isambard kingdom brunel - how does he rate as a project manager?
DESCRIPTION
This presentation was delivered by Jim Dale of the APM Programme Management SIG in March 2013.TRANSCRIPT
Measuring Up
Isambard Kingdom Brunel:
A legendary & prodigious engineer but how does the great man rate as a project manager?
Jim Dale, MBA, RPP, MAPM, FCIPD
Overview of Session• A little bit about me• An overview of Brunel’s most
notable achievements• A brief overview of the RPP
assessment process• Review of competences:– Leadership– Professionalism & Ethics– Business Case
• Discussion / more debate
Why such interest …• “Brunel built modern Britain & as
Britain built the rest of the world that makes him a pretty dammed great Briton in my book” Jeremy Clarkson
• “History repeats itself but nobody listens” Steve Turner
• “You have to understand the past in order to understandthe present” Carl Sagan
– Source: Think Exist
A little about me• Secretary of ProgM• Contract project / programme manager• Teach, mentor & assess project managers:
– PQ Assessor & Facilitator– RPP Assessor
• High risk gateway review team leader• Studying for a PPM related professional
doctorate• Fascination with Brunel - Recently undertook
a ‘study tour’ led by Robert Hulse, Curator of The Brunel Museum, London
Lets look at the Great Man• Son of Sir Marc Isambard &
Sophia Kingdom Brunel• Born 9 April 1806• Educated in France• Studied as an apprentice
clockmaker• An accomplished artist &
superb draughtsman• Died aged 53 years
The Life of Isambard Kindom Brunel
You tube video posted by Brunel University and now available at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdOrpAt1t7M
Key Achievement 1:Thames Tunnel
Key Achievement 2:Clifton Suspension Bridge
Key Achievement 3:Dock Improvements
Key Achievement 4:Great Western Railway
Key Achievement 5:The Great Ships
SS Great Western
SS Great Britain
SS Great Eastern
I.K.B: Two lesser known projects
• The Atmospheric Railway
• The first flat pack hospital. Constructed in wood and shipped and assembled in the Crimea.
What is commonly known about I.K.B.
• A brilliant engineer• Great visionary:
– The GWR was the first leg of a trip to North America
• Workaholic: – Spent all day on site and all evening writing &
planning. Frequently worked 20hr shifts
• Perfectionist– The GWR was referred to as Brunel’s Billiard
Table
• A Showman: – The Tunnel Banquet
IKB: Lesser know facts• The Little Man in the Tall Hat - just over 5’
tall: Diminutive and self conscious• Experienced many set-backs as well as
successes:– Work was suspended for several years on the
Thames Tunnel which was ‘bricked up’– His atmospheric railway was not progressed
beyond branch line status– His designs for the Clifton Suspension Bridge
were originally dismissed as unachievable– His vision for a national broad gauge railway
was never realised– The maiden voyage of the Great Eastern in 1859
was a disaster; cut short by a significant boiler explosion which killed 6 members of the crew
IKB: Lesser known facts 2
• An artist as well as a superb draughtsman: Produced meticulous sketches and drawings
• Subscribed to the doctrine that ‘an ounce of practice trumps a ton of theory’
The RPP standard• The APM’s ‘gold standard’• Recognition by PM professionals of a fellow PM
professional• ‘The standard for extraordinary PM
professionals’Selection:• Submission of a portfolio of evidence• Evidence of managing a complex project• Satisfaction of 29 competences from the APM’s
Competence Framework• Mandatory competences– BC03 Leadership– BC09 Professionalism & Ethics
Lets examine the evidence…..
BC03 Key Leadership Indicators:
1. Promotes / upholds a vision2. Adapts leadership style appropriately3. Creates a team environment, encouraging
members to reach their potential4. Builds & maintains trust within the team5. Motivates6. Identifies / addresses developmental needs
of team & self
Leadership: Leaving a trail that others want to follow
Promotes & upholds a vision 1 ...
• Great Western Railway: broad gauge, high speed, minimal gradients. The first leg of a transatlantic trip.
• But did he have a blind spot, aggravated by arrogance and dogma?
Promotes & upholds the Vision 2: SS Great Eastern
“I have an idea to build a ship that can circumnavigate the world and carry enough coal for the entire journey”
I.K.B. Leadership Traitscontinued.
