Archives for September 2014

I have a friend with a company called Outside the Box Consulting. I joke that my company should be called Inside the Box Consulting. I am completely inside the box when it comes to project management. In fact, I strive to be equidistant from every side of the box. The problems with my clients nearly always stem from outside the box thinking. They think there is some magic wand they can wave for project success. Or they believe they are agile even if they don’t know what that means. They seek to avoid the hard work by seeking outside the box solutions. They usually fail.

My advice is straight from research, knowledge and experience. Project management is hard but it is easier if you follow proven methodologies of scope, schedule and budget management. There are no short cuts to success. Leave innovation for the marketing and design people. Stick with science for project management.

Project saying #22 – the Highlander Rule:

There can be only one.

The name of this saying is from the cult classic, The Highlander.

I use it when assigning action items on a project. Some people like to avoid action items, or responsibility, or work of any kind. One way they do it is by getting multiple people assigned to a task. If it’s Bob and Suzy on a task, that gives Bob an excuse not to do it. Similarly I don’t assign action items to groups such as IT or Accounting. I want to know exactly who is responsible for the work being done. It does not have to be the person doing the work. It is simply the person I am going to ask for status.

So when someone wants more people added to an action item, sorry ” there can be only one!”

Project saying #25:

You can’t start doing something right until you’ve stopped doing it wrong.

As a consultant I am more familiar with dysfunctional IT organizations, ineffective PMOs and failing projects than most people. They wouldn’t call me if everything was ok. I am constantly amazed at how often my clients know they are doing something wrong. It reminds of a famous Bob Newhart skit where he is a psychologist who tells his patients, simply, to “Stop it!” Whatever bad habits or fears they have just “Stop it! Two words, first word S_T_O_P, second word I_T. Stop it.” It really can be that simple.

But I frequently meet resistance. When I see a project not going well and I advise the not-radical idea of clarifying scope, schedule and budget, my clients will complain “can we just let this project go forward?” Umm, no. I say to them:

You can’t start doing something right until you’ve stopped doing it wrong.

Sometimes I also add project saying #19:

The best time to do a task is three weeks ago. The second best time is today.

It is never too late to stop doing things you know are wrong. In fact, it is prerequisite for you to start doing things right.