MANAGE PROJECTS
WHY IT MATTERS
Millions of dollars and hours of productivity are wasted every year because of poorly managed projects that fail to meet their objectives, timeliness, and budgets. Of even greater potential consequence is the cost of the lost opportunities these failed projects represent to their organizations. Leaders that successfully manage projects meet their requirements for cost, timeliness, and quality. They deliver results in such an effective and efficient way that the value they provide to their customers and stakeholders opens doors to future opportunities. Leaders that fail to effectively manage projects by either overrunning their costs, taking too much time, or creating a faulty end product are likely to be passed up when future opportunities appear.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that excel at managing projects know the only way to ensure projects meet their time, cost, and quality commitments is to carefully plan, monitor, and administer them. They see project management as a high-value skill. They know that no musical orchestra can play in unison without someone directing it from the front, and they bring the same intense and unifying leadership as product managers.
Leaders that are strong project managers plan a project before it begins, knowing the cost and time-savings it will produce in the end. They know they need to get results, but are wise enough to pause and get organized first. They define the goals they need to reach. They know what the project needs to produce, who their customers are, and the demands of their key stakeholders. They invest energy in accurately forecasting project timelines and budgets. They involve others in planning and rely on their good thinking.
Leaders that excel at project management take large and complex tasks and break them down into smaller activities. They sequence those activities in the order they need to occur. They identify the known interdependencies between work. They are expert at making sure the right things happen at the right time and in the right order.
Leaders that excel at project management are able to match the right resources to the right work. They do their research to help them accurately estimate costs and allocate dollars. Because they accurately forecast their costs upfront, they are able to better control their budgets.
Leaders that successfully manage projects match the right people to the right work. They know people’s abilities, and what they enjoy doing. They know their people’s interests and skills and how to assign them the type of work that will naturally allow them to excel.
Leaders that excel at project management are strong communicators. They can get large numbers of people to see things the same way. They monitor projects closely and meet with people regularly to get project updates. They designate project measures and metrics and use them to judge both the ongoing and final success of their work.
Leaders that excel at project management recognize that despite their best effort, every project will invite unforeseen obstacles and challenges. They can adapt projects on the fly. They change project sequencing, resource allocation, and timing based on the situation.
BELIEFS
BEST PRACTICES
SELF-REFLECTION
WORDS OF CAUTION
Millions of dollars and hours of productivity are wasted every year because of poorly managed projects that fail to meet their objectives, timeliness, and budgets. Of even greater potential consequence is the cost of the lost opportunities these failed projects represent to their organizations. Leaders that successfully manage projects meet their requirements for cost, timeliness, and quality. They deliver results in such an effective and efficient way that the value they provide to their customers and stakeholders opens doors to future opportunities. Leaders that fail to effectively manage projects by either overrunning their costs, taking too much time, or creating a faulty end product are likely to be passed up when future opportunities appear.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Leaders that excel at managing projects know the only way to ensure projects meet their time, cost, and quality commitments is to carefully plan, monitor, and administer them. They see project management as a high-value skill. They know that no musical orchestra can play in unison without someone directing it from the front, and they bring the same intense and unifying leadership as product managers.
Leaders that are strong project managers plan a project before it begins, knowing the cost and time-savings it will produce in the end. They know they need to get results, but are wise enough to pause and get organized first. They define the goals they need to reach. They know what the project needs to produce, who their customers are, and the demands of their key stakeholders. They invest energy in accurately forecasting project timelines and budgets. They involve others in planning and rely on their good thinking.
Leaders that excel at project management take large and complex tasks and break them down into smaller activities. They sequence those activities in the order they need to occur. They identify the known interdependencies between work. They are expert at making sure the right things happen at the right time and in the right order.
Leaders that excel at project management are able to match the right resources to the right work. They do their research to help them accurately estimate costs and allocate dollars. Because they accurately forecast their costs upfront, they are able to better control their budgets.
Leaders that successfully manage projects match the right people to the right work. They know people’s abilities, and what they enjoy doing. They know their people’s interests and skills and how to assign them the type of work that will naturally allow them to excel.
Leaders that excel at project management are strong communicators. They can get large numbers of people to see things the same way. They monitor projects closely and meet with people regularly to get project updates. They designate project measures and metrics and use them to judge both the ongoing and final success of their work.
Leaders that excel at project management recognize that despite their best effort, every project will invite unforeseen obstacles and challenges. They can adapt projects on the fly. They change project sequencing, resource allocation, and timing based on the situation.
BELIEFS
- Either invest your energy in planning projects at the beginning or plan to invest that energy in fixing problems at the end.
- The unexpected will always happen with any project, no matter how strong the plan. You have to be ready.
- No project plan will ever be 100% perfect, but that isn’t an excuse to not have one.
- Planning the project isn’t the hard part. Communicating and keeping everyone on the same page is the real challenge.
- Don’t wait until your project has ended to know if your project will or won’t succeed. Measure your success along the way.
- The more you include the right people in the project management processes the stronger your project plan will be.
- Thorough project planning and monitoring won’t guarantee you reach your goals, but they give you the best chance to do so.
- Project management is the bridge between a leader’s vision and the work that needs to be done to achieve that vision.
BEST PRACTICES
- Plan the work that has to be accomplished.
- Prioritize tasks and activities.
- Match project needs with the correct resources.
- Know how project success will be judged.
- Create timelines for completing the work.
- Set milestones to measure progress.
- Sequence the work in the order it should be done.
- Communicate to others openly and constantly.
- Define project goals from the very beginning.
- Keep stakeholders up to date and in the know.
- Avoid scope creep in projects.
- Identify project and work interdependencies.
- Allow changes to happen midstream.
- Resolve barriers to success effectively.
- Don’t be so locked into plans you can’t change.
- Ensure people know their part to do.
- Forecast project timelines accurately.
- Anticipate obstacles and plan to overcome them.
- Ensure project support from key stakeholders.
- Prepare to respond to unforeseen problems.
- Track and monitors the progress of projects.
- Delegate project tasks effectively.
SELF-REFLECTION
- Do I proactively plan, monitor, and manage projects, or do I expect they will meet their goals with little or no oversight?
- Do I define the goals that a project is meant to achieve, or do I fail to define the end destination upfront?
- Do I create metrics to measure project advancement and success, or do I never really know if I am succeeding?
- Do I accurately forecast the time required to complete work, or do I get my time projections wrong?
- Do I correctly sequence, prioritize, and organize work, or does the work progress awkwardly?
- Do I accurately assess and manage costs, or do I always go over budget or lose track of budget expenditures?
- Do I match the right project tasks to the right people, or do I randomly assign the work without any real strategy?
- Do I adapt project plans to changing circumstances, or do I plan so rigidly I can’t make needed adaptations?
WORDS OF CAUTION
- Don’t take on too many projects at once, making it impossible to manage any of them as effectively as you need to.
- Don’t overcomplicate the work of project management when a simple approach and solution might be all you need.
- Don’t be so rigid in your project management that you lose the ability to creatively flex and flow as things change.
- Assigning one person to manage each project is a no brainer.
- Seeking consensus is critical to the success of our projects.
- Identifying key milestones is essential to meeting timelines.
- I need the right talent on each project to deliver high quality.
- The key to project management is delegation.
- No matter what, our projects have to keep on going.
- Going over budget, sometimes, is acceptable.