36 years of thinking about speed.
166 articles spanning Critical Path Analysis, Portfolio Management, Strategy, Team Design, VOC, Innovation, FTTM Mindset, and more. The intellectual output of the lateralworks research project — continuously updated since 1988.
It's the second or third critical path that can sneak up and bite you
Most project managers watch the first critical path obsessively. It's the second and third that actually cause surprises. Understanding how to surface and manage multiple critical paths simultaneously is one of the most valuable advanced FTTM skills.
Positive vs Negative Buffer (i.e. Margin)
The difference between schedule margin that protects delivery and schedule padding that hides reality. Understanding buffer — where it belongs, how much is right, and when it becomes an excuse.
Agile and FTTM
The critical missing link in Agile tools is the integrated critical path. Ask any Agile team when they will finish. They cannot tell you. FTTM provides what Agile lacks — and the two can coexist.
Why Prioritize?
3,649 words on why the ability to prioritize — and the willingness to say no — separates fast organizations from chronically late ones. One of the most comprehensive treatments of portfolio discipline in the library.
FTTM System
5,544 words — the most comprehensive overview of the FTTM System in the library. Single Source Normalized Lateralized Database, Macro-Micro, Refresh Planning, 8 Core Principles. Start here.
The Norm — Why Average Performance Is the Enemy of Fast
Organizations normalize slow performance until it becomes invisible. Understanding why "normal" is the most dangerous word in project management — and how fast organizations deliberately reject it.
Three Stages to an FTTM Mindset
The shift to a true FTTM mindset doesn't happen overnight. Understanding the three stages — and what triggers movement between them — is essential for anyone trying to change team behavior sustainably.
Why is it so hard to focus?
The organizational forces that make focus structurally difficult — not a people problem, but a system problem. And what leaders can do about it.
Fast Autonomous Teams
The structural characteristics that allow some teams to move dramatically faster than others. Autonomy is not just a cultural value — it's an organizational design problem.
Innovation Can't Be Predicted
4,049 words on a counterintuitive truth: innovation can be managed and accelerated, but it cannot be predicted. How fast teams plan around uncertainty rather than pretending it doesn't exist.
Focus: You Can't Do It All (Parts A, B, C)
A three-part series on the mathematics and psychology of portfolio overload. Why doing less — strategically — produces more. The argument most executives resist until they've been burned enough.
The Waterfall
A clear-eyed look at why waterfall fails — and why the alternative isn't simply Agile. The structural problems with linear phase-gate planning that FTTM was specifically designed to solve.
This library deserves a bigger stage.
166 articles. 36 years of thinking. We're working on ways to bring this content to life — podcast episodes, video walkthroughs, structured courses. If you'd like to be notified when new formats launch, get in touch.
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