Control the Process

I read this in a book today:

“You can’t control the outcome, but you can control the process.”

When you work in project management (like I do), folks are always asking about the outcome. 

How close are we to go-live?

Those same colleagues are often the most resistant to the project management process as a whole. 

Everyone wants outcomes; but few people are willing to submit to the process.  

Project managers can control the process - the budget, the task list, the time plan - but they can’t control the outcome, and they certainly don’t control their team members.