In Tom Peter's book "Liberation Management", (Peters, Tom. Liberation Management. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1992) he talks about the paradoxes of project management. In the book Tom outlines a few things we need to keep in mind when managing our projects.
Total Ego versus No Ego - On the one hand, project managers must be consumed by the project before them. On the other hand, they must have almost no ego. They deal with many outsiders and insiders whom they can hardly command. This means the project manager must take a smaller share of the credit for accomplishments and give a larger share of the credit to other participants.
Autocrat versus Delegator - When the chips are down, the project manager must issue orders fast. At the same time, the project managers must turn ownership over to the contributors.
Leader versus Manager - Effective project managers must match their passion for inspiring others with a passion for the grubby nuts and bolts of doing the job.
Oral versus Written Communication - Communicating orally and on the run comes easily to effective project managers. But, the must also be masters of the detailed plan and the daily checklist.
Complexity versus Simplicity - Nothing is more complex than dealing with a sophisticated, multi-organization project. The effective project manager must juggle, sometimes for years, hundreds of balls of differing and ever-changing shapes, sizes, and colors. On the other hand, the project manager must be adept at keeping it simple.
Big versus Small - Project managers must appreciate forests and trees equally. They must be able to see the relationship of the small to the big and the big to the small, and do so at every moment simultaneously.
Patience versus impatience - Smart, independent leaders spend lots of time on relationship building and networking. This is a s important as pushing project participants for action.
As long-time readers of this blog know, I value the insight of Tom Peters. I believe he hit the nail right on the head in regard to a Project Manager's behavior when managing projects.
Until next time...
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Lessons Learned?
Capturing lessons learned at the end of a project is important. My problem has always been how do I archive the learnings for use in the future? Post implementation meetings are good for capturing lessons learned, but outside of the team members that attend the meeting where does this knowledge go? How can it be used in the future? Where and how should it be stored?
One idea I read about related to how Boeing maintains diaries of lessons learned from each airplane project. I wonder how these diaries are accessed and utilized on future projects? Are they searchable, indexed by topic, etc...
If anybody reading this has ideas, let me know and I will publish them here.
Until next time...
Monday, November 14, 2005
Quality Revisited
Quality Revisited
Most of you know that this blog deals with the basics of Project Management. For this week’s blog we will talk a little about Quality in Project Management. Quality is a heavily tested knowledge area on the PMP exam and as such we should all be familiar with the subject.
According to Philip B. Crosby, Quality is “conformance to requirements”. He goes on to state the Four Absolutes of Quality as:
Another Quality Guru is Joseph Juran. He states that “Quality is fitness for use”. He also defines something called the Quality Trilogy. It is:
Juran also goes on to define the “Ten Steps in the Quality Improvement Process”. They are:
Lastly, we look at what Dr. W. Edwards Deming says about Quality. According to Dr. Deming, Quality is “continuous improvement through reduced variation”. His five principles are:
Do the above statements reflect the situation in your work environment? Is your management engaged in Quality? Are they hands-on, hands-off, or asleep at the switch?
Quality is everyone’s job; however Quality cannot be managed with out the participation of management. I would even be so bold to say that “poor quality equals poor management”.
Most of you know that this blog deals with the basics of Project Management. For this week’s blog we will talk a little about Quality in Project Management. Quality is a heavily tested knowledge area on the PMP exam and as such we should all be familiar with the subject.
According to Philip B. Crosby, Quality is “conformance to requirements”. He goes on to state the Four Absolutes of Quality as:
- The definition of quality is conformance to requirements
- The system of quality is prevention
- The performance standard is zero defects
- The measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance.
Another Quality Guru is Joseph Juran. He states that “Quality is fitness for use”. He also defines something called the Quality Trilogy. It is:
- Quality Improvement
- Quality Planning
- Quality Control
Juran also goes on to define the “Ten Steps in the Quality Improvement Process”. They are:
- Build awareness of the need and opportunity for improvement
- Set goals for improvement
- Organize to reach the goals
- Provide training throughout the organization
- Carry out the projects to solve problems
- Report progress
- Give recognition
- Communicate results
- Keep score
- Maintain momentum by making annual improvement part of the regular systems and processes of the company.
Lastly, we look at what Dr. W. Edwards Deming says about Quality. According to Dr. Deming, Quality is “continuous improvement through reduced variation”. His five principles are:
- The central problem in lack of quality is the failure of management to understand variation.
- It is management’s responsibility to know whether the problems are in the system or behavior of people.
- Teamwork should be based upon knowledge, design, and redesign. Constant improvement is management’s responsibility. Most causes of low quality and productivity belong to the system.
