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If baseball and project management have one thing in common, it's the direct relationship between teamwork and success. Yogi Berra, a baseball legend with a unique approach to management and life, is a particular favorite of mine, so I recently asked myself, "What if Yogi were a project manager?"

As I thought about it, I realized that Yogi has a lot to say about my line of work. Many of the most famous quotes that have been attributed to him seem to bear directly on the art and science of project management.

Planning

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." Have you ever managed a project for which the premise was faulty? If this issue is not resolved during project initiation, you have a major-league problem. It's like when the umpire expects your pitcher to hit a tiny strike zone. Executing to a faulty premise is unpleasant at best and debilitating at worst. Your team can't get traction, and morale inevitably suffers. If the client (or your management) sets unreasonable standards, you have to get out of the dugout and argue balls and strikes. But you need to get your facts straight and communicate with the decision-makers in no uncertain terms.

Communicating

"I didn't really say everything I said." Miscommunication: the gift that keeps on giving. How many times have you held a project meeting and been surprised that it wasn't the "check the box" event you expected? Yogi knew what he was talking about: What I think I say and what you think you hear can be two different things. Who's on first?

Decision-making

"If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Foster a culture of decisiveness and clear execution. I can't think of one thing better for morale, credibility and project effectiveness. This doesn't mean making arbitrary decisions or carving plans in stone. It means putting in the effort with management and team members to make well-thought-out decisions that naturally stand the test of time. And it means weighing the trade-offs in terms of cost, prestige and momentum when facing the possibility of changing decisions that have already been made.

Measuring Progress

"You'd better cut the pizza in four pieces, because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." Earned value (once calibrated, simulated and adopted) is a very good barometer for justifying course corrections — if you stick with it. But I have been on projects where the management team has tossed out the measures when the news was trending bad. You can slice and reslice the numbers, but it's the same pizza. In the end, you'll still get indigestion.