Strategic Project Management

Driving into work yesterday I listened to yet another story on what I've started calling BP's "Nightmare in the Gulf."  This is the story of a disaster that just doesn't seem to get any better.  No matter what BP does, the situation doesn't improve.  The news seems to be worse than originally reported and there is no real end in sight. 

The particular story I'm referring to was broadcast by NPR, Scientists: Dispersants Compounded Oil Spill.  Quoting the author Elizabeth Shogren, "Everybody feared the oil would rise to the surface like in a salad dressing, causing big problems in the marshlands and on the surface of the Gulf.  Now some scientists are focusing on contamination thousands of feet below the surface."

I'm not planning on starting an environmental rant on the pros and cons of deep offshore drilling.  I'll leave that for another forum, suffice it to say that there is so much oil spewing out of that damaged well a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf, that scientists like Dr. Frank Muller-Karger of the University of South Florida can do nothing but ask, "How large is the impact?  We don't know.  Where exactly is it happening below the surface? We don't know.  So all these things are very frustrating."

There are cleanup plans and strategies for gathering the oil on the surface, cleaning the marshlands and beaches—but have you heard anything about a strategy for cleaning up the oil in the deep water?  I think this is much like an iceberg, as bad as it looks on the surface there's even more underneath.  What's more, I think this is a great example of how a lot of project problems get handled.

Although there might be a tendency to hide bad news and hope that things work themselves out over the course of the project, often the most dangerous problems are those left intentionally or unintentionally under the surface, out of sight.  I'm no expert on the problem in the Gulf, but here are a couple of suggestions for project-related problems:

1. Foster an organizational willingness to take the bitter with the sweet:  Sometimes the tendency is to shoot the bearer of bad news.  Granted, it may not be what you want to hear, but it may be that you need to hear it.  Sometimes the difference between an inconvenience and a full-on disaster is a matter of timing.  Business leaders need accurate information to make the best decisions.
2. Make honesty the best policy: Sometimes when problems crop up, it's easy to soft-pedal the situation, put a good spin on it, or intentionally underestimate the potential damage when talking to the boss.  It might make you feel better for the time being, but that will only last until the boss finds out the truth—which he or she will.  Resist the urge, it hasn't been a good idea for BP and it won't be for you.
3. Realize that organizations can only address the problems they can see: Problems that are unseen, or deep under the surface, won't get addressed until they bubble up and make everything stink.  By then, they will more than likely be bigger, more difficult to address, or worse—the death knell for the project.

The right project and portfolio management software will provide a number of tools and alerts to help you identify  potential problems, but for any work management solution to be effective there needs to be an established culture of identifying, isolating, and dealing with problems early—or the workforce will keep them hidden and lingering under the surface.

How does your organization deal with problems?  Share some of your successful problem-solving best practices.

A couple of years back I came across this list of tips for presenting to stakeholders. I'm not sure where I found it, but anyone who has had to present to stakeholders will relate.  Sometimes it seems like a thirty minute meeting can be over in sixty seconds.  Stakeholders often have short attention spans, and if you don't capture their attention in the first minute or two, they'll start checking email and watching the clock.

Anyone involved in project-based work has to deal with sponsors and stakeholders.  With that in mind, here are ten tips to effective stakeholder presentations:

1. Pique their interest: An agenda is always a good idea, but a brief summary of what will be discussed is even better.  Plus, it gives them a take-away and allows them to come prepared with questions.
2. Don't assume they know their job as stakeholder: They might understand the high-level view, but you will probably need to fill in the details.
3. Keep it simple: Give them the situation in straightforward terms.  Don't overwhelm them with information.  Cut to the chase.  (However, be prepared for a deeper dive if they start asking questions.)
4. Use numbers and pictures: PowerPoint is a great tool for presenting graphics and numbers to stakeholders.  It's how they present information to each other.  You should use it too.
5. Sometimes you have to use logic: Accept the fact that there might not always be data to support a particular situation.  Not having numbers to back up your position could make a successful argument problematic, so you may have to turn to "if ... then ..." logic to shed light on a situation.  However, don't expect the same results or response from stakeholders—numbers rule with them.
6. Waiting is never a good option: Don't wait until a problem is obvious—it's often more difficult to solve the issue at that point.
7. Always offer a solution: If you are going to bring up a problem without offering a potential solution, you might as well tell the stakeholders, "Fire me now."  Finding solutions to problems is part of your job as project manager.
8. Specify the actions required of them: If stakeholders need to take action, don't assume it will be obvious to them.  Restate—in list form—what actions need to be taken and by whom.
9. Always say "yes," but make sure they understand how much "yes" costs: Sponsors and stakeholders don't like to be told "no," so don't do it.  Just make sure they understand the cost of their request, so they can judge for themselves whether or not "yes" is worth it.
10. Don't stop reporting status just because stakeholders stop requiring it: Perception is reality.  If stakeholders perceive that you aren't doing anything—your not.  Don't let your head be the next one on the chopping block.