- Train people until they are achieving as much as they can (within the limits of the system).
- It is management’s responsibility to give detailed specifications.
Do the above statements reflect the situation in your work environment? Is your management engaged in Quality? Are they hands-on, hands-off, or asleep at the switch?
Quality is everyone’s job; however Quality cannot be managed with out the participation of management. I would even be so bold to say that “poor quality equals poor management”.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Backwards Planning
I came across this article and thought it made some very good points.
Backwards Planning6 Simple Rules for Scheduling Next Year
“Russian Submarine Captains don’t (go to the bathroom) without a plan.” -Fred Thompson, in The Hunt for Red October
There’s another saying that goes: “The more you do of what you’re doing, the more you’ll get of what you’ve got.” Tired of getting the same results year and year out? It is time to start planning for success. It is time to try something different. Here’s 6 Steps to guide you in planning ahead for success in the year ahead. Use them in your next meeting and see how the orient your entire organization’s thinking.
1. RESULTS – Try planning backwards - Start with the results in mind. Most mid-level managers plan around their schedule in an effort to “fill the calendar.” If your group’s goal is to stay active and keep everyone busy this is a great idea. But if your goal is to accomplish something like, oh I don’t know, let’s say your organization’s mission or turn a profit, this is the dumbest way to start out. Really, what are you in business to do? Move the sand pile left then move it back right the next quarter?
Smart planners begin with the results they want to achieve. They ruthlessly eliminate everything that doesn’t support this goal. They never hesitate to say, “No, that’s not what we are about.” Great leaders stay focused on the main thing they and never deter from it. What do you want to see occur next year? Where do you want to be? Set that as your planning goal and let everything fall in to place around it. Guard this and don’t let any other activity or program get in the way.
2. ACTIVITIES – Next plan the activities it will take to accomplish your goal(s). Don’t schedule them yet. Just sit down and determine what it will take to get to the destination you have set. Some activities may be impossible to pull off, but this will give you a good idea of what you need to be doing and how you need to distribute resources to get things done. Planning activities will help you determine the Big Three questions that need to be answered in planning guidelines:
(A) What do you think you are doing?
(B) What ought you to be doing?
(C) What are you actually doing?
Examining all three perspectives will give you valuable insight into your job and time problems.
Activities that don’t meet these criteria or don’t support the mission of your company, corporation or mission should be eliminated, no matter how sacred they are. How many exercises do you do for no other reason than, we’ve always done them? Read Sacred Cows Make Great Burgers. Yes, it is risky to ask “Why?” but you’ve got to take a few risks to venture into new territory. Have some fun. Go around and ask people how certain historical practices originated and why they continue to schedule them every year. You’ll be surprised at how many people are clueless, but continue to perform them like mindless sheep.
3. PRIORITIES – The next step will happen almost automatically. You and your staff will begin to re-evaluate your priorities and find out what you need to be about in the year ahead. You’ll be surprised to find consensus when you have eliminated useless activities that don’t accomplish your mission or goals. Determining your goals and activities will help you establish clear priorities for the time period you are planning. It will help you enforce the “If it doesn’t support or goals, we’re not doing it” rule.
Use the Paretto Principle to establish priorities: “Eighty percent of our activities produce 20 percent of the results, while only 20 percent of our activities produce 80 percent of the results.” Vilifredo Paretto was a 19th Century Italian economist who established a rule for economics that works in almost every realm of planning. It is simple: List your top ten priorities in order, then circle the top two. Concentrate planning on those two and the other eight will take care of themselves. More organizations waste time on useless trivial activities that produce almost no results. The wisdom of life consists of eliminating the non-essentials.
4. TIME ESTIMATES – How long will it take? How much time will each activity require to get you closer to your annual goals? The key to successful planning is to plan both work and time. Start to determine what will take big blocks of time, how many people will be required to get it done and where will the resources be needed to accomplish each task. Next look at the smaller blocks of time and find out how they can be batched together to eliminate waste in funding and time. Where are the wasted time slots? How can they be reduced or wiped away completely?
Determine what time of the year is the peak performance time to get each task accomplished. Where are the slow periods annually that you can get more “behind the scenes” work done? When is your “showtime,” when visible tasks are best accomplished? Remember these are only estimates but they will give you a good idea as to when you need to be concentrating on the right tasks at the right time.
5. SCHEDULING - Now look at your actual calendar. Things that are scheduled tend to happen on time. Things that are not scheduled may never happen. As I said earlier, most managers tend to schedule first in an effort to fill the calendar and eliminate gaps. Knowing what you are about, why you are about it, and how long it will take will be the greatest ally you have in putting things on in ink.
