Life as a project manager can be tough; if anyone needs inspiration to keep going with leading our projects and teams, it’s us. When you find yourself (or your project) constantly slamming into one brick wall after another it can be tough to stay positive and focussed. We’re all in need of some project manager inspiration and what better way than with some inspiring, truth-telling and funny project management quotes?
Given the many books that have been written about project management, it is not surprising that our discipline has its fair share of quotable wisdom. We have compiled some of the best project management quotes which we hope you’ll find profound, funny and motivational. And you (nearly) always sound smart if you can quote other people who manage to say exactly what you meant, in just a few succinct, simple words.
We not only bring you famous project management quotes, we’ve gone one step further by including quotes on project management, but which are so apt, the author may well have been speaking of project management. And of course, we include some perennial favorites – classic project management quotes from Peter Drucker.
Enjoy this compilation of more than 100 of the most inspiring and funny project management quotes covering project management, leadership, planning, communication, failure, teamwork, vision and goals, management, deadlines, rewards and recognition, and lastly, quotable advice for project managers.
The Best Project Management Quotes To Inspire & Motivate Project Leaders
Project Management
Leadership
Planning
Communication
Failure
Teamwork
Vision and Goals
Management
Deadlines
Rewards and Recognition
Advice for the Project Manager
Project Management
First off, some project management quotes about the discipline itself:
Project Management Quotes – Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward. Joy Gumz1. “Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.” ~ Joy Gumz
2. “Project management is like juggling three balls – time, cost and quality. Program management is like a troupe of circus performers standing in a circle, each juggling three balls and swapping balls from time to time.” ~ G. Reiss
3. “Project management can be defined as a way of developing structure in a complex project, where the independent variables of time, cost, resources and human behavior come together.” ~ Rory Burke
4. “Being a Project Manager is like being an artist, you have the different colored process streams combining into a work of art” ~ Greg Cimmarrusti
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Recommended Related Reading:
Write A Project Plan That You’re Proud Of (+ Project Plan Examples)
10 Best Project Management Software of 2019 Expert Review
Create A Project Budget That Works: The Complete Cost Estimation Guide
Leadership
Leadership refers to the ability to initiate vision and direction, to empower and motivate people to attain success, and to unite others towards a common purpose. It’s a critical component of project management and has been the source of some great project management quotes.
Project Management Quotes – “Any Idiot can point out a problem …. A leader is willing to do something about it! Leaders solve problems!” ~ Tony Robbins5. “Any idiot can point out a problem … A leader is willing to do something about it! Leaders solve problems!” ~ Tony Robbins
6. “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” ~ Max de Pree
7. “One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.” ~ Arnold Glasow
Project Management Quotes – “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”~ Peter F. Drucker8. “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”~ Peter F. Drucker
9. “Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” ~ Bill Owens
10. “The only real training for leadership is leadership.” ~ Antony Jay
11. “The key to successful leadership today is influence not authority.” ~ Kenneth Blanchard
12. “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” ~ Warren Bennis
13. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ~ John Quincy Adams
14. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
15. “People are more easily led than driven.” ~ David Harold Fink
16. “Inventories can be managed but people must be led.” ~ Ross Perot
Project Management Quotes – “The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” ~ Jerry McClain17. “The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” ~ Jerry McClain
18. “As has been taught to teachers of the Harvard Business School, the art of asking good questions is often the most important element of managerial tasks.” ~ Parte Bose
19. “High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.” ~ Charles Kettering
20. “There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage.”
