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God's Little Chew Toy

What do you Tn_puppies081404034cropado with people who seem to have a dark cloud perpetually hanging over their heads?  The ones who seem to be plagued with misfortune?  Where do you draw the line between sensitivity to individuals and the need for Carpe Factum?  WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN JOB IS ON YOUR PROJECT TEAM?

I've had project team members who have experienced deaths in the family, car troubles, house troubles, kid troubles, spouse troubles, pet troubles... all in the course of a few business days or weeks.  As people, we interact with our environments.  Stuff happens to us.  Some of it is a consequence of our own poor choices.  Some of it is just nasty coincidence.  As project managers, we need to balance that understanding of things that happen with the passion to accomplish our goals.  We build in assumptions to our plans, and build contingencies for risks, but when and how do we make the decision that enough is enough?

The key questions to ask when faced with "God's Little Chew Toy" (OK, OK, I understand that I risk a lightning strike from use of that term):

  1. Are there other people who can fill in for the GLCT on your team?
  2. Is there anything fishy about the GCLT's claims (i.e., are they real or are excuses and cover-ups being made)?
  3. How good of a performer is the GLCT?  (Let's face facts... we provide A LOT more latitude to people who are high performers and get caught in a round of bad luck than we do to the WUHOTS of the world... )
  4. What are the impacts of the GLCT's woes to the project and to the other team members?

It's all situational.  I know.  It's been 15 years since my dad and I were both diagnosed with cancer within months of each other.  I survived; he lost his battle.  I was grateful that I had people providing me with a lot of latitude at that time, and it's affected how I treat the GLCTs on my team.  Just thought I'd throw this out and see what some of your thoughts were.

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And a one... and a two...

This past weekend, we took our older daughter to see the stage performance of Disney's The Lion King.  The performance is visually and technically awe-inspiring, even magical if you are a 6-year-old.  Later, my wife asked me about my favorite part of the performance.  The characters, costumes, and choreography were amazing, but they were not my focal point.  The talent and technical wizardry were engaging; yet again, those were not the attention-grabber.  Surprisingly enough, one of the two percussionists flanking the stage (as opposed to being relegated to the orchestra pit) was what held my fascination (don't worry, I saw the other stuff, too, and really liked it).  The percussionist was mesmerizing, as he varied his instruments and his rhythm to set the tempo of the activities on the stage.  His passion was obvious as he selected the right instrument to set the tune, the tone, and the timing.

African-inspired music and art lends itself to a focus on beat... on tempo.  That heritage has lasted for centuries:  through spirituals, through jazz, through blues, and yes, even through rap.  My wife recently introduced me to the poetry of the Harlem RenaissanceLangston Hughes' rich themes of a disparate, distant tempo almost scream through the lines...

"Subdued and time-lost are the drums -

and yet through some vast mist of race there comes this song I do not understand,

this song of atavistic land, of bitter yearnings lost without a place -

so long, so far away is Africa's dark face."

Music.  Drums.  Beat.  Time.  Tempo.

Why is a project manager talking about this topic?  Let me ask you something, what is the tempo of your project?  Your organization?  Your team?  Your department?  Are you, as the leader, setting the pace of activities or is somebody else holding that role?  Is the tempo constant, or is your team plagued with the jerkiness of stop-start-stop-start?  Are you all heading toward the goal at the same tempo, or are some team members slowing you down while others are speeding you up?  How are you handling issues that threaten the tempo?

Notice how Hughes' poem comments on the distance of the music and tempo.  How far away are you from your desired timing?  Lucia Mancuso recently posted a comment lamenting the same thing many project managers go through: Time...Where Are You Now?  It does seem to get away from us, but if we manage it just right, as eloquently put forth by Patti Digh's humorously stirring and insightful essay on taking life at just the right speed, we can hit it head on without destroying it.

As Carpe Factum Leaders, be we project managers or division heads or committee chairs, it is up to us to orchestrate and conduct the tempo.  I'm not talking about our schedule, but our tempo.  Our rhythm.  Our speed.  Our pace.  Our teams and our goals deserve that much.  So, who is setting your tempo?  If not you, then what can you do to regain ownership?

