Strategic Project Management

I have never wanted to bungee jump.  For some reason putting my life in the hands of the guy flirting with the cute girl behind me in line has just never seemed like a good idea.  (She would have been a distraction to me, I can't expect anything more from the teenager deciding how much spring would be acceptable for my size and weight.)

I don't know if I would say I am afraid.  Well, maybe.

With the exception of thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies, most people tend to be a little "risk averse."  To a greater or lesser degree, fear avoidance is how many people deal with risk—despite the fact that it isn't a sound strategy.  Particularly in a discussion about project risk.

Successful project and portfolio management methodologies address risk early—during the evaluation process.  Facing risk early gives business leaders and project managers options.  They can:

1. Quantify the risk (some risks are worth taking): I commute to the office every day because the need to earn a living outweighs the risk of a car accident.
2. Determine a plan to mitigate the risk: I wear a seat belt so if an accident does occur, I increase the odds that I won't suffer permanent injury.
3. Avoid the project to avoid the risk (Some risks aren't worth taking): I don't commute to work standing on the roof of my car "surfing" down the highway.

Do your work management processes help you face and deal with risk?  If so, is it early enough in the process to make informed decisions about whether or not the risk is worth taking?  Or do you leave it up to change?  Or worse—ignore and avoid?

Although the image of the "salesman" is a little over the top, according to the famous marketer, Jay Abraham, "The fact is, everyone is in sales.  Whatever area you work in, you do have clients and you do need to sell."

Most project managers I know would never consider themselves salespeople, but if you are neither seen nor heard, no one knows you are there.  Project management provides organizations doing project-based work incredible opportunities to increase efficiencies and profitability across the enterprise.  However, if awareness at the executive level is lacking, those opportunities will be lost.

Effective work management methodologies that may have originally been developed for IT carry the potential to improve work processes throughout the organization.  Start by increasing communication and improving awareness on the executive level, beyond the CIO.  The key is to identify the primary issues and top priorities among stakeholders and demonstrate how effective project management can address them.  Project decision-makers who can demonstrate the ability to reduce costs, save money by eliminating duplication, or increase efficiency by better resource utilization should "market" these abilities to their counterparts throughout the organization.

Business leaders are always looking for ways to effectively implement and validate that corporate strategy is executed by the workforce.  A well-functioning project and portfolio management methodology can provide the foundation to effectively accomplish this.  As businesses grapple with profitability, and in some cases even viability, in the current economic climate delivering projects that align with corporate objectives and enable business growth have become critically important to executives.

CIOs, PMOs, and other project leaders have an opportunity to directly impact the profits of their organizations.  For many, all that is lacking is a little "salesmanship."

Does your executive staff know of your project successes?  Is the contribution your project teams make to the profitability of the organization obvious—or should you be tooting your own horn?

What are you doing in your organization to promote the benefits of project-based work?
 

In a recent blog post titled, Ignore Your People at Your Own Peril, PapercutPM's Geoff Crane describes the cost of low morale, which the Gallup Organization estimates at 22 million actively disengaged employees costing the American economy as much as $350 billion dollars a year in lost productivity.  Citing an article written by Nicole Fink, The High Cost of Low Morale, he identifies a number of possible causes as to why people are unhappy at work:

1. Poor communication
2. Lack of empowerment
3. Distrust of management
4. Departmental layoffs or closures
5. Labor negotiations and contract disputes
6. Unclear expectations and corporate direction

I agree with what Geoff is suggesting when he writes that ignoring people is a dangerous road.  A couple of days ago I addressed the issue of increasing team participation in the project management process and why it's important that the people on project teams are recognized for their accomplishments, are empowered with flexibility and ownership, and have confidence in the information that is pushed up and down from team member to project manager to executive and vice verse.

