A quick reminder: Agendas are important

Sometimes, I'll admit, I get a little lazy. No, "lazy" isn't the right word...it's more like I get a little too "comfortable." I'm comfortable with my project team; I'm comfortable with the work being done; I'm comfortable with our interactions; I'm comfortable with where we're headed; I'm comfortable with my own understanding of what's coming up and what we're supposed to be focused on; and I'm comfortable with my own ability to shoot from the hip. So sometimes, when I'm "comfortable," I come into meetings with an agenda in my mind, rather than published ahead of time. But just recently,... Read More»

Managing the Administrivia

Sometimes the paperwork and administrative tasks required by an organization are daunting, especially at review time. And as managers, there are so many more important things to do than all that paperwork, right? Wrong! One of the key things you do as a manager is keep ahead of company processes, do what you can to ensure they make sense, and, sensible or not, keep your team in the know and their paperwork up-to-date. I had a manager that was on the road a lot and didn't prioritize the administrative functions of his job. The bulk of our commission check came... Read More»

Networking for Risk Mitigation

There are an infinite number of ways to improve project performance, theoretically speaking. Unfortunately most are too risky, costly, complex or creative to be accepted by executives who are focused on this quarter's results. There is one tool in your tool kit that can get you the resources, funding and executive support to pull it off - an influential network! What?!? You don't have one of those in the kit? Unfortunately you can't buy one, so start investing small amounts of time to develop a strategy. By adding value to key professional relationships across the company and with experts outside,... Read More»

Avoiding Fumbles

A number of years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles played against the New York Giants in a game remembered for a fumble. The Giants had the ball, leading 17-12 with 31 seconds to go. The Eagles had used all their timeouts, and New York simply had to run one more play to win. For nearly all such situations, the quarterback will take the snap and fall to one knee - a safe call to avoid any handoffs. But this time, the offensive coordinator called for a running play. The handoff from the quarterback to the running back was fumbled. The Eagles'... Read More»

Lessons from Literature

As I was putting together materials about creating the project office, I was reminded of some powerful lessons that are universally applicable to most all work. An effective technique during implementation of any change initiative is to use metaphors or literary references that help people understand concepts. Metaphors also help in reframing attitudes. At the same time they help to tame the chaos that may be surrounding the project. A first step is to name it-to name the chaos or name the problem or name the person. This lesson comes across from the fox in Antoine de Saint Exupery's infamous... Read More»

Manage Your Communications

When should you use an email, the phone, or handle communication in person? People like to receive their communication in different ways and it can vary depending on what you are communicating. I had a boss that was a "phone guy.” He wanted all communication to happen ear to mouth and wasn't an avid user of email. He was also an intensely busy guy. Catching him on the phone without a scheduled meeting was difficult. That made my job hard because sometimes I needed real time feedback from him on deals I was working. Another guy I worked for was... Read More»

Managing from the Heart

I've had the on-going privilege of facilitating an on-line course for the UC Extension. Participants engage in story telling about topics on management and leadership. Here is an example describing that effective leaders are out there and that there is much we can learn from them: Very early in her career, Brenda was a direct report to a manager whom she still admires as a leader to this day. "Although I no longer work for her, I am thankful that I had the opportunity to be coached and mentored by her. She helped to shape the leader that I am... Read More»

What do those stoplights really mean?

Within the last year, I have worked in two separate organizations where the expectations for status reporting were revised and I was involved in developing tools to support or communicate the different expectations. What I found in both cases, with fairly different organizational cultures, was a hang up amongst many project managers about the criteria used for identifying a project, or some aspect of a project as green, yellow, or red. My initial thought on that question, and the seemingly endless discussions that followed, was that people should just trust their gut and not get hung up on exact definitions... Read More»

Mapping Your Project Message

One of the really enjoyable aspects of project work is the opportunity to apply tools and techniques from other fields to leading projects. The other day I found out about a technique, used frequently in crisis management, known as message mapping. Whether or not your project is in a crisis (or even perceived to be), message mapping provides a helpful way of organizing your communication about a potentially controversial change introduced by your project. One way to describe a message map is targeted Frequently Asked Questions (that's my simplistic view). Another way to describe message maps is “a roadmap for... Read More»

Information Required To Get The Job Done

Vendor Data Requirements In the last article, I talked about the Standard Component List and it’s importance to your project in helping make sure you get what you want and what you need. Another important document, that goes along with the Standard Component List, is the Vendor Data Requirements. This document is typically used when purchasing equipment and outlines to the vendor exactly what information you expect him to include with his quote. This document comes in a couple of formats, one as a printed document describing in detail what information you are looking for and the other as an... Read More»