ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how projects can deteriorate to the point of needing a hero, what makes a good hero project managers (PM) and what organisations can do to render them unnecessary. Hero PMs are especially gifted and experienced people who are asked to rescue projects from apparently irrecoverable situations. They may be saving their own projects, but more usually they are asked to step in as replacement PMs when things are looking lost. Hero PMs are usually experienced PMs who know which risks can be taken and which need to be avoided. They understand the implications of their shortcuts and aggressively manage the project to deal with problems immediately and decisively. The first thing that the hero PM needs to do is understand exactly what the situation is that they are stepping in to. The hero PM also needs to understand how the recognition that the project needs rescuing will impact upon stakeholders, and the PMs management of those stakeholders.
