In case you haven’t heard this one before, “I’m big in Japan” is a way of boosting yourself in some unverifiable fashion. Specifically, it means, “To say or pretend you are someone of stature somewhere else, which is meaningless and not verifiable where you currently are.”

Many are guilty, at times, of overestimating reach, ability, and impact to make gains and win clients. We’ve seen some fall in this fashion, like the new college basketball coach a few years ago who had to let go of a great job and salary because he really didn’t have the degree that he said he did. Bottom line? If you say you’re big in Japan, then Japan better have at least heard of you.

But enough of Japan. On to project management. Let’s explore five top project management myths that might fall in the big-in-Japan category.

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