Introduction

On a recent trip to London, I was amazed as my cabbie, Steve, nudged forward into the face of three lanes of oncoming traffic to cross a busy intersection that we had been waiting at for over five minutes. "Only a cabbie could pull that off," I commented, as we avoided potential accidents. Steve laughed and replied, "I have been driving cabs for 23 years . We cabbies have a term . We use the road. Other people drive but we use the road."

By bending rules, taking calculated risks, and using his experience of the many roads , lanes, and alleys of London, Steve made the journey faster, more efficiently , and safer by using rather than driving on the road.

Later I thought about the difference between "using the road" and "driving on the road" and the difference between eXtreme project management and traditional proj ect management.

For people faced with too many projects, projects that seem to change every day, not enough good people, and not enough time and money, eXtreme project management is about using the road.