Use this guideline for scheduling: Flexibility in time: Start early on major efforts, Big blocks come first; smaller jobs/activities come second; and group items that are similar in nature. Scheduling along these lines will do more to eliminate wasted time in your calendar. It will allow for the time estimates to become realities and your people to know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how it fits into your overall mission/goals.
6. FLEXIBILITY – Allow time for error and the uncertainty. This can only be done if you have set out to allow the proper amount of time for big projects. No one can predict the future (although we seem to have an abundance of philosophers, pundits and fanatics who attempt to do it every day). A well-known television economist spent the first two months of his new program telling everyone not to buy home improvement company stocks (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) then was forced to retract every prediction when they soared following the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf Coast areas. One good rule: Don’t take advice from anyone who isn’t personally invested in the suggestions they are giving. You probably have example in your own life of people who said to do one thing only to change when things weren’t as certain as they assured you. Don’t get stuck paying the bill for their mistakes.
Planning flexibility allows you to adjust your schedule as needed. It allows you to drop back and re-evaluate your intentions and redistribute resources and personnel in key areas as are required. Be flexible about your schedule, but not your results or goals. Times change and although you can’t predict the future, the great leaders are able to see through the present times and prepare for both good and bad events. Those with the best outlook on life are always expecting the best, but prepared for the worst, just in case. To deny that problems will arise is foolishness. In summary, our ability to control our time is directly related to our attitude toward controlling our environment. Now you are in control of your schedule. You determine what to do and when to do it based on a simple rule: What results do we want? Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”A year from today, evaluate the tasks you accomplished. How did your employees, support staff come together to meet your goals? How long did it take for everyone to get in step with the master plan and find ways to cut wasted time and reallocate resources? How prepared were you for unforeseen events in the market and society? How much more can you accomplish next year? Try “Backwards Planning” and see how everything fits better into place.
Permission is granted to reproduce this article in whole or in part provided the following byline below appears along with the article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you: JIM MATHIS is an International Speaking Professional and Trainer.
To subscribe to his FREE personal and professional development newsletter, please send an email to subscribe@jimmathis.com with the word SUBSCRIBE. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. For more information on how JIM and his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 888-688-0220, or visit his website: www.jimmathis.com
Backwards Planning6 Simple Rules for Scheduling Next Year
“Russian Submarine Captains don’t (go to the bathroom) without a plan.” -Fred Thompson, in The Hunt for Red October
There’s another saying that goes: “The more you do of what you’re doing, the more you’ll get of what you’ve got.” Tired of getting the same results year and year out? It is time to start planning for success. It is time to try something different. Here’s 6 Steps to guide you in planning ahead for success in the year ahead. Use them in your next meeting and see how the orient your entire organization’s thinking.
1. RESULTS – Try planning backwards - Start with the results in mind. Most mid-level managers plan around their schedule in an effort to “fill the calendar.” If your group’s goal is to stay active and keep everyone busy this is a great idea. But if your goal is to accomplish something like, oh I don’t know, let’s say your organization’s mission or turn a profit, this is the dumbest way to start out. Really, what are you in business to do? Move the sand pile left then move it back right the next quarter?
Smart planners begin with the results they want to achieve. They ruthlessly eliminate everything that doesn’t support this goal. They never hesitate to say, “No, that’s not what we are about.” Great leaders stay focused on the main thing they and never deter from it. What do you want to see occur next year? Where do you want to be? Set that as your planning goal and let everything fall in to place around it. Guard this and don’t let any other activity or program get in the way.
2. ACTIVITIES – Next plan the activities it will take to accomplish your goal(s). Don’t schedule them yet. Just sit down and determine what it will take to get to the destination you have set. Some activities may be impossible to pull off, but this will give you a good idea of what you need to be doing and how you need to distribute resources to get things done. Planning activities will help you determine the Big Three questions that need to be answered in planning guidelines:
(A) What do you think you are doing?
(B) What ought you to be doing?
(C) What are you actually doing?
Examining all three perspectives will give you valuable insight into your job and time problems.
Activities that don’t meet these criteria or don’t support the mission of your company, corporation or mission should be eliminated, no matter how sacred they are. How many exercises do you do for no other reason than, we’ve always done them? Read Sacred Cows Make Great Burgers. Yes, it is risky to ask “Why?” but you’ve got to take a few risks to venture into new territory. Have some fun. Go around and ask people how certain historical practices originated and why they continue to schedule them every year. You’ll be surprised at how many people are clueless, but continue to perform them like mindless sheep.
