Carry-On Luggage

 

I'm not a big fan of flying.

It's not that I'm claustrophobic or afraid the plane will crash into the ocean, but the romance of air travel has disappeared for me and it somehow feels like I'm sitting in a big bus with way too much time to think (Will the plan actually make it across the ocean? Will the landing gear work properly as we touch down? You know, all the normal stuff you think about whenever you get into an airplane). As I write this, I'm headed to the Gartner Summit in London to make a presentation, so I have a lot of time to to think about that too.

I do admit to a fear of loosing my luggage, which has forced me to pack light enough that a week's worth of necessities could fit snugly into my carry-on and briefcase. I'm not what you would call a seasoned traveler, but I have been doing it enough lately that I've pretty much figured out how to toss what I don't need and condense everything else down to the bare essentials. I'll also admit that as I was packing on Friday night, my wife was pretty impressed that I was able to pull it off—she is NOT a light packer.

As I was getting ready to throw everything into my two small bags, I had to be very thoughtful about what got left behind and what got included. Usually by this time (several hours into my flight), I've remembered something I'd forgotten and am metaphorically kicking myself. However this time, I can't think of anything I've forgotten, and am confident that I have everything I need.

I think it's because I was trying to streamline the process of going through the airport, eliminate the requirements to check a bag and mitigate the risk of loosing the suit I need to wear for my presentation this week. The simplicity of my luggage choice doesn't make the packing process any less important—in fact, in some ways it's forced me to be more thoughtful. I think it represents an even better packing plan.

I'm not a big "P" process guy. I am a fan of the simplest plan possible to achieve the desired outcome—which is why I like my "Streamlined Carry-On Plan." I don't think anyone in the airport payed too much attention to the "Streamlined Carry-On Plan," because it's nothing new. It just makes sense to me and about a million other travelers I run into whenever I fly.

With that in mind, I have to ask, "Why then, do so many of us try to over-complicate the plans associated with our projects by insisting on carrying too much process baggage?"

A good friend and analyst, Donna Fitzgerald (@nimblepm) once told me, "Project managers used to be a lot more results focused. I'm afraid we've let our focus on method and process actually make us less effective than we used to be."

When my focus became streamlining my luggage requirements, I became better at ensuring the results I was looking for (a quick trip through the airport and no anxiety about losing any luggage). I wonder how many of the requirements we build into project plans are really necessary? Could we improve the outcome of our projects by focusing less on superfluous requirements and more on creating the simplest plan possible that would allow us to achieve the results we want? Einstein said, "Any idiot can make things more complicated, it takes real genius to make things simple."

For example, I know that there are some projects that require more governance than others. Does that mean that everything we do requires the same level of project heartburn? Donna also suggested, "We have entered a world of much more global competition and over the next five years, things are going to get lean and mean as a general practice. The good news is if you're agile, if you're collaborative, if you now how to get to value, you are going to excel."

Her words strike a cord with me me. Unfortunately, there's still that nagging question about the plan crashing into the ocean.