project. Nietzsche rightly observed that, "to forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity" (Nietzsche 1994: para 206). Good leaders are not stupid. They stay on purpose by asking why? This also prevents you from jumping too quickly to solutions, a classic error in project management and, indeed, all management. Moreover, it prevents you from seeing the project as an end in itself, instead of as a means to an end, another common error. Even a company is just a means to an end, and if you begin to see it as an end in itself then, ironically, that is the beginning to the end. Steve Jobs was crystal clear about his answer to why?: "making wonderful things" or "great products," as he repeated, over and over, like a mantra (Schlender and Tetzeli 2015: 233). Finally, asking and answering why? helps you think from right to left, like Wolstenholme above. The answer to why? is your "right" -- your North Star -- which will guide you every step of the way through delivery. Your "left" is the actions to get you there, your means. In the end, there are only two types of projects. The ones that get things right from the start, by asking why?, and the ones that fix things later. There are no shortcuts. The later you leave the fix the more expensive and stressful it will be. Once you're in the din of delivery, it is easy to forget to ask why? Therefore, remind yourself. Good leaders never stop asking why?"

Trechos retirados de "Heuristics for Masterbuilders: Fast and Frugal Ways to Become a Better Project Leader" de Bent Flyvbjerg.