3. PRIORITIES – The next step will happen almost automatically. You and your staff will begin to re-evaluate your priorities and find out what you need to be about in the year ahead. You’ll be surprised to find consensus when you have eliminated useless activities that don’t accomplish your mission or goals. Determining your goals and activities will help you establish clear priorities for the time period you are planning. It will help you enforce the “If it doesn’t support or goals, we’re not doing it” rule.
Use the Paretto Principle to establish priorities: “Eighty percent of our activities produce 20 percent of the results, while only 20 percent of our activities produce 80 percent of the results.” Vilifredo Paretto was a 19th Century Italian economist who established a rule for economics that works in almost every realm of planning. It is simple: List your top ten priorities in order, then circle the top two. Concentrate planning on those two and the other eight will take care of themselves. More organizations waste time on useless trivial activities that produce almost no results. The wisdom of life consists of eliminating the non-essentials.
4. TIME ESTIMATES – How long will it take? How much time will each activity require to get you closer to your annual goals? The key to successful planning is to plan both work and time. Start to determine what will take big blocks of time, how many people will be required to get it done and where will the resources be needed to accomplish each task. Next look at the smaller blocks of time and find out how they can be batched together to eliminate waste in funding and time. Where are the wasted time slots? How can they be reduced or wiped away completely?
Determine what time of the year is the peak performance time to get each task accomplished. Where are the slow periods annually that you can get more “behind the scenes” work done? When is your “showtime,” when visible tasks are best accomplished? Remember these are only estimates but they will give you a good idea as to when you need to be concentrating on the right tasks at the right time.
5. SCHEDULING - Now look at your actual calendar. Things that are scheduled tend to happen on time. Things that are not scheduled may never happen. As I said earlier, most managers tend to schedule first in an effort to fill the calendar and eliminate gaps. Knowing what you are about, why you are about it, and how long it will take will be the greatest ally you have in putting things on in ink.
Use this guideline for scheduling: Flexibility in time: Start early on major efforts, Big blocks come first; smaller jobs/activities come second; and group items that are similar in nature. Scheduling along these lines will do more to eliminate wasted time in your calendar. It will allow for the time estimates to become realities and your people to know what they are doing, why they are doing it and how it fits into your overall mission/goals.
6. FLEXIBILITY – Allow time for error and the uncertainty. This can only be done if you have set out to allow the proper amount of time for big projects. No one can predict the future (although we seem to have an abundance of philosophers, pundits and fanatics who attempt to do it every day). A well-known television economist spent the first two months of his new program telling everyone not to buy home improvement company stocks (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) then was forced to retract every prediction when they soared following the devastating hurricanes in the Gulf Coast areas. One good rule: Don’t take advice from anyone who isn’t personally invested in the suggestions they are giving. You probably have example in your own life of people who said to do one thing only to change when things weren’t as certain as they assured you. Don’t get stuck paying the bill for their mistakes.
Planning flexibility allows you to adjust your schedule as needed. It allows you to drop back and re-evaluate your intentions and redistribute resources and personnel in key areas as are required. Be flexible about your schedule, but not your results or goals. Times change and although you can’t predict the future, the great leaders are able to see through the present times and prepare for both good and bad events. Those with the best outlook on life are always expecting the best, but prepared for the worst, just in case. To deny that problems will arise is foolishness. In summary, our ability to control our time is directly related to our attitude toward controlling our environment. Now you are in control of your schedule. You determine what to do and when to do it based on a simple rule: What results do we want? Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”A year from today, evaluate the tasks you accomplished. How did your employees, support staff come together to meet your goals? How long did it take for everyone to get in step with the master plan and find ways to cut wasted time and reallocate resources? How prepared were you for unforeseen events in the market and society? How much more can you accomplish next year? Try “Backwards Planning” and see how everything fits better into place.
Permission is granted to reproduce this article in whole or in part provided the following byline below appears along with the article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you: JIM MATHIS is an International Speaking Professional and Trainer.
To subscribe to his FREE personal and professional development newsletter, please send an email to subscribe@jimmathis.com with the word SUBSCRIBE. An electronic copy will be sent out to you every month. For more information on how JIM and his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 888-688-0220, or visit his website: www.jimmathis.com
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Accepting Criticism
The other day while talking with one of my bosses I was told that I can come off sometimes as being pessimistic. I wasn't expecting this remark and had to think for a moment about my response. Basically my response was that yes, at times I can be pessimistic. After the meeting I started to think about my behavior over the past year, which led me to remember something I learned long ago. If we expect criticism we will seldom be disappointed when we receive it.
There are many types of criticism, and usually none of it is welcome. Destructive criticism seldom offers any value to the person receiving it and can cause them to be close-minded regarding any future criticism. While the criticism I received was presented in a constructive way, it still didn't make it easier to take. And for what it is worth, we must remember that criticism is just one person's opinion.
