One thing that causes consternation amongst project managers is the notion of hospital passing. We are taught to get involved early, to manage/guide the project from inception through to cremation, however, the reality of business being what it is and the maturity of (most) organistions is that a sale is a sale, and when the majority of projects arrive at our door, they are a done deal and the champagne is well flat. Certainly this is the reality in most vendor organisations. The poor PM has to then pick up the pieces and make do with, what more times than we would like, is a fait accomplait.
It is certainly in our best interest to influence, based upon historical experience, sales process and preliminary investigation, and we tend to have longer memories than most as to the times when we have been on the receiving end of a poorly thought through delivery contract. I have found that in most organistions the desire to improve, increase profitability, manage and control the sales process may be inherently there, however the positive reinforcement of this best practice is lacking.
This is not a dig at my esteemed colleagues in sales, I think you do a wonderful job, just as a general rule of thumb, the delivery of your efforts resides with us and we, by nature and discipline, follow processes and procedures for a very good reason - that is the ultimate profitability of the assigned engagement. The concept of margin is important to us, P&L, cost, assumptions and risk - these are our tools. The sooner we get our hands on the project the better for all involved as we then can apply our discipline and experience to ultimately improve the outcome of the project. Ideally before the ink is dry (or better yet still in the pen).
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
long time listener, first time caller
To coin an overused idiom, there's no time like the present, so here's my virgin entry to the wide world of project management blogs.
I am a project manager of 10 years experience, predominately in the world of software development in the Internet space, and have recently moved into telecommunications. This does not make me an expert in anything (some would say that's a fair definition of a project manager), however as an observer in what would be probably the second oldest profession over the last decade, I'm still learning the ropes and hope to provoke a dialogue or two with my ramblings.
Today's missive is an intro, but will leave with a thought. A passing comment with an engineer this morning regarding a colleague picking up a tired project, that they were butting heads. He, an old hand, the PM a cocky young buck. If it's all about relationship, what is it about the makeup of a lot of PMs that makes them who they are and do what they do? Is an arrogant streak a desirable trait or a phase of PM development that we all go through, get over, master, then utilise as a tool set? We are taught (if PMs are ever really taught) to utilise what strengths we have - be they knowledge, discipline, temperament etc in order to control situations. Is arrogance or perceived arrogance a tool? Or is it the ego talking? Are we control freaks under the covers or are we just looking to please?
I think by nature, a good PM has this inherent desire to please - it is part of the make up of who we are and what we do. This is why we take failure so hard, and make every effort to avoid this. So much of project management practice is devoted to risk management, which partnered with the desire to achieve a successful outcome may make us come across as the arrogant control freaks we are teased about being. The truth I think is yes - we are the cocky young bucks, but this is a step in the development of a good project manager. To outgrow this means to stop caring about delivery, an element of the young buck needs to remain, however as with all tools it needs to be controlled. Use this desire to please in order to progress, to get your desired outcome, tone the arrogance and use it sparingly, otherwise, as most young bucks learn, butting heads with your elders typically results in one thing, a headache.
I am a project manager of 10 years experience, predominately in the world of software development in the Internet space, and have recently moved into telecommunications. This does not make me an expert in anything (some would say that's a fair definition of a project manager), however as an observer in what would be probably the second oldest profession over the last decade, I'm still learning the ropes and hope to provoke a dialogue or two with my ramblings.
Today's missive is an intro, but will leave with a thought. A passing comment with an engineer this morning regarding a colleague picking up a tired project, that they were butting heads. He, an old hand, the PM a cocky young buck. If it's all about relationship, what is it about the makeup of a lot of PMs that makes them who they are and do what they do? Is an arrogant streak a desirable trait or a phase of PM development that we all go through, get over, master, then utilise as a tool set? We are taught (if PMs are ever really taught) to utilise what strengths we have - be they knowledge, discipline, temperament etc in order to control situations. Is arrogance or perceived arrogance a tool? Or is it the ego talking? Are we control freaks under the covers or are we just looking to please?
I think by nature, a good PM has this inherent desire to please - it is part of the make up of who we are and what we do. This is why we take failure so hard, and make every effort to avoid this. So much of project management practice is devoted to risk management, which partnered with the desire to achieve a successful outcome may make us come across as the arrogant control freaks we are teased about being. The truth I think is yes - we are the cocky young bucks, but this is a step in the development of a good project manager. To outgrow this means to stop caring about delivery, an element of the young buck needs to remain, however as with all tools it needs to be controlled. Use this desire to please in order to progress, to get your desired outcome, tone the arrogance and use it sparingly, otherwise, as most young bucks learn, butting heads with your elders typically results in one thing, a headache.
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