Project Communications Planning

Project Communications Planning is a process that is continuous throughout a project. When building your initial Project Communications plan focus on the following:

Define Your Audiences - Who needs to know What, and When and How do they need to know it. Communication needs and audiences will change as the project moves forward. Plan for it.

Start from the Top and Work Your Way Down the Chain - Start your Communications with the highest levels of the organization first, then work your way down to the team members. Repeat this cycle.

Target Your Message to the Different Groups - Different groups (and sometimes individuals) may require different types of communications media (e-mail, status reports, web site, face-to-face, memo, etc.). Plan for these different types of communications vehicles up front.

Define Roles and Responsibilities - Ensure that your Project Communications Plan includes Roles and Responsibilities for key stakeholders.

Status Reports - Status Reports are a great form of Project Communication if kept short and to the point.

Repetitive Messages will be Required - The same message delivered using different mechanisms and sources will help to reinforce your message.

Anticipate Conflict - Tailor your communications to overcome Conflict before it occurs. Keep in mind that Conflict will always occur on a project. Conflict needs to be anticipated and managed continuously throughout the project.

Allow for Anonymous Feedback - Create a way for people to relay their positive and negative feedback anonymously.

Project Managers need to recognize that good communication is important because it helps to reduce conflict, increases information distribution, and helps to silence critics while reinforcing the positive aspects of your project.

Get the Right Talent on Your Team

Years ago I managed a large group of software engineers. At the time, it was very difficult to recruit software engineers from here in the United States, so we started sponsoring talent from overseas (China, Russia, India, etc.) and bringing them here to work.  When the economy recovers the IT sector may again have to look overseas to fill many software developer and IT vacancies. There just aren’t computer science majors coming out of American universities to satisfy the current and upcoming demand.

My point is corporations will either have to outsource IT jobs to other countries or look to bring in talent from other countries using an immigration lawyer if they can’t find the right talent within our own borders. The same principles apply to your project teams. If you don’t have the right talent in your company for your project team, consider looking to outside contractors or consultants to fill these roles.

I believe that outsourcing jobs overseas or bringing in workers from outside your borders shouldn’t occur except as a last resort. Having said that, I also realize that companies can’t grow if they can’t hire the right talent.  Never settle for what is available when staffing your project teams. If you can’t find what you need within your company don’t be afraid to look externally. The job you save may be your own.

Some Great Quotes!

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”—Helen Keller

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”— James Dean

“The two most powerful things in existence: a kind word and a thoughtful gesture.”— Ken Langone, founder, Home Depot

“The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.”— William James

“Don’t belittle!” — OD Consultant, on the essence of a well-functioning human community

“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell anything.”— Carolyn Marland/MD/Guardian Group

“It was much later that I realized Dad’s secret. He gained respect by giving it. He talked and listened to the fourth-grade kids in Spring Valley who shined shoes the same way he talked and listened to a bishop or a college president. He was seriously interested in who you were and what you had to say.” —Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Respect

“What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest respect for the followers.” — Jim O’Toole, Leading Change

“If you can’t state your position in eight words or less, you don’t have a position.” —Seth Godin

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

“Make your life itself a creative work of art.” —Mike Ray, The Highest Goal

“Have you invested as much this year in your career as in your car?” —Molly Sargent, OD consultant and trainer

“The most successful people are those who are good at plan B.” —James Yorke, Mathematician, on chaos theory in The New Scientist

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” —Oscar Wilde

“People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.”—Howard Schultz, Starbucks

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” —Charles Darwin

“We may not be interested in chaos but chaos is interested in us.” —Robert Cooper, The Breaking of Nations: Order and Chaos in the Twenty-first Century

“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”—General Eric Shinseki, retired Chief of Staff, U. S. Army

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”—Gandhi

“We eat change for breakfast!”—Harry Quadracci, founder, QuadGraphics

“If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough.” —Mario Andretti

“You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe.” —Jack Welch, retired CEO, GE

“We have a ‘strategic’ plan. It’s called doing things.”—Herb Kelleher, founder, Southwest Airlines

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” —The Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins)

