 Reforming Project Management |
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Friday, May 23, 2003
Managing For A Higher Purpose
I found a short article today that supports the point I made in my Project e-Tip this week Keep the Project Mission Alive. John Brandt writing Brandt On Leadership -- Managing For A Higher Purpose in Industry Week claims leaders are more successful when they manage according to purpose rather than time or tasks. (M)ost of us manage ourselves not according to our talents and purpose, but according to time and tasks. (L)eaders who imbue organizations with a mission beyond merely making money -- something that can capture the imagination and hearts of customers, employees and partners alike -- are consistently more profitable than those who don't.Clarify the mission for everyone on your team. Do it today. And, do it again and again. Thursday, May 22, 2003
Conquering Team Dysfunction
Some of you long-time readers know I am a Patrick Lencioni fan. Pat is the author of three best-selling books on leadership: Five Temptations of a CEO, Four Obsessions of Executives, and Five Dysfunctions of Teams. I've reviewed his leadership trilogy before (this posting might be temporarily unavailable). So why am I writing now? I got to meet Pat and his team while they were delivering a program for executive teams Conquering the Five Dysfunctions Workshop in the same hotel that hosted Coachville's Future of Coaching conference. Pat is a cool guy. (Is it still cool to say, "cool"?) He invited me to slip in to watch him work. Later I introduced Pat to the folks leading Coachville. Here's one of Pat's most recent articles Conquering Team Dysfunction. Pat writes: Successful teamwork is not about mastering subtle, sophisticated theories, but rather about embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence. Ironically, teams succeed because they are exceedingly human. By acknowledging the imperfections of their humanity, members of functional teams can overcome the natural tendencies that make teamwork so elusive and accomplish more than any mere group of individuals could ever imagine. Do yourself a favor. Read the whole article Conquering Team Dysfunction and share it with your team. Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Weekly Project e-Tip: Keep the Project Mission Alive
In this Project e-Tip I am introducing actions the project manager/leader can take for organizing and keeping a project on track. Try it out. Try speaking about the project mission for six weeks. I'm not kidding! It takes that much repetition to convey the seriousness and to make it stick. Don't stop short.
Still waiting on readers for their e-Tips! Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Take Another Look at Project Success Measures
Bill Duncan, original author of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK®), wrote a concise article, METHODS AND MEANS: For Good Measure, in the May/June Projects@Work journal. Bill covers the bases providing both a context for measuring project success and guidelines for developing useful metrics that matter.
I suggest we step back from the usual success criteria of cost schedule, and customer satisfaction. While performance in these areas matter, they are the result of doing other things well. Try these: First, what is the point or mission of the whole project? We might describe it as design and build something, or we could describe the mission in terms of the overall value created for the customer. Why the latter? Because even project missions can be expected to change over the project life. The customer learns, the team learns, circumstances change, and life happens. Next, what is the reliability of task completions? When team members' work completes as expected others' work is released as planned. Finally, how are we doing learning and adjusting to the ever-changing project circumstances? Are we innovating? Are people growing in their roles? Is the customer getting more value than expected? Take another look at your project measures. Focus on the variables not just outcomes. Sunday, May 18, 2003
Fast Ideas for Slow Times
Projects are the setting for carrying out innovation. We don't lack for good ideas, not even great ideas. We lack for successful selection, development, and implementation of those ideas through the process of innovation. That all happens as projects.
Christine Canabou writing Fast Ideas for Slow Times in the May issue of Fast Company offers an assimilation of some very good thinking on innovation. Too bad she sells it short in her subtitle ...three rules for conservative creativity. From where I sit the advice applies equally well to the general project setting:
The process of innovation only begins with the idea. It continues as a project through prototyping, development, delivery, etc. Throughout the project there is a continuing opportunity for (re)shaping the innovation through inviting all project team members to use their gifts. Organize your projects, of whatever type, to exploit the otherwise latent talents available on your team. Invite team members to join you in playing the game You ain't seen nothin' yet! Visit the Archives for more postings |
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