21. “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.” ~ Nelson Mandela
22. “To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.” ~ Andre Malraux
23. “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” ~ Douglas MacArthur
24. “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” ~ Warren Bennis
25. “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” ~ General George Patton
26. “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” ~ Brian Tracy
27. “Inspire your people to think like entrepreneurs, and whatever you do, treat them like adults. The hardest taskmaster of all is a person’s own conscience, so the more responsibility you give people, the better they will work for you.” ~ Richard Branson
28. “The most challenging one to manage is you. “Self-leadership” isn’t a concept that most of us think about all that often. Yet leadership capability relates as much to how we lead ourselves as how we lead others. Some of the greatest barriers we face along the path o pushing our ideas to fruition lie within us.” ~ Scott Belsky
29. “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” ~ Ken Kesey
30. “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
31. “True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.” ~ Bill Owens
32. “Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.” ~ Tom Peters
33. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
34. “Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.” ~ Chinese Proverb
35. “…the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” ~ Ralph Nader
36. “Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.” ~ Peter Drucker
37. “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.” ~ Jim Rohn
38. “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” ~ Reverend Theodore Hesburgh
39. “Management is a position that is granted; leadership is a status that is earned.” ~ K. Scott Derrick
40. “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” ~ Tony Blair
41. “What chance gathers she easily scatters. A great person attracts great people and knows how to hold them together.” ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Here are some related career quotes if you’re looking for more along this same vein.
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Planning
Planning is critical to project management, the way not having a fear of heights is critical to being a pilot. Having a plan on how to get things done is the foundation to delivering any project well.
Project Management Quotes – “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Larry Elder42. “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” ~ Larry Elder
43. “A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” ~ D. Meyer
44. “If you don’t know where you are going. How can you expect to get there?” ~ Basil S. Walsh
45. “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” ~ Peter Drucker
46. “Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even though they rarely stick to their plan.” ~ Winston Churchill
47. “Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.” ~ Winston Churchill
48. “Adventure is just bad planning.” ~ Roald Amundsen
49. “Bad planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part” ~ Proverb
Project Management Quotes – “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow” ~ Proverb50. “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow” ~ Proverb
51. “First, have a definite, clear practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends; wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end.” ~ Aristotle
52. “Our plans miscarry because they have no aim.” ~ Lucius Seneca
53. “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” ~ Winston Churchill
54. “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans.” ~ Peter F. Drucker
Project Management Quotes – “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.” ~ Denis Waitley55. “Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.” ~ Denis Waitley
56. “Happy people plan actions, they don’t plan results.” ~ Dennis Wholey
57. “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” ~ Anatole France
58. “It’s a bad plan that admits of no modification.” ~ Publilius Syrus
59. “Long-range planning works best in the short term.” ~ Euripides
60. “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” ~ Gloria Steinem
61. “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood – make big plans, aim high in hope and work.” ~ Daniel H. Burnham
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Communication
It has been said that communication is the lifeblood of every organization, but nowhere is this truer than in project management.
Communication is what connects the various stakeholders together – client, project manager, project team, management and the entire organization. If there’s anything our experience of project management has taught us, it is that communication is far easier said than done, a fact these project management quotes illustrate:
62. “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
63. “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” ~ Peter Drucker
64. “Brevity is the soul of wit.” ~ William Shakespeare
65. “What is not on paper has not been said.” ~ Anonymous
Project Management Quotes – “Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” ~ Brian Tracy66. “Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.” ~ Brian Tracy
67. “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” ~ Tony Robbins
68. “Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” ~ Bentley and Borman
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Failure
It’s an unfortunate fact of life, but nonetheless true – everyone fails at one time or the other. Projects fail too. Which perhaps explains where there are so many great project management quotes about failure!
