into Practical Project Lessons
Projectland Goes to the Movies
SERIES ARTICLE
By Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas
United States
In the first two articles in this series, we shared Why Stories and Movies Help Project Teams Learn and Align, and Five Ways Movies Teach Leadership and Team Lessons Exceptionally Well.Together, they examined why movies can help build shared understanding and make project lessons easier to grasp and remember. Now we turn to the practical question: How can you translate a memorable movie moment into action?
Turning Film into Practical Project Lessons
When we began developing Projectland Goes to the Movies, we invited project experts who also loved movies to identify a pivotal scene and explain the practical project lesson they saw within it. Twenty-two contributors from around the world responded with lessons spanning strategy, leadership, teamwork, risk, communication, and creative problem solving.
The chapters are organized into three acts:
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- Act I – Setting the Stage: Vision, strategy, and approach.
- Act II – Directing the Show: Leadership and teamwork.
- Act III – Herding Cats: A Projectland production (the messy realities of getting things done through people).
This structure helped us examine movie lessons across the full project journey, from establishing direction to leading people through the messy realities of delivery.
Together, the chapters, inspired by movies from Aliens to V for Vendetta, reinforced an important point: a useful movie lesson does more than remind us of an entertaining scene. It helps us recognize a familiar project situation, identify the pattern beneath it, and decide what to do differently.
Turning a movie moment into action usually begins with a specific purpose. A project leader might want to clarify a vision, prevent a communication breakdown, improve a decision-making practice, or help a team recognize an emerging opportunity. The next step is to select a scene that makes that situation visible and relatable.
The most effective scene is not necessarily the leader’s favorite movie moment. It is the one that will resonate with the audience.
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Editor’s note: Dawn Mahan and Jerry Manas are co-editors of the wildly popular book “Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success” published in January 2026 by Project Guru Press. To learn more about the book, click here.
How to cite this work: Mahan, D. and Manas, J. (2026). Turning Movie Moments into Practical Project Lessons; Projectland Goes to the Movies, series article 3, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue VIII, August. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pmwj167-Aug2026-Mahan-Manas-Projectland-Goes-to-the-Movies-article-3.pdf
About the Authors
Dawn Mahan
Florida, USA
Dawn Mahan is the founder of PMOtraining, LLC, and coined the term, Projectland®. She is a dynamic international speaker, award-winning project management consultant, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling book, Meet the Players in Projectland: Decide the Right Project Roles & Get People On Board. Visit her website at PMOtraining.com.
Jerry Manas
Pennsylvania, USA
Jerry Manas is an internationally bestselling author, speaker, and consultant specializing in resource management and workforce effectiveness. His work—including Napoleon on Project Management and The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook—has been cited by business leaders such as Tom Peters and Orlando Magic Senior VP Pat Williams. Visit his website at jerrymanas.com.
Projectland Goes to the Movies: 22 Blockbuster Strategies for Project Success (2026 Amazon Hot New Release) is available globally.
Visit https://books2read.com/projectlandgoestothemovies.
For bulk orders, tools to engage your group, or to inquire about storytelling workshops, email us: hello@pmotraining.com.
