Ali Fowler - The Project Queen Magazine

Implement Like The World
Is Watching Why I Wrote This Book
Many people have gone before
us and experienced those
moments where projects
stumble, teams lose interest,
momentum falters, results
run in the other direction,
and plans get thrown out the window. And that’s
just on one day in ‘project land.’ And despite
all the usual challenges, they, their teams and
their projects have triumphed. How? Projects
are a funny game. They are part ‘art’ and part
‘science’. But there is one key factor that is often
overlooked but resides in the heart of every
project’s success. That is ‘lived experience’.
The lessons we learn usually show up when the
s**t has hit the fan, things are taking longer
than they should, results aren’t what they should
be, the wrong people are on the team, external
forces come into play or my personal favorite
when project budgets are cut.
Whether it’s business or personal, would it
be useful to find some of the lessons before it
happens to you and your project?
The pursuit of projects is universal. We all
have them, so we may as well get good at them
whether they be business, personal or service or
community projects, paid or volunteer.
The wisdom of the crowd is important, because
very few people and particularly business
owners, get the chance, or pursue the chance
to get project training and rather will learn and
hone their skills in a self-taught, experiential,
on the job environment. After leading, managing
and delivering 100’s of projects over a 20+
year career in education, retail, sport, and
entertainment, I have taken both the traditional
and nontraditional approaches to learn about
projects. I did take the opportunity to seek out
professional certification in
global project management
standards through the Project
Management Institute, the
most recognized body for
project professionals, highly
recommended for anyone
who wants to grasp the very
big body of knowledge that
is our project management
profession. I also sought out
professional certification
with the Australian Institute
of Project Management as
a Master Project Director
and through that had the
opportunity to document and
case study some of the projects
I had done and to demonstrate
what I had learned.
And then there was some
pretty cool employment
opportunities along the
way, starting out teaching
secondary school level,
moving into the world
of sport and event
management, becoming
Executive producer for
Walt Disney Live events
in Asia-Pac and then
learning the world of retail
from the ground up on
the shop floor to heading
up a national Business
Improvement division
for a multi-billion dollar
Australian company. And
now as I branch out with
my own force for good
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