What is my point regarding all of this? Constructive criticism can help make us better by forcing us to stop and think about how we act, and interact with others. We need to remember that a positive, optimistic attitude will help us to build strong relationships and obtain the trust and respect of others.
Criticism is something we can avoid easily - by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing - Aristotle
There are many types of criticism, and usually none of it is welcome. Destructive criticism seldom offers any value to the person receiving it and can cause them to be close-minded regarding any future criticism. While the criticism I received was presented in a constructive way, it still didn't make it easier to take. And for what it is worth, we must remember that criticism is just one person's opinion.
What is my point regarding all of this? Constructive criticism can help make us better by forcing us to stop and think about how we act, and interact with others. We need to remember that a positive, optimistic attitude will help us to build strong relationships and obtain the trust and respect of others.
Criticism is something we can avoid easily - by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing - Aristotle
Friday, October 14, 2005
Organizational Project Management Best Practices
A good reference book about Project Management is “The Portable MBA in Project Management by Eric Verzuh”. In the book Eric sites a major study that was conducted around what Project Management Best Practices look like in a typical large organization. Perhaps we can learn a few things by looking at the results.
Formal (agreed-upon) Project Management Structure
Companies that successfully implement and use project management have a formal structure in place. These organizations have repeatable project management processes, and executives of the company are engaged and accountable for the success of project management and the project’s that they sponsor.
A Repeat Project Management Process
Repeatable processes that are aligned to PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) Guide’s Nine Knowledge areas have been shown to increase the probability of project success.
Alignment of Projects to the Organizations Strategy
Projects that aren’t aligned will probably not be given a high priority (or proper support) within the organization. Projects that are aligned will have an executive sponsor that is engaged and measured against the project’s success.
Use of Tools
Project Managers need tools to do their job just like any other profession. The tools can be project management software, templates, and other items. The tools need to be closely aligned around the organization’s project management processes.
Experienced Project Managers
This was found to be the single most important success factor in the companies studied. The skills that successful project managers exhibit were:
Experience in Project Management
Ability to see the big picture
Excellent communications skills (verbal and written)
Willingness to do what it takes
Leadership and organizational skills
Problem solving skills
Collaborative and cooperative
Positive Attitude
The book is a great Project Management reference, is well written, and contains a wealth of information that will help you to be a better project manager.
For more information go to: http://www.pcigroup1.com/home_frm.htm
Formal (agreed-upon) Project Management Structure
Companies that successfully implement and use project management have a formal structure in place. These organizations have repeatable project management processes, and executives of the company are engaged and accountable for the success of project management and the project’s that they sponsor.
A Repeat Project Management Process
Repeatable processes that are aligned to PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge) Guide’s Nine Knowledge areas have been shown to increase the probability of project success.
Alignment of Projects to the Organizations Strategy
Projects that aren’t aligned will probably not be given a high priority (or proper support) within the organization. Projects that are aligned will have an executive sponsor that is engaged and measured against the project’s success.
Use of Tools
Project Managers need tools to do their job just like any other profession. The tools can be project management software, templates, and other items. The tools need to be closely aligned around the organization’s project management processes.
Experienced Project Managers
This was found to be the single most important success factor in the companies studied. The skills that successful project managers exhibit were:
Experience in Project Management
Ability to see the big picture
Excellent communications skills (verbal and written)
Willingness to do what it takes
Leadership and organizational skills
Problem solving skills
Collaborative and cooperative
Positive Attitude
The book is a great Project Management reference, is well written, and contains a wealth of information that will help you to be a better project manager.
For more information go to: http://www.pcigroup1.com/home_frm.htm
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Wasted Time
As project managers we are very focused on time. As time passes, we often find that our project and personal objectives aren’t being achieved. We look back at our project or personal goals and see ways we could have done things differently that would have saved us time. We agonize over the loss of time, and look for ways to do more with less, or look to find additional resources to help make up for the lack of time.
I was recently sent a link to a website that brings the topic of time to the forefront. It has significant meaning, especially when applied to our personal lives. Be sure you have your sound turned up on your PC and give the link a try.
Hopefully in will enlighten you about the concept of time, and its importance in your personal as well as your business life.
Check out the site at: The Time Movie
I was recently sent a link to a website that brings the topic of time to the forefront. It has significant meaning, especially when applied to our personal lives. Be sure you have your sound turned up on your PC and give the link a try.
Hopefully in will enlighten you about the concept of time, and its importance in your personal as well as your business life.
Check out the site at: The Time Movie