Even though formal training in project management can be a wonderful thing, sometimes those who haven’t been trained in project management at all end up being the best at it.
One of the best project managers majored in East Asian studies at Princeton. Some went to music college. And some didn’t go to college at all.
So what do these 7 great business leaders have in common? It’s not that they’ve all been trained in project management, of course—because they haven’t. But they all have shown an unmistakable gift for project management, no matter what they do for a living now.
In this post, we’ll profile 7 entrepreneurs and business leaders to see what we can learn from them about project leadership and management.
Project Leadership Tips from Famous Entrepreneurs
1. Kate Hudson
Who Is Kate Hudson?
Golden Globe-winning and Academy-nominated actress. Co-founder of insanely popular athletic-wear company Fabletics.
How Does Kate Lead?
She loves feedback and data. You know Fabletics cares about you as a customer because the first thing you’ll do when signing up is take a lifestyle survey.
And Kate keeps a close eye on this feedback. She checks in with sales numbers every week and uses big data to drive all her management decision-making.
She’s in touch with target market pain points. Who needs another women’s athletic wear company? Women who find current ones too expensive or not all that stylish, actually.
Kate saw a hole in the market: women wanted stylish athletic wear but were held back because of high pricing, lack of personalization, and the fact that athletic wear options for larger women were nearly nonexistent.
She’s in touch with her true north. She knows what inspires her and what her ultimate goal is. Just like her mother Goldie Hawn, she feels her life’s purpose is philanthropy, and her conviction to this goal shows in her decision-making.
Want to Learn More?
Check out Kate’s book Pretty Happy for her thoughts on health, self-love, and life.
2. James Altucher
Who Is Jame Altucher?
James Altucher is an entrepreneur and blogger widely known on the internet for his stance against the status quo—namely his distaste for college and any career decision that prevents you from doing what you love.
He’s also a hedge fund manager and venture capitalist, so you know he knows what he’s talking about when he talks about project management and money.
How Does James Lead?
He fails in public. My favorite thing about James is probably that he’s not down with pseudo-positive thinking or bandaid solutions to tough problems.
He documents his failures very publicly, which no doubt endears him to his followers. He’s honest about his business failures, his personal shortcomings, and what needs to be done to fix them.
He questions the status quo. James is serious about his dislike for college: he doesn’t even want his own kids to go to college. James is all about hands-on learning in the field, so when he sees a system that’s failing everyone like the education system? He explores other options.
Could it be that the answer to your project’s problem is the road less traveled?
He’s gets it all down on paper. Everything needs to be in writing. Like on actual paper. For James, it’s all about clarity and making space for new ideas to rise up from your subconscious.
Whether it’s your project plan, a creative brief, or simply a brainstorming session, write it down.
Want to Learn More?
You can check out his books (there’s a lot of them!), podcast, and blog all from his site.
3. Derek Sivers
Who Is Derek Sivers?
Derek Sivers is founder and former president of CD Baby, an online store for independent musicians. He’s since moved onto other projects, but all seem to be about helping independent musicians thrive.
Have you guessed that he’s the guy we mentioned in the intro who went to music college? He started CD Baby pretty much by accident when he wanted to do something about big record labels making life hard for the local little guys.
How Does Derek Lead?
He keeps it simple. Who said lean project management doesn’t work? Derek’s not the kind of guy to wait until everything’s just right to get started. You can tell by his super simple website sivers.org, which is almost hilariously outdated looking. But it works.
You can also tell by CD Baby’s inception story. He simply set out to make a website on which he could sell his own CDs and exploded from there. Friends kept asking if they could put their CDs up on his site, too, and voilà.
He champions the first follower. Derek says that the first follower is just as important—if not more important—as the leader. The first follower takes a huge risk by following the leader’s crazy ideas and plays the critical role of being the leverage that gets everyone else on board.
The lesson here? Don’t underestimate your need to find and win over that first follower for your project.
He’s driven by need. Derek didn’t set out to make money on such a huge scale. He set out to solve a problem and struck gold in the process. But focusing on the problem and putting that at the forefront of your mind is what project management is all about.
Want to Learn More?
Derek’s wonderful book Anything You Want came out in 2011 and I’ve read it one sitting many times since. It’s a quick read but chock-full of everything Derek’s learned since the beginning of his accidental success.
4. Gary Vaynerchuk
Who Is Gary Vaynerchuk?
Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur first striking success at his family’s wine company, which he helped grow from $3 million to $60 million.
He now runs VaynerMedia and VaynerX, social media consulting companies, but a shorter list would probably he what business he isn’t involved in. He’s an angel investor and advisor to the biggest companies around, so we’ll trust his project management advice.
How Does He Lead?
He embraces tech and social media. Gary is THE social media guy. How does he seem to turn every business venture he touches into gold? I’m willing to bet a huge part of it is his stellar social media skills.
Here’s what we can learn from Gary here: do not underestimate the power of social media in your project. Don’t stiff on the labor or budget it’ll take to see results in marketing or sales.
