The new operating model for project teams: Balancing flexibility and standardization
June 25, 2025 | Live Webinar
As the last of the major projects’ managers wrapped up their presentations, Daystrom addressed me directly. “Mr. Raspberry, take a seat up here at the table. What have you got for us?” Lindstrummer chimed in.
“We have a meeting in ten minutes to review some make-or-buy determinations” he reminded Daystrom.
“That can wait. I want to hear what this man has to say, Joel.” Daystrom responded.
“Jane, could I presume on you to project my slide deck?”
“Sure.”
As the managers and executives in the room looked over the XYZ chart, with a bubble placed towards the lower right part of the cube, Lindstrummer blurted out “what’s this supposed to be telling us?”
“This is Acme’s Corner Cube Model, showing the relative performance of the three types of management, Asset, Strategic, and Project, charted along the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively.”
“I’ve never seen this kind of an analysis before” Daystrom began. “How did you derive the parameters?”
“Some came from Jane’s Project Management performance measurement systems. Randy passed along some high-level data in terms of his targeted goals for market share, and Joel did the same for Asset Management. Everything else I gleaned from Acme’s most recent prospectus.” I could see Joel Lindstrummer react adversely to both my referring to him by his first name, and in remembering the data points he had so casually conveyed during our brief conversation of the previous week.
“Jane, please tell me we have a signed NDA on file for Mr. Raspberry” Daystrom sighed.
“Absolutely.”
“I can see why your reputation as a PM ‘detective’ is what it is, Stanly. I’m glad you’re on our side, at least for the length of your contract. Please proceed.”
“I don’t know about this, Lee” Lindstrummer interjected. “For all we know, he’s simply a shill for Jane’s PM agenda!”
“Joel, the man literally just got done shutting down one of our major project’s PM on his poorly-developed EAC. That does not strike me as the action of a ‘shill.’ Proceed, Mr. Raspberry.”
“The size of the bubble indicates the relative dollar value of your proposal backlog. Its placement in the lower right-hand part of the model, sub-cube number four, indicates that, while you are doing fine with respect to Asset Management, you are falling behind in the Product/Project and Strategic Management arenas.”
“Okay, so what does that tell us?” Daystrom asked.
“It’s saying that Acme is in real trouble.”
“That’s not reflected in our stock prices!” Lindstrummer interjected.
“Not yet, but it will be soon, unless a significant adjustment is made to your business model, particularly in light of your recent discovery.”
“Elaborate.” Daystrom prodded.
“If your Product/Project Management performance dwindles, you are likely to see them go elsewhere. You have good customer loyalty, but it’s not enough to keep standing toe-to-toe with Monolithic long-term. Once the customer base recedes, your already overworked and under-supported Strategic Team won’t have a real chance at bringing them back, or replacing them. The danger here is that that combination of factors will initiate a tail-spin, forcing your executives into a highly reactionary mode, which, in turn, accelerates the downward spiral.”
Randy and Jane exchanged knowing glances, while Lindstrummer appeared frustrated, but hesitant to engage.
“Is there a canned strategy for getting us out of this?” Daystrom asked.
“Yes, but I’m wary of template-like solutions. In this case, the strategy indicated is to divert resources to Jane’s and Randy’s teams. Immediately re-tool Fabrication Units 1 and 2 to take advantage of the new tech you’ve developed, and leave Fabs 3 and 4 alone, for now.”
“Nobody’s been able to establish that the future margins will cover those costs!” Lindstrummer stormed.
“That’s because you can’t quantify something that doesn’t exist, and the future does not exist.”
All eyes turned on the speaker, in the back of the conference room. It was none other than Quinn.
“We’ve been using these ROI formulae for some time, young lady” Lindstrummer began, condescendingly. “They’ve worked fine so far.”
“Only in that they support your recommendations. I don’t believe they have ever been benchmarked against actual recognized revenue.”
“She’s right, Lee.” Randy enjoined.
“Yes, she is.” I agreed. “Based on my interviews, you should be able to make the switch-over within two months’ time. Starting towards the end of Month 2, have Randy start an ad campaign that emphasizes Acme’s new capacity for delivering better quality for lesser prices. Contact your long-order customers, and offer them, say, a 5% discount on their existing contracts.”
“We can’t afford that!” Lindstrummer was becoming more and more agitated.
“In the short term, your Asset performance will fall off. That should be expected, and it will impact share price as soon as the ratios get published. You’ll want to have the appropriate communications ready for the next shareholder meeting.”
“You make a compelling argument, Mr. Raspberry.” Daystrom began. “And, believe it or not, much of what you have presented I’ve been made aware of, just not in this type of structure. Let’s say, though, that I remain unconvinced, and only take advantage of our new tech for those few projects that can fully document a positive ROI, and don’t require a full re-tooling of any of our fabrication units. What do you believe will happen next?”
“Those few projects will do well” I replied. “But they won’t perform so well as to make a real change in your PM performance trajectory. You will save money in the near-, or even mid-, term, but sooner or later your occupying Corner 4 in the model will lead to the tailspin I just described.”
“Jane?” Daystrom asked.
“I agree with Raspberry.”
“Randy?”
“Me too.”
“Joel?”
“Well, I absolutely do not” Lindstrummer began. “Everybody just admitted that ‘Asset Management’ was out-performing both Project and Strategic Management, and Raspberry wants to sacrifice that in an attempt to fix what…” Lindstrummer paused, and looking at Jane and Randy, continued “…no offence, Jane and Randy, these others got wrong? I’m not buying it.”
A heavy silence filled the room. Daystrom sighed.
Next Week: A Decision Is Handed Down
Posted on: April 28, 2025 09:22 PM |
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