Regardless of your companies work management methodology, there are a lot of project management tools available to help manage tasks and time-lines—some will even help you more effectively communicate with the stakeholders in your organization.  Whether or not your chosen project management tool facilitates that kind of communication, ignoring that important part of your role as project manager is dangerous.  What do you do in your organization to encourage a positive relationship with stakeholders?

Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

The other day some colleagues and I were talking about how failure and mistakes were part of the creative process of problem-solving and discovery; and how Thomas Edison famously suggested that mistakes were a big part of his discovery of the light-bulb. "Results! Why man, I have gotten a lot of results," said Edison.  "I know several thousand things that won't work."

The conversation caused me to search for an article originally written for Inc. Magazine by Hal Plotkin back in December of 1997 titled, What They Do (and Don't) Teach You in Business School.  Although the article is addressing some of the important lessons associated with running a business, much of what Plotkin describes also applies to managing projects.

For example, Plotkin cites Art Dodge III, CEO and President of Dodge-Regupol Inc., in Lancaster, PA; a company that makes recycled-rubber products with revenues at the time of $30 million.  "All your human-resources classes are about motivating employees, goal setting, things like that.  But how do you recognize a bad decision, kill it, bite your tongue, and move on?  You've got to be able to make mistakes quickly, find out, and get out of them quickly.  They teach you a lot about how to be a success but not what to do when something goes wrong—when you fail, which you are going to do."

I took the conversation home that night and when I suggested to my wife that "People don't make mistakes because they're stupid, they make mistakes because they are people."  She cheerfully reminded me that I certainly didn't feel that way when one of my teenage children wrecked the car or lost my "favorite" open-ended wrench.  I had been caught in the hypocrisy of what many business and project leaders face when dealing with mistakes.  What they purport to believe before a mistake happens, and their reaction to the costs of a mistake in the workplace.

"All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes," said Winston Churchill.

Although my wife was right, my reaction to a teenage son's or daughter's mistake was often inconsistent with my belief that people make mistakes because it's the nature of being human, I'm reminded that not every mistake is the same.  That being said, most of the mistakes I observe and deal with in the workplace are seldom associated with negligence, but with the creative process of solving problems.  Certainly the mistakes caused by carelessness should be treated differently than those that occur each day as people try to solve problems and try new things.

Oscar Wilde said, "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."

In my opinion learning from our mistakes (or experience), requires a regular and consistent approach that can be incorporated into any work management methodology.  Here are a few suggestions to help any project team learn from their mistakes:

1. Establish a venue for sharing lessons-learned: It doesn't matter whether you call it a post-mortem, a project review, or a project retrospective, most organizations don't do them—but they should.
2. Share what has been learned: Although most organizations don't bother with a project retrospective, those that do don't always create an environment that encourages real learning—and even fewer share what was learned.
3. Don't make learning the next corporate initiative: It's natural for organizations to try to formalize the learning process into the next corporate project.  Although the natural learning process should be encouraged, "corporate" is all too often the same as "bureaucratic," which employees will be more likely to avoid.
4. Don't make learning a one-time activity:  Project learning should be ongoing and interactive—don't let it become an isolated activity that happens rarely.

Every organization has different needs.  Some rely on their project software to help facilitate the learning process.  I think that's good, but even organizations that don't use any specific project management tools need to create an environment where project learning can take place.  Because there are so many organizations that struggle with this, please share some of your successful project learning practices.
 

Have you ever felt like Dr. Doolittle's Push-Me-Pull-Me? 

Struggling to meet deadlines and feeling unsure of whether or not you are headed in the right direction could make anyone on the project team feel like Doolittle's exotic friend.  It's easy to forget that successful project management is more than managing time-lines and milestones.  I've come to appreciate that your particular work management philosophy or the project management tools you use are secondary in importance to an ability to provide a sense of direction and successfully lead the team.

I think everyone would agree that keeping a project team headed in the right direction is critical to project success—and even more important if project teams feel like they are being constantly pushed or pulled in different directions.  Nobody enjoys the feeling Lewis Carroll described as, "The faster I run, the behinder I get."

