CONCLUSION · TRUE UNDERSTANDING, GENUINE ACTION
Lesson 20. True Understanding, Genuine Action
Reading time ≈ 15 min · Based on Chapter 20 of the book
To see the project, see that it is not only the project: then you truly see the project.
To do the project, do not merely ‘do the project’: then you truly do the project.
| LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After this lesson you will be able to: • Answer the king’s three questions in the context of project work. • Connect the Noble Eightfold Path (the individual) and the Six Harmonies (the organisation) into a way of living with the project. • See the project as a flow of many conditions, beyond familiar concepts. • Turn the whole course into a personal commitment to act. |
This closing lesson completes the journey that began with the five diseases in Lesson 1. True understanding and genuine action are not two separate things: seeing rightly leads to acting rightly, and acting genuinely lets us see clearly.
The king’s three questions
| A SUMMARY OF LEO TOLSTOY’S STORY
Three difficult questions A king believed that if he could answer three questions he would never fail: When is the right time for each action? Who are the most important people? What is the most important thing to do? His wise men all gave different answers. Disguised as a commoner, he climbed a mountain to ask a hermit. The hermit said nothing and kept digging; seeing him frail, the king dug for him until evening. Suddenly a wounded man ran up; the king dressed his wound and cared for him through the night. In the morning the man confessed he was an enemy who had lain in wait to kill the king, but had been stabbed by the king’s guards; the king had saved his life, and the two were reconciled. The hermit said the questions had been answered: had the king not stayed to dig, he would have been ambushed on his way home. The most important time is now, the only time we have power over ourselves. The most important person is the one in front of us. The most important task is to make that person happy. |
Retelling the story in The Miracle of Mindfulness, Zen Master Thích Nhất Hạnh reminds us that we speak of serving society, the nation, humanity, yet forget to live for those closest to us: family, colleagues, friends. The answer lies in practising mindfulness.
The three questions on a project
| Question | Practice that answers it | On a project |
| When is most important? | Right mindfulness | Seeing the nature of what is happening on the project here and now. |
| Who is most important? | Right view | Seeing the truth about the project and its stakeholders. |
| What is most important? | Right concentration | Focusing on the real, legitimate issues. |
With those answered, we live with the project through the other five practices: right thought (thinking things through), right speech (honest communication and active listening), right action (acting by professional standards and conscience), right effort (steadfast in our ideals), right livelihood (an honest living from the profession).
| THE INDIVIDUAL
The Noble Eightfold Path Eight practices that give each person peace, stability and clarity (Lesson 16). |
THE ORGANISATION
The Six Harmonies Six principles of harmonious living that make the whole team collaborative and empathetic (Lesson 6). |
Seeing the project beyond “the project”
In his commentary on the Diamond Sutra, Thích Nhất Hạnh writes that “a rose is not a rose; that is why it is truly a rose”. At first we see the rose through its shape, colour and scent. Looking deeper, we see it is made of non-rose elements: sunshine, water, soil, compost. Only then do we truly see the rose.
| The familiar view
Targets for schedule, scope and quality; job titles; the owner – consultant – contractor relationships. So we design a hierarchy, fit people into it, issue procedures, set milestones and try every way to control. And still many projects slip out of our hands. |
The deeper view
The project arises from stakeholders’ ideas and needs and moves forward through many conditions; each person contributes knowledge, attitudes and even prejudices; the project is a flow constantly renewing itself; greed, anger and delusion can cloud or divert that flow at any moment; policy, law, geopolitics and communities can be favourable or unfavourable conditions. |
Seeing this, we understand that no one can grasp and control a project completely. Success or failure is the collective karma and shared conditions of all the stakeholders.
