The Richly or Poorly Show
Show Transcript
shdawson-20260421.mp3
Episode 04/21/2026
04/21/2026
Hello! Welcome to The Richly or Poorly Show!
My name is Dr. Stephen Dawson, and I am your show host.
Thank you for joining me.
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The show's motto is unmistakable: RICHLY IS GOODLY!
Please consider how you define the term good as we journey through life together in your pursuit of defining the term richly in your life.
The plan for my presentations to you was to first establish a foundation of shared understanding between you, the listener, and me. Then, proceed to build on that foundation with subsequent episodes. I recommend that you review the nine episodes between December 2nd, 2025, through January 27th, 2026, as you see fit to help you remember the foundation of our shared understanding as we proceed through each episode you hear in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Last week, I presented on the topic of trust. I shared that trust must always exist between all team members for the team to achieve success in accomplishing the reason the team exists. I also shared that the topic of trust is one of the most painful topics I have encountered in my life.
Two weeks ago, I presented the first step to forming a team is to Determine Duration. Last week, I presented the second step to forming a team is to Determine Trust. Today, I will present on the topic of scope as the third step to forming a team.
The work to Determine Scope is where most projects fail. The act of Determine Scope results in the purpose of the team's existence. If the scope changes, then the team formation process must start again from Determine Duration and then Determine Trust before a new scope can be determined.
The term scope is a singular term. It is a noun. A noun states an attribute of a person, place, thing, or idea. Scope is the space for movement or activity, as it is the opportunity for operation.
The term scoping is a singular term. It is an adjective. An adjective is a term that describes a noun. Scoping is an investigation or discussion to determine the effect a proposed policy or project WOULD have on a community or a local environment.
I started formal project management work in 1998. It was a proverbial train wreck. There was little to no understanding of project management in the organization where I worked. It was difficult to get all involved using the same terminology to work together to accomplish the project work we were assigned. I spent many following years in about a few dozen organizations on literally hundreds of projects, ranging from a few thousand dollars in budget to over half a billion dollars in budget for each project. I then started my company in 2001 and performed another few thousand projects.
I will now take the next thirty seconds and train you in all the skills you need to know to be a master project manager.
There are three, and only three, parts of project management: SCOPE, SCHEDULE, and BUDGET.
SCOPE: What, specifically, are we going to accomplish? A project without a specific scope statement of what will be accomplished by the work is nothing more than a dream.
SCHEDULE: When are we going to accomplish EACH part of the scope? A project without specific dates on the calendar to accomplish specific work is nothing more than a dream.
BUDGET: How much money do we have to accomplish the scope? A project without specific money spending plans to accomplish specific work by a specific date is nothing more than a dream.
Budget DOES NOT EQUAL Cost. Cost is almost anything imaginable in terms of time, effort, money, and anything else you can picture in your mind that will be a part of your project accomplished by your team.
I will now train you to ask the ONLY two questions you need to ask to be a master project manager.
FIRST QUESTION: How much will the project cost?
SECOND QUESTION: Is the project done yet?
Congratulations, you are now a master project manager.
Now, let's go a bit deeper into the skills I just trained you to perform in your work as a project manager.
I said earlier in today's episode that the work to Determine Scope is where most projects fail. The intent of the project is not to gain endless income by way of a paycheck. Doing so will demonstrate to those who fund your work on the project that you are lazy in your work, and you will be labeled as too expensive to be a part of their project. The most likely result is that you will be removed from the company.
Most project members do not want to know ANYTHING about project theory, project management, or even the requirements they have as a project team member. The reason they do not want to know these things is that they can claim their performance in the project work is not their responsibility, as they did not know about their responsibility to deliver a specific piece of the project in a specific form by a specific date.
I say the following statement carefully, as I do not know you personally, but I say it with confidence that you would not be listening to The Richly or Poorly Show without holding the desire to become more richly and less poorly. So, here is my assertion to you. This person, who desires to remain ignorant about your project work, is not the person you want around you, as they will cost you more in terms of headaches, money, and credibility than you can imagine now.
I arrived at a position in 2012 where I had accomplished more in my career than I imagined I would with my existing education. I was at a point where I needed more education to continue to advance my career. I decided to earn my master's degree in business administration. It turned out to be the right move for me. I realized about halfway through my master's degree that I would need MORE education to arrive at my desired career level. So, I ended up deciding it was time for me to study leadership at the most senior level. I decided I would earn my doctorate in a type of leadership called strategic leadership. It turned out to be the right move for me.
The purpose of strategic leadership is to answer one and only one question: WHAT DO WE DO? Then, the rest of the company does their part to fulfill the answer to the WHAT DO WE DO question. Sounds a whole lot like a project with team members, huh?
