Page 88 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

“There are no bad ideas in brainstorming” was pushed to the limit with this one!!

Globally, the lingerie market is expected to hit $55.83 billion by 2024, that tells you something about
the market. Women consider their underwear as an investment in how they feel, the thought of
throwing them in the bin after one wear never really caught on! Who knew?! Some things, I guess,
just aren't meant to be thrown away.
So, what lessons can we learn from disposable undies? (A sentence you never thought you’d read in
a project management blog!!)

i) Know Your Market. Both internally (in-house end-users, stakeholders, etc) and externally (client
end-users, your client’s customers) and make sure that IT Projects are always congruent with their
needs!
ii) Know Your Business, Align IT Projects With It. Was Bic really just in the business of making
disposable “anything” or were they a trusted brand that delivered great products? A Bic Biro always
delivers tidy handwriting! Their razors will give you a decent shave when you’re on the road! One of
my colleagues met his (now) wife offering her a light with his Bic disposable lighter (the old smoothie
doesn’t even smoke himself but always used to carry a disposable lighter just in case!) Many IT
projects fail because they’re either not business case led or they are aligned to misconceptions
about what the business needs. Knowing the goals of your business and aligning IT projects to
deliver them avoids creating the IT Project equivalent of throwaway pants!

Betamax, DeLorean cars, Titanic, even Brexit are all subjects that Malc and his young proteges have
looked at through the eyes of an IT Project Manager and each yields plenty of lessons that can be
learned and applied in your next IT Project.

Since Malc shared this insight, I’ve been looking at lots of things and applying a project manager’s
thinking to them - Manchester United after Sir Alex is a personal favourite! This, though, is maybe
one for when we both have a beer or glass of wine in our hands – it could take some time! I would
love to hear any thoughts that you have!

The point is, by looking at life outside project management with our ‘day job eyes’ we open
ourselves to some great lessons.

Sources:

https://www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/market-research-fail-new-coke-
became-worst-flub-time-01256904

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/history/the-real-story-of-new-coke

https://edited.com/resources/lingerie-market/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38714461