Doing the project without merely “doing the project”
Binh thư yếu lược says that those skilled in warfare are so practised that it becomes second nature: when something happens, everything fits without deliberation. Methodologies, processes, tools and templates are necessary, but they are only means; they do not decide success. What decides it is the character, competence and wisdom we contribute to the flow of the project, like a raft riding calmly on a river: wherever the project flows, we are there, steady.
| When you are made the leader
Fulfil the way of Benevolence, Righteousness, Trustworthiness, Wisdom, Clarity, Talent, Firmness and Discipline. Be humble and kind yet upright and resolute. Choose people for talent and character, not friendship. Choose partners impartially. |
When promotion has not yet come
Still fulfil your duties fully, without scheming or fighting for position. |
Every day
Turn book knowledge into working knowledge and living knowledge. When work comes, give it your full attention; when it has not yet come, develop yourself. When problems arise, solve them together through right view and careful thought. |
Seeing and doing the project with peace and steadiness, we are happy, and the people working around us are steady and at peace too. To see and act this way is already to “see” the project succeed.
— Chapter 20
The whole course at a glance
| Disease (Lesson 1) | True understanding | Genuine action |
| Self-centred thinking | Four ethical values; ethical reasoning (Lessons 2–3) | Sign the code; self-check before decisions; change habits |
| Toxic environment | Six pillars of culture; propriety; the Six Harmonies (Lessons 4–6) | Proactive language; meetings on time with the right people; celebrate together |
| Weak capability | ISO 21500; methodologies; 30 competency units; organisation design; the way of the general (Lessons 7–12) | Self-assessment; EVM and PERT; RACI; four-level delegation; career paths |
| Superficial preparation | Deliverables – outcomes – benefits; NPV; stage planning; probabilistic contingency (Lessons 13–15) | Business case with three options; plans with tolerances; P80; contracts chosen by risk |
| Bureaucracy and indifference | The Noble Eightfold Path; tokens of faith; three-level learning; project recovery (Lessons 16–19) | No “watermelon” reports; stakeholder maps; retrospectives; regular health checks |
Apply it to your project
| A 90-DAY COMMITMENT
☐ One “inner sage” commitment: an ethical value or habit I will train. ☐ One “outer leader” commitment: a tool or practice I will apply to my project. ☐ One commitment for the organisation: a Harmony I will practise with my team. ☐ I have shared these three commitments with a colleague or mentor. |
Reflection questions
| FOR INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION OR GROUP DISCUSSION
1. What are the most important moment, person and task for you on your project today? 2. Looking back over the 20 lessons, which of your understandings of project management has changed? 3. Write three “genuine action” commitments you will carry out over the next 90 days. |
Quick check
Question 1. According to the hermit in Tolstoy’s story, the most important time is:
- The future
- The past
- The present
- When the project ends
Question 2. Which practice answers “what is the most important thing to do”?
- Right mindfulness
- Right view
- Right concentration
- Right livelihood
Question 3. According to the closing lesson, the success or failure of a project results from:
- The project director alone
- The chosen methodology
- The collective karma and shared conditions of all stakeholders
- Luck
Answers and explanations
Question 1: C. The present is the only time we have power over ourselves.
Question 2: C. Right concentration focuses the mind on legitimate issues and the truth.
Question 3: C. A project is a flow of many conditions; no one controls it completely.
Key points
| THE ESSENTIALS OF THIS LESSON
• The king’s three questions: the most important time is now; the most important person is the one in front of you; the most important task is to do good for that person. • Right mindfulness answers the question of time, right view the question of people, right concentration the question of work; the other five practices are how we live with the project. • Individuals practise the Noble Eightfold Path; the organisation practises the Six Harmonies together. • A project is a flow of many conditions; no one controls it completely, and success or failure is the collective karma of all stakeholders. • Methods and tools are means; what decides the outcome is the character, competence and wisdom we bring to the flow of the project. |
This lesson is adapted from Chapter 20 of Quản lý dự án: Hiểu đúng & Làm thật (“Project Management: True Understanding, Genuine Action”) by Truong Van Thien (Construction Publishing House, Hanoi, 2025). The content has been condensed and reorganised for learning; full data, quotations and references are in the book.