69. “If an IT project works the first time, it was in your nightly dreams. Time to wake up and get to work.” ~ Cornelius Fitchner
70. “No major project is ever installed on time, within budget, with the same staff that started it.” ~ Edwards, Butler, Hill and Russell
Project Management Quotes – “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” ~ Sven Goran Eriksson71. “The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” ~ Sven Goran Eriksson
72. “Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.” ~ Napoleon Hill
73. “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” ~ Henry Ford
74. “Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn’t work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new approach.” ~ Roger Von Oech
75. “Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” ~ Thomas Edison
76. “In poorly run projects, problems can go undetected until the project fails. It’s like the drip … drip … drip of a leaky underground pipe. Money is being lost, but you don’t see it until there is an explosion.” ~ Joy Gumz
Project Management Quotes – “There are no failures ~ just experiences and your reactions to them.” ~ Tom Krause77. “There are no failures, just experiences and your reactions to them.” ~ Tom Krause
78. “A man may fall many times, but he won’t be a failure until he says that someone pushed him.” ~ Elmer Letterman
79. “Success builds character, failure reveals it” ~ Dave Checkett
80. “In NASA, we never punish error. We only punish the concealment of error.” ~ Al Siepert
81. “I feel that the most important requirement in success is learning to overcome failure. You must learn to tolerate it, but never accept it.” ~ Reggie Jackson
82. “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” ~ Bill Cosby
83. “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.” ~ Benjamin Mays
Project Management Quotes – “If you always blame others for your mistakes, you will never improve.” ~ Joy Gumz84. “If you always blame others for your mistakes, you will never improve.” ~ Joy Gumz
85. “I have witnessed boards that continued to waste money on doomed projects because no one was prepared to admit they were failures, take the blame and switch course. Smaller outfits are more willing to admit mistakes and dump bad ideas.” ~ Luke Johnson
86. “If an IT project works the first time, it was a very small and simple project.” ~ Cornelius Fitchner
87. “Know when to cut your losses if necessary. Don’t let your desire to succeed be the enemy of good judgment. If Napoleon had left Moscow immediately, he may have returned with a salvageable army.” ~ Jerry Manas
88. “If you have never recommended canceling a project, you haven’t been an effective project manager.” ~ Woody Williams
89. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ~ Winston Churchill
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Teamwork
Teamwork has inspired some great quotes on project management. Not surprising as it’s perhaps the single most important determinant of success for any project. Put a great team together and get the team work right, and 80 percent of your problem is solved.
90. “Get the right people. Then no matter what all else you might do wrong after that, the people will save you. That’s what management is all about.” ~ Tom DeMarco
91. “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” ~ Mattie Stepanek
Project Management Quotes – “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ~ Michael Jordan92. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ~ Michael Jordan
93. “As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” ~ Amy Poehler
94. “… Learning to collaborate is part of equipping yourself for effectiveness, problem solving, innovation and life-long learning in an ever-changing networked economy.” ~ Don Tapscott
95. “Collaboration is the best way to work. It’s the only way to work, really. Everyone’s there because they have a set of skills to offer across the board.” ~ Antony Starr
96. “Most success depends on colleagues, on the team. People at the top have large egos, but you must never say ‘I’: it’s always ‘we’.” ~ Frank Lampl
97. “If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.” ~ General George Patton Jr.
Project Management Quotes – “We cannot drive people; we must direct their development. Teach and lead.” ~ Woody Williams98. “We cannot drive people; we must direct their development. Teach and lead.” ~ Woody Williams
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Vision and Goals
Visions and goals provide strategic direction for a project. While vision is what lets you plan for the future of that project with wisdom or imagination, goals, being measurable, are what tell you whether you have achieved your vision. Here are some insightful quotes about both aspects:
99. “All things are created twice; first mentally; then physically. The key to creativity is to begin with the end in mind, with a vision and a blue print of the desired result.” ~ Stephen Covey
100. “People are more inclined to be drawn in if their leader has a compelling vision. Great leaders help people get in touch with their own aspirations and then will help them forge those aspirations into a personal vision.” ~ John Kotter
Project Management Quotes – “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” ~ Diana Scharf101. “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” ~ Diana Scharf
102. “Any person who selects a goal in life which can be fully achieved, has already defined his own limitations” ~ Cavett Robert
103. “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” ~ Confucius
104. “Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.” ~ John Kotter
105. “Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
Project Management Quotes – “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” ~ Joel Barker106. “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with Vision is making a positive difference.” ~ Joel Barker
107. “First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.” ~ Napoleon Hill
108. “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” ~ Jack Welch
109. “I think there is something, more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.” ~ W. Clement Stone
110. “Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.” ~ Omar Bradley
111. “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~ Albert Einstein
