My youngest son just completed the project requirement to earn his Eagle Scout rank. I mention it not because I am very proud of him ( although I am) but precisely because the project requirement is one of the most important life skills a person can learn. For those unfamiliar with the requirement, the scout is required to conceive, plan, finance and direct (not do)the work on a project. The project must be writen up, proposed and approved by the beneficiary as well as Boy Scout district representatives. All three of my sons have done this, all of their projects were different and all had different specific challenges. However, I think the lessons they learned are universal and essential for anyone no matter what career they plan to have.

1. Planning (although sometimes tedious) is the foundation and most important aspect of any project.
2. Flexibility is critical in the implementation phase because no matter how detailed the plan, there will be unanticipated events that will require plan revision.
3. Clear communication is difficult but essential as a project leader leading others. Although it is tempting (in the name of efficiency) to do the work yourself, the scope and time constraints of a project often make it impossible and if you give in to the temptation to do the work yourself, you will anger or alienate the team and likely not end up with the result you envisioned in the time frame allotted.

When you ask an Eagle Scout what they would do differently on their project it inevitably ends up being something associated with the above list. If you conducted a similar survey with project managers, I suspect their process improvement suggestions would fall into the same categories.

All the tools in the world will not make a project successful if these elementary aspects are not understood and properly executed.