Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

I cannot overestimate the importance of starting well. What a person does on the first project of their life is out of proportion in importance.

This is quick and simple:

The most important project in a person’s life is the first project.

Why? Because the new person knows nothing about real-world projects. What they experience on the first one becomes “the normal” in their mind. If people come in early and stay late on that first project, that is normal. If people take two-hour lunches on that first project, that is normal. If people poke fun at all the managers on that first project, that is normal. I could go on and on.

Managers later in life will not know anything about a person’s first project. They won’t know to say, “I understand that ten years ago everyone took two-hour lunches in organization X. That, however, was not normal. In fact, that contributed to all sorts of problems. That is why we don’t do that here and now.”

The habits, bad and good, from the first project carry through many years and many more projects.

I had the great (mis)fortune of working on a superbly managed project right out of college. I call it a misfortune because I thought all projects were managed that well. It took years for me to realize that I should not put so much faith in managers – the vast majority simply were not as good as those who managed my first project.