Led by example.Do as I do not as I say
Led from the front: Always the first Considered his staff. During the
Thames Banquet a meal in a different part of the tunnel was served for sixty of his workers
Praised exceptional work. When the two bores of Box Tunnel were joined he gave the foreman his ring
I.K.B. Leadership Traitscontinued
• Intolerant of poor workmanship and prepared to say so!
“Plain, gentlemanly language hasno effect on you. I must try stronger language and stronger measures.You are a cursed, lazy, inattentive, apathetic vagabond, and if you continue to neglect my instructions, and show such infernal laziness, Ishall send you about your business”.
Conflict within the Team:Building the SS Great Eastern
I.K.B & self improvement• A reflective learner.
Maintained a detailed journal. An excellent early example of Rolph’s model of reflective learning
What So What What next……
BC03 Key Leadership Indicators:
1. Promotes / upholds a vision2. Adapts leadership style appropriately3. Creates a team environment,
encouraging members to reach their potential
4. Builds & maintains trust within the team
5. Motivates6. Identifies / addresses
developmental needs of team & self
BC09 Professionalism & Ethics
1. Commitment to continuing professional development
2 – 4. Integrity - adopts a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner of behaviour when working with the project team and other stakeholders
5. Encourages a culture ofopenness
Professionalism
Brunel was vehemently opposed to piecework during the construction of the Thames Tunnel as this could compromise quality.
He resisted attempts by the Directors to impose this system of payment
Motivated by the greater good• Declined a knighthood after designing a
prefabricated hospital for use during the Crimean War “Service to my country is just reward”
• Not motivated by money - Brunel’s secret diaries show that he was not a wealthy man
• Accepted responsibility for failed Atmospheric Railway venture - refused to accept any fee.
I.K.B. as an Engineer
• Attended school in France so that he could experience the best education an aspiring engineer could receive
• Served an apprenticeship• Worked with his father - a brilliant engineer• Admitted to The Royal Society• Maintained a detailed journal - a platform for
self improvement
I.K.B. & a body of knowledgeAPM BoK Version 6, 2.2 Professionalism:A profession creates & owns a distinctive, relevant body of knowledge.
Brunel said:“I am opposed to laying down rulesor conditions to be observed lest the progress of improvement tomorrow might be embarrassed or shackled by recording or registering as law the prejudices or errors of today”
But was I.K.B. driven to deliver regardless of consequence? Was his attitude to the high numbers of casualties too cavalier?
• 100 men died and a further 136 were seriously injured excavating Box Tunnel
• When questioned by the Board of Directors Brunel said:
“I do not consider the figures to be excessive given the dangers of using gunpowder in confined spaces ...”
I.K.B & dealing with stakeholders appropriately (Indicator 3)
Stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in the project
• Brunel was charismatic, charming and persuasive• During the construction of the GWR Brunel faced concerted
opposition from angry / disgruntled stakeholders • Brunel spent 11 days giving evidence to the Parliamentary
Committee set up to determine whether work should proceed
• He demonstrated remarkable patience, fortitude and determination
A sample of some of the opposition
• The Duke of Wellington: “It will encourage the working class to move about”
• The Head Master of Eaton College objected on the grounds that his pupils would be tempted to visit the brothels of London
• Dr Dionysuis Lardner: publically opposed Box Tunnel, which was involves a 1:100 gradient arguing that trains could reach such a speed that air would be sucked out of the passengers’ lungs and they would all die.
BC09 Professionalism & Ethics
1. Commitment to continuing professional development
2 – 4. Integrity - adopts a morally, legally and socially appropriate manner of behaviour when working with the project team and other stakeholders
5. Encourages a culture of openness
Finally: A quick look at TC07 Business Case
Provides the justification for undertaking the project. Evaluates benefit, cost and risk and provides a rationale for the preferred solution
Business Case Viability• Many of Brunel’s projects took much longer than
originally planned and ran into severe financial difficulties; e.g. Thames Tunnel, SS Great Eastern, Atmospheric Railway. Given the engineering and technical complexities this is understandable.
• Brunel prided himself on building ‘the best’, not the cheapest and as a consequence many projects incurred considerably higher costs. The original budget for the GWR was £2m but the eventual costs were £6m
• While we can marvel at the engineering feats achieved, projects such as the Thames Tunnel & Great Eastern did not possess a viable business case and could never have provided a viable return for the investors.
To conclude:
“The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
“You can't leave a footprint that lasts if you're always walking on tiptoe.”
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