And that’s how I invented the TARGET method.
Project management. A word I’d happily walk around in a wide arc. As much as I’d like to feel differently about it, it sticks to me like an unpleasant smell that won’t go away. From that first school project, long ago, I knew: this isn’t for me. And honestly, that hasn’t changed.
It might sound strange coming from someone who’s spent the last 25 years doing nothing but project-based software implementations in SMB. But the moment I hear the words “project management”, I get the same feeling my cat Mickey gets when a strange cat enters the garden: every hair on end. A deep, ancient resistance rises up, as if every fibre of my body is shouting at me to stay away from that world of jargon and templates.
Timeboxing. Agile. Leverage. Touchbase. Steering committees. Alignment. Hybrid steering. It’s one big bullshit-bingo game. The moment I open a project-management book, I feel a tiredness that even the strongest coffee can’t shake. One chapter and I’m either asleep, or my thoughts have drifted to things that actually matter. A bit like daydreaming in a mandatory meeting — you’re there, but you’re not.
No, I don’t just hate it — I don’t believe in it. To me it mostly looks like a system inflated to keep an entire profession busy with expensive words and hollow terms. Especially in SMB, we speak a different language. We don’t have time for jargon or convoluted processes. And yet — here comes the paradox — at Radical Fanatics we run about thirty significant IT projects a year, and oddly enough… they mostly go well. Without the trappings of traditional project management. Without certified scrum masters.
How is that possible?
After 25 years of projects — some more successful than others — I took a hard look at what actually works. And yes, there were recurring elements. Always. Six things, simple but effective:
- Top-management involvement
- A Quick scan before you begin
- Prioritising the risky parts
- Weekly meetings, no longer than 30 minutes
- An expert on hand when you need one
- A simple system to track progress
On these six points I built the TARGET method. No hocus pocus. No complex templates. Just a workable approach anyone can understand. Even if you’re not a trained project manager, you can run it alongside your normal work.
It’s time more companies — not just us — start using these insights. Out with the chaos, out with the intruders who disturb your work day. Let everyone work in peace, like my cat Mickey sleeping in the sun — no fuss, no worries. That’s how it can be.