Project Managment: Land the Plane Stop Doing and Start Succeeding
We all spend time on planning vacations. If it's not you then it's probably your significant other or travel agent. Think of the time we spend choosing the destination, getting the best airlines fares, the right clothes and the best sightseeing adventures for a great trip. I know for my trip to Hawaii I wanted to make sure that I did not want to miss anything so I talked with people who had been to Hawaii for their suggestions and read up on the islands we were going to visit. And many of my clients do the same thing. But yet when it comes to project management people live in what I call a "doing" mode. Given a project a team or an individual just jump in and do with little or no planning. Here are ten tips on how to get out of the "doing" mode and into the succeeding mode of project management. Tip One: Destination Establish a destination for the project is the same as establishing a charter at the beginning of the project. What is a charter? Think of it as the compass that guides your project. It is the information you need to know to be successful. Who's accountable and who's responsible for the project (they are different), what are the resources available, what are the present constraints, support available, visibility or access for project? Tip Two: Establish a pace; two cites in ten days or five cities in seven days Set realistic expectations for the project. In our fast paced world when the mantra is "yesterday" I agree this can be hard to accomplish. But if you don't set realistic expectations are you not setting your project and team up for failure? If getting a permit from the city now takes five weeks instead of three weeks why is that not plugged into the project plan instead of plugging in the "old" three weeks? It's not realistic. You're behind already without any unexpected hiccups in the project schedule. Tip Three: Who's Flying the Plane? For a project to succeed it needs sponsorship from senior management. And that sponsorship needs to be visible to management and the project team. I remember working on a project where the senior manager stood up and told us in no uncertain terms that: "I don't care if you install this new system in one store or 500 stores by Oct. 1. It will be done right and every store will be operational the morning after conversion. There will no impact on the stores". His leadership, sponsorship and ownership of this project were clear to all. Tip Four: Project language and customs Set aside time before the project begins for the team to set groundrules or guidelines. How will you communicate with each other? How will the team make decisions, resolve conflict and work together? Tip Five: Be an Air Traffic Controller How and to whom do you communicate the project's progress outside the project team is critical. This needs to done in a formal fashion in writing and maybe even by presentation. In addition what is said to people in the corridors or lunchrooms will build or destroy the confidence that management has in the project. Tip Six: Setting an Itinerary Just like the vacation up front detailed planning needs to be done for a project to succeed. The project plan can be a one-page sheet for a one-time event or 50 pages depending upon the complexity of the project. The key is to spend the time doing the detailed planning not rushing in "to do" the project. That's when things are uncovered in the middle of a project that seriously impacts the results or outcome. Tip Seven: What if it Rains? Things are going to go wrong, so you might as well plan for it. Making a Plan B helps the project team members to know how to react immediately without having to make on the spot decisions during a potential crisis. The decisions have already been made and the whole team is confident in their ability to execute both Plan A and Plan B if necessary. I worked on one project that we had Plans A, B and C. These plans covered what we thought would be the most challenging scenarios. Tip Eight: Let's Do that on the Next Trip This is a tough one but that is how the words enhancements and phases help a project come to reality. I bet you can think of a project or two that because of the change in requirements or adding of scope either doomed a project or made the project over budget and a year or more behind schedule. Avoid changing requirements or scope if at all possible. Tip Nine: Utilize Early Warning Lights Monitoring the project where issues or problems are surfaced early is a key ingredient to successful projects. The ability to be up front about issues and problems lies with the project leader and to a certain extent the project sponsor. Do they want to hear bad news? Are they open to changes based on facts? One project leader rode people so hard that they stopped giving information. In another instance several members of the project team went to the project leader and pointed out the impact of his behavior on the team and the project by being unyielding and not open to hearing people voice their concerns. If the guidelines are set in Tip Four then hopefully this will not be a problem. Tip Ten: What Did We Learn on This Trip? How many of us are guilty of not debriefing after a project? Or is we do not sharing the knowledge and making it part of the company's knowledge system? Sure, it takes time and after all, the project is over and we are on to something else. This I feel is the most valuable leaning lab. Not only for future projects by the team but also for each project individual who will be on other projects and will some day lead their own project. So whether you are planning a vacation or working on a project use these tips to ensure your success. It just makes good sense, project management sense that is. © 2001-2005 Barbara Callan-Bogia All rights reserved. You Are Welcome To Reprint This Article Please include the following text on your reprint: Copied with permission of the author, Barbara Callan-Bogia.
Source: www.CallanConsulting.com Barbara Callan-Bogia, Leadership Catalyst is the founder and principal of Callan Consulting. She works with companies to bring out the best in their leaders and helps professionals bring out the best in themselves so people are contributing 110% of their talents with outstanding results. Contact Barbara at 508-788-9056 or http://CallanConsulting.com Check out her blog at http://www.leadershiplady.blogspot.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Christmas and Business Gifts for Your Clients and Employees!
Tis' the season for business and corporate gift-giving! If you believe in the law of reciprocity, and if your business is the least bit successful you must; you know that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but it's very smart business as well. Let's look at some of the benefits and mechanics of Christmas and holiday gift-giving.
Dividing The Loot
It is when the going gets better, that the going gets tough. This enigmatic sentence bears explanation: when a firm is in dire straits, in the throes of a crisis, or is a loss maker ? conflicts between the shareholders (partners) are rare. When a company is in the start-up phase, conducting research and development and fighting for its continued, profitable survival in the midst of a massive investment cycle ? rarely will internal strife arise and threaten its existence. It is when the company turns a profit, when there is cash in the till ? that, typically, all manner of grievances, complaints and demands arise. The internecine conflicts are especially acute where the ownership is divided equally. It is more accentuated when one of the partners feels that he is contributing more to the business, either because of his unique talents or because of his professional experience, contacts or due to the size of his initial investments (and the other partner does not share his views).
