7 Project Management Lessons From Ant-Man

From creative thinking to team management to stressful deadlines, Ant-Man is a great film that highlights common lessons project managers

typically learn on the job.

Here are seven project management lessons from Ant-Man!

WARNING: what follows contains serious spoilers.

1. Celebrate diversity of talent on your team.

1. Celebrate diversity of talent on your team.

All the members of Ant-Man’s team have special abilities. There are different kinds of ants for different types of problems- fire ants can be “architects,” crazy ants can conduct electricity, and carpenter ants can fly and carry heavy objects on their back.

Using all their team members effectively allows Hank and Scott to complete their projects.

Takeaway:• Know where your individual teammates are the

strongest• Assign projects based on those skill sets

2. Transparency will inspire your teammates.

2. Transparency will inspire your teammates.

At first Hank lies to his daughter, Hope, about her mother’s death and why she couldn’t wear the Ant-Man suit.

Because Hope suspects he is lying, she is unwilling to go along with his plans and the mission only begins once Hank reveals the truth about Hope and her mother’s past.

Takeaway:• As project manager, you have most direct contact with

higher-ups• Share as much information about your project with

your team as possible in order to build trust.• Make sure to keep stakeholders updated as well!

3. Don’t be afraid to go off script.

3. Don’t be afraid to go off script.When breaking into Pym’s safes, Scott uses creativity and ingenuity to bypass a fingerprint scanner that he was not expecting to encounter.

Additionally, Scott uses his creativity to escape the inescapable quantum realm when he supercharges his suit with a disk given to him by Hank!

Takeaway:• Be prepared for problem-solving in the moment• Don’t be afraid of creative thinking!

4. Take the time to learn your technology.

4. Take the time to learn your technology.

When he first uses the Ant-Man suit, Scott doesn’t know how to use it properly, and almost drowns in a bathtub as a consequence!

It takes the guidance of someone like Hank, with years of experience, to teach Scott to control the immense power of the Ant-Man suit.

Takeaway:

• Remember that powerful tools like Project Management Software need training to be used effectively

• Make sure your team takes advantage of phone support, learning centers, and live training

5. If scope changes, scale your team accordingly.

5. If scope changes, scale your team accordingly.

When it turns out that the lab Scott is trying to infiltrate has tripled security, three more members have to be added to the team.

Though Hank is reluctant to add three criminals to his team, he admits that there is no other option at the moment.

Takeaway:

• Know when a project is too big for your current resources and be ready to add freelancers, contractors, and even new hires when necessary

6. No project is entirely protected from negative events.

6. No project is entirely protected from negative events.

Even with Hank’s resources and brilliance, he is unable to foresee that his enemy will be waiting to kill Hank and Scott inside the lab.

Sometimes even with the right preparation, negative events can be unavoidable.

Takeaway:

• Even with the appropriate planning, unforeseen problems arise

• To avoid this, identify pain points, evaluate the severity of each risk, and create contingency plans for your highest-priority risks

7. Arrogance leads to misguided thinking.

7. Arrogance leads to misguided thinking.

Darren Cross is a genius, and he is willing to use that genius for evil.

But because of his arrogance, he has not realized that the research he is conducting has been changing his brain chemistry, slowly making him more violent and insane.

He never takes a step back to wonder why his old mentor, Hank, has cut him off.

Takeaway:

• As a project manager, don’t forget to check your ego• Be ready to ask for advice or give up control when

necessary

Originally published by Rachel Burger on Capterra's Project Management Blog