Prelude to a Resolution - Conclusion
From the People, Planet, Profits & Projects Blog
by Richard Maltzman,
Dave Shirley
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Dave Shirley
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Date
You may remember that before we sent 2011 off into the sunset and wished it good bye (or good riddance), we played devil's advocate. Below are some of the objections we hear to planning in sustainability to your projects. All are real, and all actually have some virtue (it's the ying and yang of PM, we suppose). We promised that early in 2012 we would play angel's advocate and explain why these objections to resolutions oughtn't, shouldn't, and mightn't make a (negative) difference to you, your projects, planet, people, and profits.
So, as promised, below we repeat the 5 reasons to NOT consider sustainability in projects and now provide our reasoning (shown in vibrant purple) as to why – in fact – it IS VERY important to make sustainability a key consideration.
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5. My project has its own needs and must not be hampered by corporate or other enterprise 'weights'. I have enough to worry about with my project alone.
We’d actually turn this one right onto its head. We’d say that if you DON’T take the time to connect your project to the strategic goals of your enterprise, you risk having an “outlier” project which has “success” unto itself, but because of its disconnectedness, is not really contributing towards enterprise success. Furthermore, your own success as PM and your own career path count on you knowing what’s important to the enterprise. We suggest you change your thinking. These sustainability considerations are not weights – okay, well they do carry some weight - think of them as jetpacks which can help power your project and energize your career.
4. I don't want to worry about how my project's product/service will be used in the long term - what a bother! I am a PM – my projects have defined beginnings and endings, and I work in the here and now.
Yes. You work in the here and now. And yes, we have to keep our focus on what PMI calls “progressive elaboration” and “rolling wave planning” – where we use the near term to adjust the medium term. But don’t forget the long term. And don’t forget the holistic view of your project’s product. It will help you identify issues and risk you’d be blind to if not considered upfront. We have real, specific examples of where failing to do this has caused significant failure of the project itself. We’ve shared these on our blog in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
3. Since my project only runs for a short time, I don't need to run 'the project itself' efficiently. I just need to get it done. The operations people can worry about the steady-state.
First of all, we have to give the obligatory answer that “every bit helps”, so that if you do make sustainability improvements within the project, it will contribute, even if in a small way, to the overall global effort. But the other piece is this. You are a project manager – that’s a change agent. Projects are about change, by definition. So what you do sets a sort of behavioral model for the company. So even if your efforts to be sustainability-focused are limited, they are likely to be emulated by others you touch in your organization.
It is true that the steady-state of the project is owned by the operations people. But you know what? It’s very much your job as a project manager to empower the operations people to do their job efficiently – you set them up for success, including sustainability success. Again, if you stay tuned to EarthPM and/or read our book, you will find solid, real examples of these situations.
2. Any money or effort spent to 'green up' my project is money NOT spent on my REAL project. We’re all splitting one pie, so there is only so much to go around.
The view expressed in this assertion indicates a win-lose situation. Only thing is…this is not a win-lose situation. The “pie” – if you wan to keep this analogy – is expandable. Just as we can give you many examples of how sustainability can enhance an enterprise’s bottom line, there are examples of how a project can actually benefit from money spent to make the project more efficient or ecologically responsible.
1. They've begun to find planets with similar characteristics to Earth. So, with regards to the earth and "using it up" - it's replaceable! So, what, me worry?
Although this philosophy (assumption, really) that the earth has limitless resources has been the basis for much of our carelessness with regards to ecological sustainability (or the lack thereof). Let’s use this silly assertion above as a way to remind us that as planets go, right now we really only have the one.
And, we reiterate: Have a very pleasant, safe, and fun New Year's and best of wishes to you, your people, projects, profits, and planets in 2012!
Posted
by
Richard Maltzman
on: January 02, 2012 07:16 PM |
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Comments (2)
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 | Anonymous |
Hello Rich, in my opinion this article is interesting, concise and focused, being a well starting point to a management perspective in 2012. I would like to emphasize the position you stated at point 5 above recognizing the need for senior management support in projects. If the corporate vision is neglected at project level, then its likelihood of success significantly decreases.
| Anonymous |
Thanks Andreea! I appreciate the comment, and thanks for the additional insight.
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