By Patricio Torres-Palacio, Ph.D.—<\/p>\n
Managers work with projects all the time.\u00a0 It is pretty much their job.\u00a0 For such a goal, knowledge and skills are necessary.\u00a0 Among the\u00a0 managerial skills that are indispensable for success in Project Management, several could be highlighted:\u00a0 presentation, critical thinking, team building, and ingenuity.\u00a0 Some of the most successful businesses are the result of some of the most ingenious solutions.<\/p>\n
The following is a problem used as class exercise in MBA 5358 \u201cSystem Project Management.\u201d\u00a0 The challenge is to use ingenuity to find the solution to the problem.<\/p>\n
Part One: The Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n You are a successful and well-known Project Manager who is an expert in planning.\u00a0 One day you are just relaxing at your office when the phone rings.\u00a0 It is a close friend of yours, an archeologist who has traveled with two assistants to the jungle to explore proofs of an ancient civilization.\u00a0 He is calling you from his cellphone, and he seems very frightened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n YOU:\u00a0 Hello?<\/p>\n YOUR FRIEND:\u00a0 Oh, I am so glad I found you! I am in serious trouble!\u00a0 Because you are an expert in planning, you are the only one who can help me.<\/p>\n YOU:\u00a0 What happened?\u00a0 How can I help you?<\/p>\n YOUR FRIEND:\u00a0 My two colleagues and I were exploring a dense part of the jungle when we reached a river.\u00a0 We were thinking about crossing the river when suddenly we noticed that we were surrounded by three cannibals.\u00a0 The cannibals said that the only thing they wanted was to cross the river as well, but we certainly did not trust them.\u00a0 I think that if we do not take measures, we are going to be eaten by the cannibals.<\/p>\n YOU:\u00a0 OK, tell me more about the situation<\/p>\n YOUR FRIEND:\u00a0 At the river there is only one little boat.\u00a0 In the boat only one or maximum two people can fit.\u00a0 Obviously, the person or at least one of the two persons who take the boat to cross the river must know how to row.\u00a0 All of us, the three explorers, know how to row and only one of the three cannibals knows how to row.\u00a0 The most important thing is that in any scenario the number of cannibals should not be greater than the number of explorers because we are sure that if that happens, they will eat us.\u00a0 Please, please, give us a detailed plan on how to solve this situation.<\/p>\n YOU:\u00a0 OK, OK, I am going to start thinking about it right away and will get back to you with a detailed plan of what to do.<\/p>\n YOUR FRIEND:\u00a0 OK but please hurry up; I think we are in danger here.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You hang up the phone and start to work on that plan immediately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is your plan?<\/p>\n _____________________________________<\/p>\n Please feel free to comment with your solutions, and check our blog next week for a post on the “solution.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n