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LOST: One Little Bird and a Sense of Humility

An interesting thing happened today on my project.  I'm sitting in my stall... er... I mean, cubicle, typing away on a miscellaneous project deliverable in preparation for my weekly sponsor meeting when all of a sudden something black and winged flew overtop of me.  At first, I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me, but the muffled scream of the woman three cubicles down from me told me that something was amiss.  A bird was loose on the 5th floor of our office building.

While managing a project team is fraught with many risks, being barnstormed by a starling is generally an event that does not make it to my risk management plan.  And, as a project manager, I'm accustomed to being **** upon, but only in the figurative sense (and the sponsor meeting hadn't even occurred yet).  Poor little guy was dazed and confused, having entered through an outside hole in the soffit and then navigating his way through the vent system into our supposedly safe and sterile work environment.  (Note to Security:  He got in without an access badge.  Where were YOU during this whole debacle???)

More amazing was the mindset of the facilities management staff, who could not and would not acknowledge that there might be a flaw in their precious building that would have allowed such a thing to occur.  Even though some people observed the bird's entry into the building, it was inconceivable to them that such a thing had happened.  They were blind to the obvious.

Hal of Reforming Project Management posted a great poem on his March 10th Post:  Getting Unstuck that was called "Let Go of Being the Expert."  If the facilities staff had done that, they would have had a better chance of catching the bird a lot faster.  His March 3rd Post on Rookie Rules talks about a great article from Gantthead's Bob Weinstein that lists eight tips for success.  The top of the list is humility.

In project management, we have a lot of egos running around.  Too many sometimes.  And it's unfortunate when the need to be right trumps the need to be humble.  When winning beats reality.  When height overrules heart.  Then birds get lost and dazed and confused.  And project managers get **** upon.  Don't even get me started on the potential domino effect of that risk event.

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SHARP Status: Projections

I was waiting at Panera for my communications consultant, Mike Sansone, to arrive.  I was grateful he was running late because I was able to eavesdrop on the following conversation between a young 20-something bride-to-be and her grandmother:

Grandma:  Honey, you need to be focusing on your shoes and your flowers and get those ordered.

Bride-To-Be (incredulous and somewhat disdainful tone):  I've got four pages of tasks and you're telling me I only need to focus on two things?  Besides, I don't need to do either of those things until the end of March.

Grandma (deadpan voice):  Honey, that's next week.

Bride-To-Be (lightbulb dimly illuminating):  Ooooooooooooooooh.

If you have focused on creating a good project plan, documenting the PROJECTIONS of the tasks to be completed in the upcoming reporting period should be a non-event when creating your SHARP Status.  Again, I refer to Robert McIlree and his March 15 blog entry.  He says a key question to ask your project sponsors is to have them define what "done" looks like.  So simple.  So astute.  That single question helps you back into all the "next steps" you will need in order to carpe factum.  What's next leads you to what's done (i.e., should be reported in ACCOMPLISHMENTS in your next status report).  While HIGHLIGHTS give readers the long-term future view, PROJECTIONS provide the short-term future view.  Just like our overwhelmed bride-to-be, many project managers fight that plethora of tasks, so it's to their benefit to give stakeholders a heads-up on what absolutely has to be done next.

So... there you have it... the five components of a solid SHARP status report.  One or two pages.  The right details.  The right frequency (preferably weekly).  The right audience (who cares or at least should care).  All done.  Carpe Factum.  Now give yourself a pat on the bag and get back to work.

SHARP Status: Risks

We all have risks and issues to deal with.  Show me a project manager with no problems with people or any area of the triple constraint and I'll show you an irrelevant buffoon.  How you handle the speed bumps in your project raceway is your problem; how you communicate them is of broader concern.

I'm becoming a quick Scott Berkun fan.  His February 13 Post:  The boss who won't listen, demonstrates why the Risks section of the status report is so critical.  The dilemma Scott raises in this post about risking the wrath of another manager by raising an issue is indicitive of our anti-carpe-factum organizations.  They are so concerned about being nice, or avoiding any political faux-pas, or making sure that one does not get one's backside singed, that they avoid documenting issues.

