10 Times The Hobbit Trilogy was really about Project Management

Image source: Name that Font. Copyright to the respective owner.
Image source: Name that Font. Copyright to the respective owner.

The Quest of Erebor was the project that redefined Middle Earth.

1. First, the Project had to be authorized. This one by Thorin, King of the Dwarves.

The Hobbit Thorin
Image source: The One Ring

2. Everyone understood the impacted audience and benefits of the project: Do it for the Dwarven people.

The Hobbit Dwaven People
Image source: Pinterest. Copyright to the respective owner.

3. So Thorin first defines the scope: reclaim the Lonely Mountain using the key to the secret door.

The Hobbit Erebor
Image source: One Wiki to Rule Them All

4. Then he takes account of his resources — dwarves, ponies, wizard, and burglar.

The Hobbit Pony
Image source: Dwelling in Tol Galen

5. And then the schedule gets finalized and confirmed.

The Hobbit Map
Image source: rebloggy. Copyright to the respective owner.

6. Of course during execution, the project takes several turns, forcing the team to adapt and overcome a few obstacles.

The Hobbit Execution Challenges
Image sources: The Land of Shadow, One Ring to Rule Them All, The New York Times, The Land of Shadow, and One Ring to Rule Them All.

7. By adhering to their plan, the project team was able to complete their objective: successfully force Smaug out of the Lonely Mountain.

The Hobbit Smaug 1
Image source: Tumblr. Copyright to the respective owner.

8. And they deal with the subsequent repercussions of their actions; to ensure they could maintain and control their new reality.

The Hobbit Five Armies 1
Image source: The Iris

9. Since they had reclaimed their homeland; the Quest for Erebor was completed.

The Hobbit Throne
Image source: Pinterest. Copyright to the respective owner.

10. And one of the team members was diligent enough to document their lessons learned. Which brings the project to its formal close.

The Hobbit Quill
Image source: Curiosity &The Cat

2 thoughts on “10 Times The Hobbit Trilogy was really about Project Management

  1. Great stuff!!!

    I have minor quibbles though: like Authorization being first. I’d claim realization of the existence of a need or want exists, followed by a feasibility study to assess the potential to do something, and get some initial sense of the scope.

    Still, these are pretty minor…

  2. Dear Alex. I really like your blog!
    In fact, I also have a blog (itsallaboutchange.wordpress.com a bit less geek, I admit, but just because I don’t dare) where I try to tell stories to illustrate different change management and leadership concepts. It’s nice to know there are others out there who share points of view with me.
    Congrats for your blog.
    Best regards
    Jorge

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