Listening to others and weighing in their inputs before making a decision is a very powerful virtue in life and especially in international program management. During the execution of a project, you have to be a good listener. You have to listen to domestic and international team members, customers, subcontractors, and upper management.

You have to listen to the inputs even when they are coming from a person outside the project team. For example, range tests for a newly designed electric vehicle were to be performed simulating the stop-and-go environment and loads during its usage. It was difficult to find an appropriate road or track to perform the range tests. One of the secretaries suggested that, perhaps the close-by airport runway might be the solution, the airport closed to air traffic after midnight to 6 a.m., and they might allow the usage of their runway for the range tests. The issue was discussed with the airport authorities, and they allowed the range tests to be performed on their runway after midnight for five days. Also, sand bags were used to simulate passenger loads. A secretary s great suggestion saved the day for the project and gained at least a week of time in schedule performance. The project manager did not forget to get two tickets for the secretary and her spouse to see her favorite basketball team.

Another example of listening is in dimensioning the drawing of a complicated machined component. It will be good to show that drawing before...