There once was a vendor project manager who reported to me on a complex software project.  There were a considerable number of issues that were hammered out during some very heated meetings over the course of one week, yet the issues and risks section of his status was blank.  When asked about this oversight, he responded that all of those things were "being handled at the executive manager level."  Irrelevant!  Those issues affected our project, and they needed to be documented.

Which brings us back to the point of this section.  This is your opportunity as a Project Manager to bring visibility and elevation to those risks and issues that are outside of your hands or above your head.  This isn't a forum to whine, nitpick, or tattle.  This is not your "Ruh-Roh... R'I'm Rorry, Reorge" moment to cry over spilt milk.  This is your chance to demonstrate some credible backbone and show that you are handling everything, but here are the impending things that could derail the project this week.  Then succinctly describe the risk or issue and your current plan of action (i.e., don't just tell them there's a problem; share your solution or next steps with them).

Also as a point of credibility, try to keep this section to NO MORE THAN 3-5 bullets.  As with other sections, document the ownership of the risk or issue.  Then use this section of the status in your next sponsor or steering committee meeting to launch into your talking points about the risk or issue.  Ideally, this section should like to a log where you are tracking risks and issues.  For the beginner, just gathering the bravery to put it in writing without the fear of "shoot the messenger" will be a good starting point.

So... is your status feeling SHARP yet?

SHARP Status: Accomplishments

Carpe_factum2Accomplishments.  The heart of a Carpe Factum Organization.  Firemen extinguish fires.  Performers take a bow.  Judges sentence criminals and make decisions.  Mechanics fix cars.  Project managers make check marks.  OK, so we do more complex things than make check marks.  We lead resources to get things done.  We complete tasks.  We achieve milestones.  This is the heart of the status report.  Each reporting period, a good project manager should report on what was accomplished in the prior reporting period.

As with highlights, ensure that you provide specifics on who accomplished the task and the appropriate details surrounding the task (i.e., don't go into excruciating detail about what you did - remember that executives... um... I mean, gnats can't focus much).  Also, do not report incomplete tasks as complete.  There is no such thing as "substantially complete" or "virtually done."  Don't report every single task on your project plan.  Focus on the important stuff, the top 5-10 that people will really care about.

Task accomplishment may not separate project managers from the other beasts of the field, but at the end of the day, it is the one thing for which we are ultimately accountable.  We can address issues, hold meetings, resolve conflicts, comfort stakeholders... but if we are not seizing accomplishments, we're just deluding ourselves.  We need to own the task, hold it down, beat it up, and steal its lunch money.  OK, OK... a little overzealous there... I'm calm.  But get out there and CARPE FACTUM.  And then brag about it on your SHARP Status.

SHARP Status: Highlights

Car_4 When driving, it can be very challenging to be behind a vehicle larger than mine.  I can't see very far down the road, and I have no idea what lies ahead.  Project managers are faced with this dilemma every day.  We get caught in the issues, the problems, the risks, and the drama of the project.   It is difficult to see what lies down the road, let alone communicate it, when trapped in the "administrivia" of day-to-day project activity.

That is where HIGHLIGHTS come into play in a status report.  They allow project managers and our status-reading audiences to see beyond the day-to-day tasks and issues and look further down the road.  Providing that milestone look-ahead adds tremendous value to the big picture thinkers.

In the January 15, 2006 entry of his blog, Robert McIlree does an admirable job commenting on "The Worse Type of Project Manager" who is able to politicize better than he can produce; however, milestones don't lie.  When a project manager sets a milestone, s/he is communicating to the world a stake in the ground.  Still, in communicating milestones, I try to communicate a balance between flexibility and accountability by telling who owns the milestone, what the milestone is, and when it is expected to be done (note the word choice; saying a milestone is expected by a certain date rather than saying it will happen on a certain date leaves room for ever-present assumptions and risks).  Examples:

OK:  The test plan will be complete on November 15.