Well, the story continues. My program director in my master's degree challenged me the first week that I met him to complete some training after I earned my doctorate. The hint from him was...Dawson, you need to keep going after you finish your master's degree. Meaning, go earn a doctorate. It turns out he was right. So, I went to study executive leadership in the same program at the same school as him after finishing my doctorate. That education is called postdoctoral training. The purpose of executive leadership is to be on the team of the most senior leadership in a company, where this leadership reports to the board of directors for the company.
Then, a few years later, it became clear to me that I needed to study board governance. Board governance is where one performs the work of a director on the board of directors for a company. So, I attended postdoctoral training to learn the topic of board governance. I ended this stretch of my life with the firm assurance that I had all of the education I needed to present to you in today's episode.
So, you are probably asking the question...DO YOU NEED TO LEARN ALL THAT I HAVE LEARNED TO DO PROJECTS IN YOUR LIFE? The answer is most certainly no, you do not. I am here to help you get your arms around the big topics that I present to you ... AND ... equip you with a tangible plan to do something meaningful in your life with the material I present to you. How about that for some help to live your life more richly?
Now, back to the topic of scope. All you are doing with Determine Scope is defining the specific outcome you want from your project. An outcome is a collection of outputs. An output is the result of what I shared with you during the December 16th, 2025, episode. You get your stuff, which is called an input. You then do something with your stuff, which is called a process. Then, the result of your process is called your output.
Last week, I used the example that I needed to have the oil changed in my car to illustrate some project and team concepts. Today, let's use something more complicated to Determine Scope for your project and your team. Let's use the example of you wanting to remodel the kitchen in your home.
Your Determine Scope part is to define, exactly, what the new kitchen will have for ... everything. The colors, the flooring, the cabinets, the appliances, the electrical outlets, the plumbing, the windows, the doors, everything. This new kitchen is your project scope.
So, are you going to do the work alone to remodel your kitchen? You still need to have some external help. You will most likely need a building permit from your local government. You will need to inform your home insurance provider of the work, to ensure you have insurance to cover anything that may go badly during the work, like a fire, a water leak, or anyone being hurt during the work. You will need to feed those in your home while your kitchen is being remodeled, so having them working with you instead of against you will help the plan go smoother.
Now, back to my education journey. The final requirement of earning a doctorate is called a dissertation. A dissertation is the demonstration of learning accomplishment by the doctoral student becoming a doctoral candidate. There are two, and only two, ways to accomplish a dissertation. First, one must discover something new to contribute to the human body of knowledge. New, as in no one has ever realized it before it was found. Second, one must take something already realized by humanity and add to it where the addition is new to the human body of knowledge. I decided to do my dissertation on project justification. Defining all costs imaginable and deciding to fund those costs is the purpose of project justification. I submitted my dissertation proposal to my school dean in a discussion. They, at first, were not sold on what I just shared with you. I then wrote the required one-half page statement to support why humanity needs to justify each project. My school dean was immediately in agreement with me.
My dissertation was accomplished in two parts. The first part was the design and build of three original instruments to measure a company's ability to accomplish a proposed project scope, all supported by thousands of words of research to prove my instruments were viable to accomplish the work. The second part was to justify doing the work that was then proven as possible to accomplish by the company. The idea is being able to do something is NOT the same as doing it is the BEST move for the company. The reason to accomplish any project must be justified as contributing directly to help the company accomplish what the company's board of directors has tasked the company's executive leadership to deliver as outcomes.
So, how do the folks at the bottom of the company benefit from project justification? They benefit by having executive leadership that first assures the company can deliver the proposed project scope, then can prove WITHOUT A DOUBT the project is justified to be accomplished because the entire company will be doing what the board of directors requires of the company.
This, my friend, is where life gets really good. Remember, richly is goodly.
The folks who are doing anything with any project scope at this point are doing work that will help them have a job, have income, and have a good probability of working for a company that will be in business both tomorrow and in the foreseeable future ... BECAUSE ... they are working to deliver a project outcome that has been justified by all possible considerations.
So, your kitchen remodel. I suggest you approach the work from the position of first determining that you can do EXACTLY what you have for your project scope. Then, justify your kitchen remodel to yourself as you are both the board of directors AND the executive leadership of your life.
If you are convinced you can do the remodel, AND you are convinced that remodeling your kitchen helps you be the person you want to be to live your life more richly, then get ready for next week's episode, where you will select your project's team members. Otherwise, I suggest you hold off on your kitchen remodel project until you are convinced you can do it AND can sleep at night by having sold yourself on the idea that you should do it.
Well, that's it for today.
RICHLY IS GOODLY!
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The Richly or Poorly Show!
I have enjoyed presenting to you today.
Until the next episode, I hope you will be safe and join me next week.
Until then.
© 2026 SH Dawson. All rights reserved.