A Change in Direction Isn't Always a Bad Thing

 

The weather wasn't very good this weekend. We were going to ride up through southern Idaho but  the rain (and even snow) in some places looked pretty sketchy, so we decided to visit someplace else. Paul suggested Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake.

It turned out to be a fun day on the bikes after all, even if we didn't get to take our "planned" ride. I think it's pretty important to remain flexible when things like the weather can get in the way. We may have had to change our plans, but we still got a fun ride in. No harm, no foul.

Riding into work this morning, I was thinking about Saturday's ride and thought about how that applies to work and projects. Sometimes things happen that change the nature of what we're doing, can impact scope, or might even instigate a complete change of direction. Depending upon why the changes were made may or may not indicate a problem.

The way I look at it, project execution is really where the rubber of strategy hits the road. When the business climate is volatile and market forces change, it's important for organizations to remain nimble enough to adapt what they're doing to accommodate the changes. Does that make the project a failure, NO. I think changes in scope or direction indicate project failure only when they are made because the project is lagging or failing to meet objectives. Strategic adjustments that change the scope of a project or cancel a project outright, do not indicate a failed project. In fact, strategic changes can lead to a successful outcome (much like our ride to Antelope Island).

It was a shorter ride, but it was a Utah State Park with lots to see—so we did. We stopped to see the sites, take in the vistas and even had a buffalo burger. All in all, it was a great day (even with the change in plans). I had some friends that went camping up in the mountains over the weekend and they saw nothing but rain and even snow. Had we gone forward with our original plan it would have been a cold and miserable day at best. I'm glad we changed plans. It made for a fun day on the bike.

Feel free to share some of your experiences when a change in direction or a change in scope resulted in a successful outcome.