Project Sponsors Are a Risk

Enterprise information technology (IT) applications can be difficult to implement, and often don’t deliver on their promises.  Why is this?  I believe the number one reason these projects fail to deliver on their promises is the lack of a strong, engaged, focused, and available executive sponsor.

IT customers are demanding more from their technology, and want results that help them reduce their bottom line, gain efficiencies, and do more with less.  Line managers have a justified fear of giving up control of their legacy applications because of past IT miscues and screw-ups.

A project manager’s job is to help understand and integrate departmental business processes to help ensure the technology will meet the customer’s needs.  A project manager can’t accomplish this task by themself.  Implementing an enterprise technology solution can be a daunting task and requires the skills and talents of many people.  When these projects fail, the blame falls equally between the project manager and the project sponsor.

PM FOR DUMMIES 101 - In order to successfully implement enterprise IT applications organizations first need to create the culture and climate that ensures investments in information technology contribute to a desired future outcome rather than continuing past practices.

Project Manager Tip – PLAN carefully then DO quickly.  The just “do it” culture is usually fraught with project failures and ruined careers.  Run from a project that requires the project manager to follow the failed mantra that says “Ready, Fire, Aim”!

Project Sponsor Tip - The sponsor must understand the technology being implemented, the culture where the change is taking place, and the benefits of implementing the desired solution.  He or she must be willing to “kick some ass” to get the solution implemented in a timely fashion, and ensure the solution provides the required benefits to the organization.

The sponsor articulates the project vision, objectives and goals, and drives the change to the culture, PERIOD.  NEVER forget this fact.  Also, an invisible project sponsor is your project’s biggest risk.

In Search of Excellence

Good post by Tom Peters the author of the blockbuster book "In Search of Excellence".  Tom writes:

"In response to a Tweet, I summarized In Search of Excellence—and thence the last 30 years of my professional life—in less than 140 characters.

In Search of Excellence basics in 127 characters including quotation marks and spaces:

"Cherish your people, cuddle your customers, wander around, 'try it' beats 'talk about it,' pursue excellence, tell the truth."

Good Habits

‘Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.’ ~Benjamin Franklin

Organizations and Project Failure

Studies have shown there are lots of out of control projects in organizations.  One of the contributing factors to this fact is the lack of qualified project management professionals.  Many organizations tag people and assign them to run projects even though they have little to no project management experience.  We know that training alone does not make a project manager. It takes years of experience to build project management competence.  (KNOWLEDGE + EXPERIENCE = WISDOM)

Project management is a discipline, and as such requires people with self-discipline, and project management knowledge and experience to be successful.  Too many times organizations look at a person’s technical and/or functional skills and make the assumption they can train them in the project management basics.  They also wrongly assume these individuals will make a quick, smooth transition and be effective, capable project managers. You aren’t effective at anything if you aren’t measured against your performance.  Most “accidental” project managers fail miserably because they don’t have the experience, or aren’t interested in doing the job.

Immature organizations tend to add project management to people’s job function rather than recognizing that project management is a profession.  Organizations won’t be successful entrusting large complex projects to accidental project managers.  Organizations can help themselves by realizing that project management competence is measurable, and project management results are what really matter. 

Inconsistent project results are many times the result of having the wrong people planning the wrong things in the wrong order, and using the wrong resources at the wrong following the wrong process looking for the wrong results.

Competency at anything requires training, knowledge, and experience. Providing project management training without the benefit of ongoing mentoring is just asking for poor project results and dissatisfied customers.

In closing, project management is a profession.  Training alone doesn’t build professionalism.  It takes lots of time and varied experiences, and even then some people never become professional project managers.

Negotiating with Minimal Conflict

In the book "Field Guide to Project Management" by David I Cleland, there is a discussion on page 282 about "Conflict in Negotiations". As the book mentions, PMI (the Project Management Institute) outlines eight project management functions that can be a source of conflict.

To paraphrase from the book, the areas are:

Scope: what is to be done (results, products, services)

Quality: what measures, what steps to be taken

Cost: financial outcomes, savings, ROI

Time: deadlines, resources, when complete

Risk: what risks are accepted, avoided, deflected

Human Resources: what resources, what skills, availability, competency

Contract/Procurement: cost, requirements/specifications, when, how, what, where

Communications: when, how, to whom, contains what

There are several ways to approach handling conflict (see the Guide to the PMBOK), however the important point to keep in mind is we must confront the issue(s) and work with the individuals or groups to come to a win/win outcome.

Unresolved conflict can often lead to bitterness and resentment, which can linger and rise up later to sabotage your project. 

Good List of YouTube Videos for Business and Project Management

I don't link to many external websites, but I like the list of YouTube videos Molly Cunningham has put together on her site.

Click here to check out her site

Communication Tips

How are your project communications? How do others perceive you? How do you perceive yourself as a communicator?  Let us review some rules of communication that will help us better manage our projects.

When making presentations know your:

OBJECTIVE – Goal, Purpose, Destination

LISTENER – Know facts about the group, the group expectations, the key people

APPROACH – Premise, Strategy, Theme, Pay-off for the Listener

When speaking with others one-on-one, use statements that show you are concerned about them. Remember the three “A”s when communicating.

APPRECIATING – Show appreciation for the other person’s problem or situation

Examples: “I appreciate you bringing this to my attention”

“Thank you for letting me know that”

ACKNOWLEDGING – This lets the other person know that you hear them

Example: "I can understand…I sorry to hear that..."

ASSURING – Lets the other person know that you will help

Example: “This will be taken care of…I will see to that personally.”

Some thoughts to ponder…

Project Managers that do not communicate effectively at the right times are destined to fail.

Poor communication skills have derailed many a career.

More than likely you will never be told that your communications skills are lacking.

Every project needs to have a written communication plan.

Acouple of books you might consider are: “The Four Agreements” and the “Seven Survival Skills for a Reengineered World”.