112. “It’s easy to see, hard to foresee.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
113. “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” ~ Gail Devers
114. “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.” ~ John C. Maxwell
Project Management Quotes – “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” ~ Jonathan Swift115. “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” ~ Jonathan Swift
116. “When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” ~ Audre Lord
117. “With vision there is no room to be frightened. No reason for intimidation. It’s time to march forward! Let’s be confident and positive!” ~ Charles R. Swindoll
118. “By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.” ~ Christopher Columbus
119. “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.” ~ Jim Rohn
120. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” ~ Proverbs 29:18
121. “Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” ~ Mark Twain
122. “The causation of great organizations is the desire to make meaning. Having that desire doesn’t guarantee that you’ll succeed, but it does mean that if you fail, at least you failed doing something worthwhile.” ~ Guy Kawasaki
123. “Managing to have a sense of humor makes it a lot easier to manage people.” ~ Steve Wilson
124. “Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.” ~ Peter Drucker
Project Management Quotes – Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.” ~ John D. Rockefeller125. “Good management consists in showing average people how to do the work of superior people.” ~ John D. Rockefeller
126. “The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven’t made up their minds.” ~ Casey Stengel
127. “Management is, above all, a practice where art, science, and craft meet.” ~ Henry Mintzberg
128. “Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.” ~ Colin Powell
129. “Managing senior programmers is like herding cats.” ~ Dave Platt
Project Management Quotes – “The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” ~ Agha Hasan Abedi130. “The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” ~ Agha Hasan Abedi
131. “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
132. “When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte
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Deadlines
Deadlines – the dreaded “D” word of project management. Any project manager who hasn’t had a sleepless night and/or nightmare about missing one hasn’t handled a proper project. And then of course, there’s project estimates, project timelines and those other time related nightmares. These quotes for project management address capture many of the challenges we face:
133. “You may con a person into committing to an unreasonable deadline, but you cannot bully them into meeting it.” ~ Edwards, Butler, Hill, and Russell
134. “Projects progress quickly until they become 90% complete; then remain at 90% complete forever.” ~ Edwards, Butler, Hill and Russell
Project Management Quotes – “Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.” ~ Peter Drucker135. “Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed nothing else can be managed.” ~ Peter Drucker
136. “You may delay, but time will not.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
Project Management Quotes – “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” ~ Henry Ford137. “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” ~ Henry Ford
138. “Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.” ~ Charles Caleb Colton
139. “Beware the time-driven project with an artificial deadline.” ~ M. Dobson
140. “It is useless to desire more time if you are already wasting what little you have.” ~ James Allen
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Rewards and Recognition
Acknowledging the good work done by our teams is important to getting the most out of them. Rewards and recognition not only motivates the team, it enhances the project manager’s leadership qualities too. Here are some great project management quotes to inspire you:
141. “Good leaders do not take on all the work themselves; neither do they take all the credit.” ~ Woody Williams
142. “If, on your team, everyone’s input is not encouraged, valued, and welcome, why call it a team?” ~ Woody Williams
143. “True motivation comes from achievement, personal development, job satisfaction, and recognition.” ~ Frederick Herzberg
144. “Lavish credit on anyone and everyone who helped you the least bit.” ~ Tom Peters
– “Rewards and motivation are an oil change for project engines. Do it regularly and often.” ~ Woody Williams
145. “Rewards and motivation are an oil change for project engines. Do it regularly and often.” ~ Woody Williams
146. “Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.” ~ Colin Powell
147. “Be candid with everyone.” ~ Jack Welch
148. “Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans: it’s lovely to be silly at the right moment.” ~ Horace
149. “My personal philosophy is not to undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible.” ~ Edwin Land
Project Management Quotes – “The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.” ~ Meister Eckhart150. “The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.” ~ Meister Eckhart
151. “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” ~ Albert Einstein
152. “In this business, by the time you realize you’re in trouble, it’s too late to save yourself. Unless you’re running scared all the time, you’re gone.” ~ Bill Gates
153. “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” ~ Jack Welch
154. “Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.” ~ Thomas A. Edison
155. “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” ~ John Galbrait
Project Management Quotes – “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.” ~ Paul Tournier156. “Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.” ~ Paul Tournier
157. “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” ~ Dr. Linus Pauling
158. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
159. “Assume responsibility for outcomes as well as for the process and people you work with. How you achieve results will shape the kind of person you become.” ~ C.K. Prahalad
160. “Progress doesn’t come from early risers — progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” ~ Robert Heinlein
161. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ~ Peter Hendrick Sharp
