I know, I know: There are so many
problems, especially the unpredictable ones, that it seems a worthless exercise
to try isolating the single worst. Those devilish items take turns being the
worst, often with head-spinning rapidity.
The specifics can include, but most
definitely are not limited to:
Insufficient time
Scope creep
Fuzzy expectations
. . .
often unexpressed and/or unknown to those who have them
Abrupt changes in
organizational priorities
Lack of assured project
resources
Team members who won’t
make commitments
. . . or
won’t keep the commitments they’ve made
Managers who block or
limit team members’ participation
Lack of insights from
project end users
And these things gang up on you, in
combinations that also can morph so often it’s an extra challenge just to keep
track of them.
But you’re the project manager, and
you have to act – decisively and effectively. Befuddlement is not an option.
So you act right away. But not by
creating a project plan and recruiting a team. Not at this point.
Your fundamental starting point is
to create a logic for mastering the tangle in front of you. Something has to be
first, and it has to launch the process of control that underlies the entire
concept of management.
That Step One is to get fully
informed on the specifics. What is this project all about? What are the
expectations of the person or persons who will be making the final decisions
about it?
If you can’t get really detailed,
concrete information from the ultimate decision maker, that’s your first
problem, and it’s a big one. It introduces a major risk and you’ve
got to deal with it.
The concept and initial expectations
may be incomplete, contradictory or impossible. Whatever they are, you don’t
argue or press overmuch for details that may not exist. Nor do you sit and
wring your hands.
You get all you can, take careful
notes and promise a proposal within 24 hours.
Your proposal is in the form of a
project plan, using the preliminary information as its basis. If I
understand correctly, this is what you want me to do.
You carry it through to a logical
conclusion, including the staffing, financing and physical resources you
estimate it would take to turn out the desired result.
However impossible that might be.
The response is going to be in
one of three forms:
1. “This looks really good – let’s go ahead with
it.”
2. “You’re on the right path. Let’s do some work on this.”
3. "This is terrible. What makes you think we
have all this time, all these resources, all
these people?"
If you get Number 1, congratulations
. . . but be careful. You’re not crazy enough to expect “let’s go ahead with
it” to REALLY means “let’s go ahead with it.” I used to jump ahead on that
basis back in my early days, often with painful results.
What it really means is that the
manager is favorable, but a cautious, step-by-step advance is advised. You seek
frequent approvals until a solid favorable record has been established. With
trust and thorough communication, you can expect greater autonomy.
Number 2 is quite
similar, but it often signals a tighter rein. Get as much detail as you can on
what the right path is, and what work is indicated. Do new detailed proposals
on relatively small portions of the plan, building on successive approvals.
Number 3 is very good
news, believe it or not. It signals that you have smoked out – at this
very early point – one of the deadliest devils of project management:
Unrealistic expectations at the top of the authority chain. Either little was thought
through or the decision-maker is making fatally rosy assumptions.
Just think of those horror shows
that ensue when the project manager obediently proceeds to attempt the
impossible until . . .
Until the arrival of the
embarrassing, expensive disaster for which blame is to be assigned. The boss
may not excoriate you for failing to talk him/her out of the bad idea. By then,
more often than not, the boss decides it’s your bad management that’s at fault.
So it is far better, far more professional,
to ignite the fire immediately. Right at the moment the situation becomes
clear.
Remember, your proposal/plan was
thorough, based on your careful questioning of your manager. The situation,
assumptions, risks and project activities are all there in the concrete,
devised by you from what you got from the proposer, and in solid project
management form.
So the investment estimates you
inserted follow in the same way. If the original idea included unrealistic
time, cost and activity estimates, your proposal deals with them respectfully
but honestly.
You’re careful not to enter your
opinions contesting the expectations – just facts and standard project
management estimates.
This difficult initial situation represents
the most important challenge of all for you, the project manager. It tests
everything: Your professional knowledge, your management maturity, your
judgment, your abilities to negotiate and persuade.
Your job may be on the line, and
possibly your career. Pull it off, and you’re a top performer. If instead you
have to go along, handle that properly. You will earn the respect of all
involved.
Whatever happens, this situation
presents you with all the problems listed at the top of this commentary.
Treasure the moments when you’ve seen it handled well. Prepare yourself for the
times you’ll be called upon to do it yourself.
It’s the hardest part of Project
Management.
QUESTION for your comment: What is your success rate in persuading decision-makers to
change unrealistic directives?
SEE ALSO: Disengage Project Autopilot
https://jimmillikenproject.blogspot.com/2018/05/listen-up-disengage-project-autopilot.html
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