November 2, 2006 - If you don't know, don't touch

Much of life's wisdom comes from doing stupid things. If at all possible, learn from other peoples mistakes. Like mine...

Many years ago, while I was a UNIX C programmer, I had the grand idea of fixing my own account problem by working directly with the password file. Working in a small company I had the system password and the power but not the knowledge to do it properly.

Being extremely careful, I made a backup of the password file, made the change that I wanted and rebooted. Unfortunately the change I made locked everyone out of the system. Even the system admin login failed. It took all day to get it back up and running.

So, what does this have to do with Project Management? It helped me realize that there are things I shouldn't touch. If there is an issue that is outside of your control it is ok if you can't solve it. Don't ignore it. Get someone else involved that can do it right. In the end you will save time and you won't look like an idiot.