Although these few principles aren't original to me, let me share a few suggestions to help you lead everyone on your project team in the right direction:

1. Recognize that everyone on the team wants to do a good job—they just need to know how that is defined.  We all understand that the definition of project success needs to be clearly defined before a project begins.  I believe that the same is true for the individual members of our project teams.  Clearly articulating expectations is crucial if we want the members of our teams to be successful.
2. Give team members the opportunity to take ownership of their responsibilities, report on their progress, and accept accountability.  Project management software (to one degree or another) can help facilitate this, but even if you don't use a software tool, provide a means for team members to accept their contribution to project success, report on their progress during the life of the project along with the associated responsibility for their individual assignments.
3. Make sure that the objectives and business benefit of the project is understood by everyone on the team.  One PMO I am aware of identifies the business benefit of every project on every screen and form the project team views.  However, if you're not using a project management software, you might want to consider identifying the business value and objectives in the team common area, on a whiteboard, or other location where team members can be reminded every day.
4. I'm a real believer in management by walking around.  Spend time working with the team every day.  It's easy to find yourself buried in paperwork or other administrative tasks over the course of any given day.  Creating an open atmosphere where team communication and collaboration is really encouraged requires managers to spend regular and productive time working with members of the project team.
5. Offer sincere and relevant praise for a job well done.  I once worked with a guy who would nonchalantly tell the team every time he saw them, "Good job gang.  You're the best."  Unfortunately, the power of positive feedback resides in specific recognition of successful behavior—not insincere "atta-boys."  In fact, his insincere attempts de-motivated and demoralized the team.

By remembering that people want to do a good job, they want to know the value of what they are doing, they want ownership of their role, and they want sincere and relevant recognition of their accomplishments, project managers can overcome the push-me-pull-me phenomenon so prevalent in organizations and effectively lead the team in the right direction.

What do you do to keep project teams on the right track and avoid being pulled in a dozen different directions at once.

 

It might be that while channel-surfing over the weekend, I came across Clint Eastwood's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and ended up watching the final 30 minutes—however when I recently stumbled across an article from CIO Zone referring to Tom Rath and Jim Harter's new book, Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements and reading the article teaser, Bad Managers Can Be Deadly, I couldn't help but start whistling the movies theme song in my head.

Rath and Harper suggest that poor managers can negatively impact team member wellbeing.  They argue that only 20% of employees like what they do, and managers aren't helping improve this figure.  According to their findings:

1. The person we least enjoy being around (of all the people in our lives, not just at work) is our boss.
2. A study of more than 3,000 Swedish workers found that those who thought their managers the least competent had a 24% higher risk of developing a serious heart problem.  If they had worked for the manager for more than four years, the risk rose to 30%.

"If you lead or manage people, your actions have a direct impact on the wellbeing of others," write Rath and Harter.  "When managers and leaders invest in employees' wellbeing, they are likely to influence organizational growth in the process." 

We often talk about the importance of good leadership and how it has a positive effect on project team performance, but it appears that the negative effects of poor leadership impact a lot more than workplace productivity.

According to the authors, it seems the type of manager that harms employees the most does it by ignoring them.  With that in mind, consider that:

1. People who feel their manager ignores them have a 40% chance that they will be actively disengaged or be filled with hostility toward their job.
2. People whose manager ignores them are identified by Gallup as the most disengaged group they have ever studied.

I have to admit, when I read these statistics I was shocked.  Everyone has experienced bad managers at one time in their career or another, but I had no idea that it was potentially life-threatening.  The authors suggest that disengaged employees have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol on Monday mornings than during weekends when their moods were better.  The difference in mood between weekends and workdays is so extreme that it could explain why so many heart attacks seem to happen on Mondays.

High levels of cortisol over a long period of time raises blood pressure, weakens the immune system, suppresses thyroid function, causes an imbalance in blood sugar, and even weakens bone density. 

Over the last several weeks we've talked about the role project management software and other project management tools have to play in encouraging team members to participate in the project management process.  It would appear that project managers also need to be engaged in the process, and not just give interactions with team members lip service.  "Leaders can't just tell employees that they care about their wellbeing," argue Rath and Harter.  "They have to take action if they want to see results.  And this requires continual measurement and follow-up to help workers manage their wellbeing over time."

How engaged are you with your project teams?  Or, do you tend to ignore them unless there's a problem?  Feel free to share you successes in this regard.