Are You Ready to Sell Your Business
Make Sure You Understand Your Motivation for Selling
Leaning Toward Change
Seduced by the publicity surrounding the impact of Lean on organizations, it's no surprise that people new to Lean, upon hearing or reading such information, are anxious to implement a continuous improvement initiative in their organizations.
Characteristics/Attributes of a Lean Operation
Fundamentals in Place
Cheat Sheet; Understanding The MSDS and Your Obligations In The Workplace To Employees
MSDS SHEETS
Bosses Are Out ? Managers As Coaches Are In
There is a new trend taking hold in business today which translates into amazing productivity, results, and a happier workforce. It's easy, positive, and some say transformative; best of all, it's something you and every other individual charged with the responsibility for getting results through others can learn to do. It is?coaching people instead of managing them.
Managers Who Spend PR $$ Wisely
If you are a department, division or subsidiary manager, your budget is a precious possession whether you work for a business, a non-profit or an association. So why stand by while your public relations team spends too much time and treasure on tactics like press releases, column mentions and brochures? Especially when you could be using an aggressive PR blueprint to persuade your most important outside audiences to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your success?
How To Write Commercial Collections Letters
It is sometimes valuable to bring the sales manager into this step of the collection process. Information concerning the delinquency can often be obtained from the sales department.
Tips for Commercial Collection Letters:
When writing commercial collection letters, these points should be considered:
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: A New Managers Tale
This article relates to the Manager/Supervisor competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. This competency evaluates an employee's feelings regarding their direct manager or supervisor. The manager/supervisor competency covers topics like clarity of goals, manager support, coaching and feedback, and regular reviews of performance. The old adage that "people leave their managers, not organizations" is often true. Of all the workplace stressors, a bad immediate manager is one of the worst and will directly impact the emotional health, productivity, and retention of an employee. This competency can be especially insightful if your organization is losing quality employees while your compensation and benefit packages are equivalent with industry standards.
Improving Your Inter-Company Communications At No Cost
It's all very well having a flashy (and expensive) advertising campaign, backed up by a wealth of positive PR, but if your staff are not all pulling in the same direction this could be the biggest leak in your plan.
How to get an Audiences Attention
A trainer dryly discussing how to motivate people in an organization basically has just another "point-by-point" presentation. But suppose that he mounts the podium and begins to speak. Suddenly, a phone on the lectern rings. He ignores it at first, trying to continue. Finally he gives up, excuses himself and answers it. It is an engineer (off-stage voice) with a series of questions relating to the organization and the lecture topic. Although the presenter protests that this is "highly irregular," the offstage voice indicates that the issues are pressing and must be answered on the spot (while visual support flashes on the screen). Humor meaningful to the audience may be injected, such as, "Why aren't you at the meeting?" The lecture time is up, the presentation time has been used, and the presenter complains he "never got a chance to talk to the audience." But the audience members have received the information that the trainer had come to share with them, and in an attention-getting way.
Data Delivers Credibility
Over the past couple of days I've been setting up visitor counters, so people in another organization can accurately count the number of people who visit their event.
When Being A Facilitator DOESNT Help
I talked with a group of internal consultants last week - they felt they had to wear too many hats in their work. They had to be consultants, facilitators, coaches and trainers - sometimes in the same one-hour session. They weren't always sure what role to be in and they felt that all this role-switching was draining them and was decreasing their credibility and effectiveness.
Smart Hiring: What Makes the Right Employee?
Good hires do not happen by accident or luck. In this economy, employers are finding a large pool of available workers. But finding the right employee for a position is still a challenge. Few managers, when asked, can describe "right." Others can't agree on what qualifies one to be qualified, at least in measurable terms.
Creativity Management and Time Pressure
There is a pervasive belief that time pressure stimulates creativity. This is both true and false.
Managing After Downsizing
So, you survived the downsizing. Your company did something that will probably show minimal, if any, return -- and will make your job as a manager a living hell. Your life has changed dramatically. People on your staff are frightened, fearful that they may be next to go. They will lie low hoping that they can be spared the next swing of the ax. (You may be feeling the same thing as well.) Teamwork will decrease as people begin to view the person next to them as a threat to that increasingly scarce resource -- a job.
Write Winning Proposals For Venture Capitalists
You need to secure money for your project. You visit venture capitalists to see if you can get that money. A venture capitalist views your project as a pure investment. A venture capitalist has no emotional attachment unlike you. You need to write a proposal that is structured around a venture capitalists needs, not yours. What may interest you may have no relevance to your potential funder. You need a business plan that is 'investor-focused'.
Performance Evaluations Can Be Beneficial
THE PERFORMANCE REVIEW MEETING: It's a fact - most supervisors and employees have negative feelings toward performance appraisals and appraisal interviews. It's often necessary to shift people's thinking from the perception that the interview is a time of judgment to the perspective that supervisors can provide support and direction to employees who want to improve their productivity and be involved in the process. Most employees, after all, wish to work effectively. Few can tolerate the notion of working poorly and ineffectively. The appraisal is an important time when supervisors and employees can come together and talk about how to improve performance.
Employee Motivation - Access Their Unique Talents
Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood of your business or organisation. And yet, in many situations, managers take little time to truly find out what makes each of their people special. Makes them unique.
|
