Rome Wasn't Built in a Day, But It Was Built in the Trenches

Project managers in the Western business world like to say, "Rome was not built in a day." It is an honest acknowledgment that complicated multi-team projects take time, effort, and money. The saying ignores the original myth it sprang from: the story of Romulus and Remus. Today, as I begin my journey leading a new team, I want to reflect on the story of Romulus and Remus and how it relates to the very real challenges of coaching a project.

In the beginning –

Romulus and Remus are the children of Mars, the god of war, and Rhea Siva. Since the twins were not sanctioned by the king of the Gods, Jupiter, Mars was ordered to steal the children from their mother, Rhea, and abandon them in the wilderness to die. Despite being the god of war, Mars has little personal courage, obeys his father, and condemns infants to the wilderness. Instead of dying, the infants are rescued and raised by a she-wolf to become the original feral children.

The story is like many origin stories of projects in corporate or government environments. A project is conceived with great enthusiasm, only to be neglected as its responsibilities grow. Eventually, someone in the organization finds the project and provides it with what it needs to survive.

Palatine Hill –

The next phase is confusion and conflict. People have the gift of consciousness and freedom, but that gift makes coordination a challenge. Before everyone can work together, a leader must create a common vision. Even if that vision is communicated perfectly, everyone will understand it differently, so a leader must know how each person perceives the mission and their role in it. It is a lot of work, and most teams in the phase are storming toward a goal they think they understand.

In the myth of Romulus and Remus, once they were old enough, the twins went to separate hills in the countryside, the Palatine and Aventine, and asked the gods to bless which one would be the founder of a new city. Eventually, Romulus committed fratricide, and Rome was founded on the Palatine Hill.

Construction and Growth –

Rome is named after the mythical figure Romulus, but it was not constructed in a day. It grew over centuries and reflected the efforts of countless people. Your project should resemble that slow growth and improvement. Mistakes are going to be made. An occasional fire will break out, and some Goths will show up on the walls to sack the city. The point is to keep the trash picked up, the roads repaired, and the project slowly expanding.

It is a daily effort to keep projects moving forward, but if done properly, it can change lives. I was never as feral as Romulus or Remus, but I do feel like someone who is helping build a city. It is not mythology but the ordinary activity of project management.

Until next time.