Missing: The Conversations We Never Scheduled
Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.
Five years ago, we did not have a choice. Almost overnight, conference rooms became Teams meetings. Whiteboards became shared screens. Hallway conversations became chat messages, and kitchen tables became offices.
Projects did not stop, however. Somehow, despite the disruption and uncertainty, they continued moving forward.
Like many project managers, I was impressed by how quickly organizations adapted. Teams learned new technologies in days instead of months. Meetings continued, status reports were delivered, and stakeholders remained engaged. We proved something that many people had questioned for years. When circumstances demand it, people are capable of changing the way they work much more quickly than anyone expects.
Looking back, though, I think we learned another lesson that received far less attention. We became exceptionally good at replacing planned communication with technology. What we may not have noticed at the time was the gradual disappearance of the conversations we never planned to have.
Today, much of the discussion has shifted toward where people should work. Should organizations embrace permanent remote work? Should employees return to the office? Is hybrid work the best compromise? Those debates are likely to continue for years, and every organization will arrive at its own answer. From a project management perspective, however, I am not …
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"The reason why worry kills more people than hard work is that more people worry than work." - Robert Frost |