Let's face it, one of the biggest challenges facing project management in general and project managers particularly is a lack of voluntary team member participation in the process.  Not only is the traditional top-down or command-and-control approach to work management a real morale killer, it doesn't work with today's workforce and contributes to:

1. Project information that executives don't trust
2. An overly structured management environment that people dislike
3. Frustrated project teams who's accomplishments often go unrecognized

Coming to the realization that project success depends more on people and less on process or technology is a paradigm shift that is needed regarding project based work.  As I've said before, I'm convinced that a more socially interactive approach to project and portfolio management will make it possible to engage the workforce, which among other things will allow project managers to capture the qualitative information needed to provide context to the data business leaders use to make well-informed decisions.

That being said, will addressing the issues associated with the work management process make a difference in the Gallup findings?  As organizations realize that project management success is all about people, and act accordingly, it will among project teams.

What are you doing to address morale and team member participation?

 

In 1954 the Milan High School Indians were the Indiana state high school basketball champions.  The movie Hoosiers was loosely based on the story of the Indian's 28-2 season.  With an enrollment of only 161, they were the smallest school to ever win a single-class state basketball title in Indiana.

Coach Marvin Wood was a controversial coach who closed practices to outsiders, and taught a more patient and defensive game than the run-and-gun basketball the local fans were used to seeing.  Following the State Championship win, 40,000 people descended on Milan (population 1,150) lining the highway for 13 miles to congratulate the team.

Coach Wood's style wasn't flashy.  It wasn't sexy.  But it allowed the smallest school in state history to win a single-class basketball championship.

Like Coach Wood, successful business leaders understand that there are some basic, time-tested formulas for business success.  What's more, there are also simple and proven techniques for guaranteeing the success of any project-based work.

1. Business leaders must validate that the projects being executed by the workforce align with the strategic objectives of the organization.  If project teams are working on initiatives that don't provide business value, it doesn't matter what methodology is being used to manage projects, business success will be elusive.
2. Increasing the efficiency of the workforce can produce a competitive advantage that can be exploited to make the business more competitive.  By increasing efficiencies, many businesses are better able to compete in an ever-changing marketplace.
3. It's not always the big things that make the biggest difference.  It's often small, incremental gains in productivity that give a business the biggest gains.

It's not very sexy.  But effective and sexy don't always fit hand in glove.  For example, I was reviewing an old analyst report recently and found a basic truth for project and portfolio management success:

1. Organizations that have taken the time to establish a project management methodology before they implement project management software are likely to experience a successful implementation.
2. Those who don't, will likely struggle or ultimately fail.

Project software isn't a magic bullet, successfully managing project based work usually relies upon common-sense, time tested best practices.

How does your project management software facilitate the implementation of success best practices?

 

Technology doesn't drive project success, people do.  In fact, enterprise work management success is all about people.  Regardless of the project management software, technology tends to treat people more like raw materials managers can push around a time-line like pawns on a chess board.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer in project software—I'm just suggesting that it's people that are actually responsible for getting things done.  The software doesn't write any code, manufacture any product, or create anything new—people do.  Which is why project management tools or any management approach that doesn't effectively engage the workforce in the project management process ultimately falls short.

However, understanding this only takes us part of the way there.  What are the drivers to increased participation among project team members?

1. Recognition: People take pride in their work and they care about what their superiors and peers think of them and their accomplishments.  Organizations that facilitate the recognition of individual team member accomplishments and contributions foster an environment where team members are more inclined to participate and provide the information needed by executives to make informed decisions.
2. Respect: People want empowerment, with ownership and flexibility regarding their deliverables and deadlines.  Enabling team members to contribute to the establishment of benchmarks and time-lines creates a greater sense of responsibility among team members.
3. Trust: People need to trust that the information being reported is accurate and timely.  Business leaders who leverage solutions that facilitate a free flow of information from the executive level to the project team level and back again, are able to see corporate objectives become the goals of management and the deliverables of project teams; in addition to capturing the accurate and timely information they need to make well-informed decisions.

In a nutshell, engaging project teams isn't rocket science.  Recognition for accomplishment, respecting what team members do to contribute to project success, and providing trustworthy information throughout all levels of the organization just makes sense.  Organizations who take that approach, and tools that facilitate that level of social interaction will be the best practice model of the future.

What are you doing to engage your project teams in the process?