A perfect mess

This has been my father’s garage and the place of work for the last 55 years. He worked as a handyman and a car mechanic. He used to repair engines of cars that are not produced anymore and parts to fix them are not easy to find. He was famous in my town for repairing the cars that others gave up on or were not able to fix. He could do everything and bring to life any unrepairable engine.

My father is now 72 years old and retired. He has never been meticulously organized (as you can see from the picture), he never planned his work or had any risk mitigation strategy. Yet he always delivered what he promised by the time and within the budget he promised. He was not taught project management, economics or resources allocation, yet he was always extremely successful. Despite appearing to be so disorganized. I can't remember him ever failing to deliver a single project or having a disappointed client.

I have two masters and an MBA, extensive project management expertise, I have read hundreds of clever books and have lived in seven different countries on three continents. I have gained enormous international exposure in my field and I am definitely much more organized (and not untidy). I have delivered many successful projects as a consequence, yet this doesn't seem to be the core of the success (regardless of many saying otherwise) – see my father. I would love to deliver the projects I lead on tight deadlines, schedules, and budgets as successfully as my father did.

I have only one conclusion from all of this – qualifications are one thing, but hard work, persistence, and dedication are another. Thanks to my father, I know what is most important in obtaining success.