Joseph, Master Project Manager: A view of Biblical History as it applies to Project Management.
When God allowed Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams he was placed as second in command to the country of Egypt. Joseph was immediately responsible for planning and executing how the people would survive seven years of unimaginable famine. “The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.” (Genesis 41:31 NIV)
Before he was even appointed the man to oversee the job Joseph instructed a concise plan, taking the vision and putting it into action. The recount of Joseph’s ability to oversee this mission is an impressive example of project management.
After defining the goal of what needed to take place during the seven years of plenty; the planning phase begun. Joseph delegated commissioners over the land to glean a 5th of the grain to store away in each city. This is a classic strong point of a great Project Manager; you can never do all the work on your own. Having great people on your team, giving them clear direction and support enables better ideas, greater productivity and in this case, more grain! By defining this plan Joseph was setting goals between the Project Manager, himself and the Tactical Managers, the commissioners, who would oversee the execution phase of this life sustaining project.
The closing phase of this project was distribution of the stored grain. The Bible tells us, “and all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.” (Genesis 41: 57 NIV) Joseph knew there was a deadline and he knew the seven years of famine would come. By listening to God’s plan, working with purpose and utilizing project management the people of Egypt and surrounding countries survived. Joseph is the perfect example of integrating Christian faith into the projects God has called you to manage.
Resources
Larson, Erik W. and Gray,