Episode #491: Project Management Insights from D-Day

Business Podcast Archive and Shows - The Soul of Enterprise

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SHOW SUMMARY: Join Ron and Ed for an enlightening episode where we draw pivotal lessons from the extraordinary planning and execution of D-Day, as detailed in the National Review article, "D-Day at 80: How the Allies Won at Normandy and Changed History." Discover how meticulous preparation, clear communication, adaptive strategies, and resilient leadership led to one of history's most significant military successes. We'll translate these historical strategies into actionable project management tips for today's knowledge workers, helping you navigate complex projects and achieve your goals with precision and determination.

Use these show notes to follow along with the audio:

Segment one

• Today’s show was inspired by an article in National Review by Andrew Roberts. Link to the article is here https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/07/d-day-at-80-how-the-allies-won-at-normandy-and-changed-history/ @aroberts_andrew

• TIL from Andrew’s article in National Review: On D-Day the Allies flew 13,688 [sorties]. In all, some 11,500 Allied warplanes of various types took part in D-Day, of which only four were shot down https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2024/07/d-day-at-80-how-the-allies-won-at-normandy-and-changed-history/

• “Project management is not a team sport. There's got to be one person ultimately, who's responsible” —Ed Kless

Segment two

• Join Ed and Ron at REFRAME 2024, “INFLUENTIAL CONVERSATIONS FOR ACCOUNTANTS” Use the code TSOE for 25% off the preferred price https://www.reframe2024.com/

• For D-Day, Eisenhower knew it is the act of planning that is important, not the plan itself. His famous quote on this is, “Planning is essential. Plans are worthless.”

• From “Rumsfeld’s Rules: Leadership lessons in business, politics, war in life”, he wrote ”The paradox of planning is no strategy will be executed as originally conceived.”

• Also from Rumsfeld, “What you see is what you get. What you don’t see, gets you.”

• What did Ed notice about the D-Day story from today’s show? The use of humor in the face of dark times. It can be such a strong leadership skill.

Segment three

• Goals vs objectives of D-Day: Overarching goal was to establish the beachhead. It is a goal which is that to which we aspire but may or may not happen. Objectives are the more tangible items of number of troops, number of planes, and so on.

• In project management terms, what is an assumption? Assumptions are facts which you presumed to be true.

• “My notion of scope seep is stuff that we do on our own, because we think that's what the customer wants.” —Ed Kless

• In project management terms, constraints are our barriers to completion. We know about them ahead of time.

Segment four

• “How Ike Fought Antisemitism” https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/01/how-ike-fought-antisemitism/

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