Tom Peters is an inspiration to me. He brings so much passion to his beliefs and states them in a way like no one else. After reading his "This I Believe! - Tom's 60 TIBs" I became inspired to start a series entitled "What I Believe". I certainly don't have Tom's passion, nor do I have his brain power or writing abilities, but I do know "What I Believe" and I will attempt to pass some of those beliefs here (as I have in the past).
In the Project Management world What I Believe is the average project team member has a very low level of what I call "project success maturity". My experience has shown that many of the people I have worked with - or that have been assigned to my project - are only interested in themselves or their "silo" of responsibility. I have to say this is one of my greatest frustrations as a project manager. After saying that I also realize that this is my problem to solve.
When managing projects, I understand that I have to be the focal point of the energy, emotion, and passion that drives the project forward (and hopefully inspires those around me to see the bigger picture). If there are people on the team that don't want to play, and I and the other team members have made a concerted effort to get them on board to support the project, then they need to find somewhere else to play. I have no problem telling them that and helping to facilitate the process of having them removed from the team.
As Tom Peters says "... all quests worth undertaking - a Girl Scout merit badge or a Nobel Prize require audacity and willpower." To paraphrase Tom, we need to continually challenge conventional wisdom, accept the lumps, and persist until vicotry.
What I Believe? Be a great leader, be passionate about what you are doing, and always challenge assumptions.
Don't allow unmotivated, emotionally unintelligent people to change your course or dictate new rules.
Can I get an AMEN?
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Break it Down
When faced with large projects the first thing I try to do is to break the project down into smaller, manageable chunks of work. Many of our projects can be large and complex. Breaking the project down into management tasks will help to:
Simplify the process of creating Metrics to manage project progress
Reduce Risk by creating shorter timelines with less overall scope
Make it easier for individuals and groups to understand the Work they must perform
Make Planning easier and more realistic
When creating your Project Charter be sure to address all phases of the project, but emphasize that the project will be delivered in phases. In addition, make sure your Project Charter clearly addresses the:
Project Objectives
Project Benefits
Project Risks (initial assessment)
Project Constraints
Project Assumptions
Project Dependencies
Resource Requirements
Project Cost and Duration estimates (establish your range for this estimate and state it)
What the Project won't address or deliver
There are other items that can be included in the Project Charter, but addressing the above items clearly and getting the sponsor's buy-in will be critical to getting your project off to a good start.
For more information regarding a Project Charter click here
Simplify the process of creating Metrics to manage project progress
Reduce Risk by creating shorter timelines with less overall scope
Make it easier for individuals and groups to understand the Work they must perform
Make Planning easier and more realistic
When creating your Project Charter be sure to address all phases of the project, but emphasize that the project will be delivered in phases. In addition, make sure your Project Charter clearly addresses the:
Project Objectives
Project Benefits
Project Risks (initial assessment)
Project Constraints
Project Assumptions
Project Dependencies
Resource Requirements
Project Cost and Duration estimates (establish your range for this estimate and state it)
What the Project won't address or deliver
There are other items that can be included in the Project Charter, but addressing the above items clearly and getting the sponsor's buy-in will be critical to getting your project off to a good start.
For more information regarding a Project Charter click here
Monday, November 22, 2004
Reforming Project Management Theory and Practice
Reforming Project Management Theory and Practice. Hal has created a very good project management website that provides great insight and valuable information that any project manager can use.
In a recent posting Hal talks about leadership and mentioned that as project managers we should provide just enough leadership to support the efforts of others. While on the face of it that statement sounds reasonable I believe that you may not know how much "just enough" is.
My thought is a project manager should provide leadership consistently throughout the project with all stakeholders versus trying to figure out how much is just enough. Obviously when we are working with executives and senior management we need to keep our messages and leadership short and to the point.
As Hal says "what we need on projects is to cultivate leadership throughout the team" and I would add we need to always Lead by Example.
In a recent posting Hal talks about leadership and mentioned that as project managers we should provide just enough leadership to support the efforts of others. While on the face of it that statement sounds reasonable I believe that you may not know how much "just enough" is.
My thought is a project manager should provide leadership consistently throughout the project with all stakeholders versus trying to figure out how much is just enough. Obviously when we are working with executives and senior management we need to keep our messages and leadership short and to the point.
As Hal says "what we need on projects is to cultivate leadership throughout the team" and I would add we need to always Lead by Example.