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”—Steve Jobs, Apple

“Groups become great only when everyone in them, leaders and members alike, is free to do his or her absolute best.”—Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius

“The best thing a leader can do for a Great Group is to allow its members to discover their greatness.”—Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius

“You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not.”—Isabel Allende

“Nobody can prevent you from choosing to be exceptional.” —Mark Sanborn, The Fred Factor

“A leader is a dealer in hope.”—Napoleon

“Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it". Michelangelo

“If you’re enthusiastic about the things you’re working on, people will come ask you to do interesting things.” —James Woolsey, former CIA director

“Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.” —Winston Churchill

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."—John Quincy Adams

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.”—Karen Lamb

Jerks at Work (Revisited)

A book was written not long back entitled "The No A**holes Rule". In it, the author - Robert Sutton -discusses how "A**holes" a.k.a. "work jerks" can cause major disruptions in the workplace. The author  defines work jerks as "people who pick on those beneath them and leave others feeling belittled and sapped of energy. They use their power to schmooze those above them and beat down those beneath them. Much of the rest of their time can be spent bullying their peers".

My takeaway from the book is that jerks at work have a negative impact on the bottom line. They always cost organizations more than they are worth, and they cause upheaval that is harmful to individuals as well as the organization they work for.

What can we do when confronted with jerks on our projects? When possible we should avoid and ignore them. We can also look for ways to work around their influence and create partnerships with others that are willing to help. If somebody believes falsely that being a jerk will get them to the top quicker, there isn't much you and I can do about it. One thing is certain, we don't ever want to emulate their behavior. Jerks are poisonous, they are detrimental to project progress, and the value they sometimes create is erased by the disruption they cause.

Jerks almost always know they are jerks. They don't believe in Win/Win, they believe in Win/Lose (they must win, others must lose). Jerks are self centered, have large egos, and we aren't going to change them.

Project Management Rule: Project managers have to get the job done in spite of work jerks.

As project managers, we must learn to work with all types of people and get our projects completed on time and on budget in spite of them and their behaviors.  Remember, when confronted by a jerk be patient and respectful. Kill them with kindness. Don't forget that jerks can have influence over your project and career, and they occasionally have good ideas. There biggest flaw is they lack good character.

Project Management Rule: Work jerks don't subscribe to lofty ideas like fairness, cooperation, self-discipline, or integrity. 

They are reactive, many times "enemy-centered", and concerned about defending their desires and rights.

The bottom line is that work jerks lack emotional maturity. One definition of maturity is the balance between courage and consideration. Companies and organizations need to do a better job of screening for jerks during the hiring process. They need to know that studies have shown work jerks cost them more then they produce. Organizations don't need people in a leadership or any position for that matter that have questionable character, a win/lose work ethic, and a Scarcity Mentality.

Project Teams Members Need These Things

Project team members will perform at their peak when they:

Clearly understand and embrace the project's goals

Understand clearly the expectations put upon them

Understand how success will be measured

Understand the expectations of the project manager and sponsor

Believe their concerns will be listened to and addressed

Believe the project manager and sponsor are 100% committed to the success of the project

Understand that constructive, open, and free flowing communication is appreciated and welcome

Know they will be recognized and rewarded for their achievements

Don't Try to Please Everyone

As we manage our projects, we need to remember to spend the bulk of our time working with our advocates and supporters, not answering or arguing with our critics. If you say you don’t have critics on any of your projects than I say you probably aren't pushing hard enough, and that means you probably aren't a very good project manager. 

Trust and Leadership

I was reading the book "The Truth About Managing People" today and thought I would post a couple of excerpts from the book about leadership.  The link to the book is at the end of this posting.  I highly recommend this book, especially if you manage people, or are a project manager.

In regards to leadership, the book states, "When we trust someone, we assume they'll act honestly and truthfully and be reliable and predictable.  We also assume they won't take advantage of our trust.  Trust is the essence of leadership because it's impossible to lead people who don't trust you. "

Some quotes from the book to gain the trust from others....

Be open

Be fair

Speak your feelings

Tell the truth

Show consistency

Fulfill your promises

Maintain confidences

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I think this is a great book.  Enjoy!