His employees don’t work for him, he works for his employees. How to lead and manage people effectively? Gary says humility, leading by example, and a genuine concern for the people behind the project.
He’s all about scale. Keeping it simple is great launching advice, but sometimes what your project needs is scaleability. Are you giving it room to grow? Is there enough flexibility in your project plan for things to evolve—and even explode—into success?
Want to Learn More?
You could start by reading any one of Gary’s 4 books. (I’ve heard great things about Jab, Jab, Right Hook.) Or simply browse around his site and sign up for his email list.
5. Meg Whitman
Who Is Meg Whitman?
Meg Whitman is most famously known for being the president and CEO of Hewlett Packard. She’s also a philanthropist and political activist, and did we mention she’s one of the highest-paid female CEOs in the US?
How Does She Lead?
She gives credit to her team. It’s been said that Meg doesn’t bring up someone else’s good idea in a meeting without starting with, “Henry said that we should try…” or “Jane had the idea to…”
She gives credit where credit is due and isn’t slow to praise and appreciation for her team.
But at the same time, she’s honest. She won’t sugarcoat. When The Grommet CEO Jules Pieri first worked for Meg Whitman at Keds, Meg asked her what Keds was good at and to assign a grade to each. According to Pieri, Meg disagreed and said that Keds weren’t nearly as good at those things as she claimed.
Pieri then went on to say that—once Meg pointed out flaws or problems—she was great at taking ownership of them.
Testing, testing, testing. Meg’s all about perfecting the product before launch, so there’s your excuse to stray away from popular “lean launch” culture if it doesn’t quite fit in with your product niche or the thought of shipping a less-than-perfect product gives you night sweats.
If you’re in tech and can afford to do the extra testing, do what Meg would do—test that deliverable. And be sure to put plenty of time for testing in the project plan, too.
Want to Learn More?
A great place to start is Forbes.com’s profile on Meg.
6. Seth Godin
Who Is Seth Godin?
Seth Godin is an entrepreneur, marketing thought leader and best-selling author. In 1986 he founded his own book packaging business; after that, he co-founded the direct marketing company Yoyodyne (later acquired by Yahoo); after that, he founded revenue-sharing article-writing site Squidoo (later acquired by HubSpot). So he’s been around the block.
How Does He Lead?
It’s all about tribes and who will lead them. Or groups of people with the same interests. Matter of fact, he has a whole book on the subject.
Basically, Seth’s point is this: there are an infinitely huge number of tribes but not enough people to lead them. Who will step up? Who will lead?
Here’s what we can learn from Seth: anyone can be a leader. Anyone can take ownership, whether it be a project, minuscule task within a project, or planning the post-work meet-up for drinks after hitting an important milestone.
He embraces change. You can’t peruse Seth’s blog without noticing that he’s totally cool with change. To stay at the forefront of a changing marketplace, you’ve got to sit down with the change, get cozy with the change, and figure out how you can use it to your advantage.
He communicates with stories. Whether you’re selling to your customer, your project stakeholders, or your team members, Seth says you should be doing it with a good story.
Want to Learn More?
He’s got a ton of books, or you can check out his blog for more bite-sized reading.
7. Tim Ferriss
Who Is Tim Ferris?
A shorter answer might come from asking, “Who isn’t he?” He’s done a ton of stuff, from founding nutritional supplement company BrainQUICKEN to Chinese Kickboxing champion, but mostly he’s a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
You probably know him best by his 4-Hour book series, including bestselling hit The 4-Hour Workweek.
How Does He Lead?
He engineers wild shortcuts and then takes them. Or, in other words, he thinks outside the box.
For example, he won his Chinese Kickboxing championship by losing 28 pounds in 18 hours, qualifying for a low weight class, gaining all his water weight back, and then beating the poor, skinnier guy every time.
That’s why his 4-Hour book line is so popular: he finds the most efficient way to do things, and then he does them. How can you trim the fat from your project plan? Ask what Tim Ferriss would do.
He’s a time management expert. Which is kind of like the thing above about being creative with how you tackle your project, but it’s also remembering that just because you’re doing it more efficiently doesn’t mean you should get lax with your time.
One of Tim’s time management tips? The hard stuff first. He does his big, abstract creative work in the morning, saving easier admin tasks for the afternoon.
He’s a master at accelerated learning. He doesn’t sit around, waiting to get credentials or training or a formal education. He just does the damn things. Think about that next time you think a knowledge gap is preventing your success with a project. How can you close the gap as quickly as possible?
Want to Learn More?
You can find out more about his books, his podcast, and his blog over at tim.blog.
How Will You Lead?
When you hit a roadblock during your next project (and that’s when—not if), you might want to try asking yourself what Derek would do. What Gary or James would do. What Kate, Meg, Seth, or Tim might do.
Because you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to be willing to use good advice from people who have been there before. How will you use this advice this week? Let us know in the comments below!
