Everything in the world is made up of projects

I say often enough that "everything in the world is made up of projects" that I thought it was time to say a little more about what I mean when I say that, and about some of the implications I see in this core belief.

First of all, recall that project management is both:

1) A field unto itself (we can call this Capital P Capital M Project Management) - complete with professional organizations, certifications, guiding standards, and networking events. For example, I hold a PMP and am a member of PMI because I am a Project Management professional.

AND

2) A discipline or a practice (we can call this lowercase p lowercase m project management) that we can apply across industries. For example, I currently do a lot of project management work in digital marketing, so I subscribe to a number of industry publications and organizations on behalf of my clients because I am a project manager moving marketing work forward.

This distinction is important because it lets me feel a lot of long-term freedom and flexibility. I used to worry (in retrospect, rightfully) that I would ultimately become burned out in Student Affairs and have noplace to go unless I made a hard pivot that others viewed as a career change.

As a project manager, I do not worry about that. If I became burned out in my current work, it would be very attainable for me to switch industries - that is, to begin doing project management work on behalf of clients in completely different industries, on projects and initiatives that felt like a totally different job to me, but for which my experience in project management would still be 100% relevant.

This is because -- you guessed it -- everything in the world is made up of projects. The development of the computer I'm typing this on right now was a huge, multi-year project taken on by Apple and it was made up of probably hundreds (maybe thousands? I clearly don't know tech hardware lol) of work packages, activities, and project teams. Similarly, the car I drive was a project of a similar scale taken on by Honda. Importantly, when you think about what it takes to bring a MacBook or a Honda to market -- it doesn't stop after engineering the product. You also have to market it... which is work I could move into right now based on my experience. I'd have to spend a few weeks learning the new vocab at those companies -- but that's every job, right? I probably wouldn't even have to learn any new software. If I did, it would be superficial: not so much how do I do this? as how do I make this happen on this particular platform?

So that's one important conclusion from this "everything in the world is made up of projects" spiel: there are almost infinitely many opportunities to do different work in project management that will use the skills and credentials you'll gain during a pivot. Changing jobs to apply your skills to a different area -- even a totally different one -- will not feel like a true "pivot" the way that finding your first job in project management might.

Projects happen on smaller scales, too, and outside of the tech world -- maybe an example closer to our higher ed/student affairs roots is in order. When you receive a mailer from your favorite non-profit, lots of project management went into that: someone managed the design of that mailer. Someone managed the logistics of getting it to your home. Someone, of course, managed the development and delivery of the products or services that non-profit offers -- the mission-driven ones you're so excited to support. If the mailer convinces you to donate, someone will manage the receipt of your donation and the stewardship of the funds.

Which illuminates an important distinction to draw: it is not accurate to say that project management is by definition moving into industry, corporate, or any other word for work that's very-far-removed-from-higher-ed. It is also not accurate to say that project management is soulless, or that it is inherently less mission-driven than higher-ed. I know this sounds overly simple, but it's true: remember that any time you're managing work that can be divided into projects, you're acting as a project manager.

Which brings us, in turn, to yet another important conclusion: once you know how to manage projects, you can act as a project manager basically anywhere, anytime. Once you've got a sharp set of PM skills, you'll bring them to the volunteer work you do, making the impact you bring to the causes you care about deeper than it would have been before your new skillset. You'll bring these management skills to the hobbies you enjoy, and to the help you give your friends. (Heads up in advance that your friends will remember that you're a project manager when planning annoying trips or a complicated move.)

In short: project management skills are an excellent springboard into a new career, but they also change the way you live your life outside your career. Once you understand how to harness effective project management practices, you can make an impact basically anywhere, because, again... everything in the world is made up of projects.

All of this makes me feel hopeful and excited. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted my career to feel like an adventure, not just like a ladder to climb. I love the idea of getting to find something new after decades in the field -- a story I hear over and over again from very senior project managers (often when they're describing something they love about the field). So I wanted to share it with you, in case that resonates with what you're looking for, too.