BETTER:  Tom will lead the QA team to complete the regression test plan, expected to be complete by November 15 (previously listed as October 31).

Not only can you use this section to list milestones; it is also useful for sharing pending or approved change requests.  Any major activity that impacts the long-term scope/condition of your project is fair game.

Remember:  This is your chance as project manager to set (and reset) expectations.  Be honest if you must move a date.  Be selective and communicate the milestones that are of greatest interest to your audience (key deliverables, critical path dates).  Let your readers see the road beyond the big hulking vehicle that is blocking your view with all the trivial day-to-day tasks, meetings, and issues.  Just one more way to keep your status SHARP.

SHARP Status: Statistics

I was reading an entry from Adam Bryner's blog entitled, If You Can't Measure It, You Can't Manage It.  Too often in service and manufacturing, ambiguous goals and directives are set such as "Increase customer service" or "Improve quality" in a feeble attempt to motivate workers.  Just as in any business, where every task should be linked to measures, so it applies to projects.

If you are like many people, any mere mention of quantitative statistics causes flashbacks to boring college math classes, resulting in a nervous twitch from too many excruciating exams.  (Breathe deep, find a happy place, and bear with me.)  Project statistics do not have to be complex and scary.  A simple collection of qualitative and quantitative statistics can provide a wealth of information to quickly and accurately diagnose the health of a project.

For qualitative stats, the project's name, project manager, and project sponsor provide ample identification.  Quantitative statistics include start and finish dates (actual and baselined), cost data (baseline, actual, remaining, variance), and effort hours (same as cost data).  If you are an especially adept project geek, you can include earned value (don't ask).

The trick is to be brutally honest on your project statistics.  "Baking the numbers" may prevent you from being scolded by an overzealous executive in the short run, getting caught baking the numbers means a damaging loss of credibility.

Finally, remember:  you are writing for multiple audiences; however, all stakeholders want to see impacts to cost, hours, and dates.  Just like checkbook balances and blood pressure, simple statistics can can inform those who care the most about the health of your project.  And that's just the beginning of writing a SHARP status report.

SHARP Status Reports

Status reports can be a challenging communication vehicle for a project manager.  I've seen status reports that are so sparce and cryptic that they barely provide basic evidence that a project even exists.  On the other end of the spectrum are status reports that would turn the average doctoral dissertation green with envy; it's a wonder that any work is done on the project given the effort that must go into creating such a communication beast.

Then there is the audience - those reading your status reports - which ranges from the highest level executive to the lowest level analyst.  The detail-mongers will demand more and more information, viewing any omission as some covert sign that you are hiding critical data.  The typical executive, however, has the attention span of a gnat (I probably should have kept that inside voice - now I'll get nasty emails from gnats everywhere for comparing them to executives).  In their defense, many executives have A LOT of competition for their attention.

In the next few blog entries, you'll be introduced to the 5 components that make up a good status report, and how better reports can be written for our projects.  This is where art meets science - that sweet spot where points of "carpe factum" can best occur.  A quick preview, these five components are as follows:

  1. Statistics
  2. Highlights
  3. Accomplishments
  4. Risks
  5. Projections

Putting It All In Perspective

Today was a bad day.  I'm on week 6 of a project, and it seems as though I'm constantly dealing with people issues.  Issues from executives, issues from the vendor, issues from my own team.  It's not fun being beaten up day after day, but I have a fairly thick skin most days.  Today was one of those days where my skin was a little thinner than normal, and it was all starting to get to me.  I was hosting a couple of nasty emotions who visit very rarely:  self-doubt and pity.  Those are emotions that generally get shut out because I know what damage they can do if I let them over the threshold.

Those two obnoxious emotions were just inside and beginning to settle in when two things happened.  One, a wonderful colleague of mine took the initiative to talk to me.  What makes him stand out above the other people is his approach.  He's very empathetic, yet he gently and firmly challenged me on the things where he knew I was not performing at optimum.  We talked through human dynamics.  We discussed my next steps with various individuals on my team.  I felt better and began working on fixing some of the things that were amiss.

As I was debriefing him on my progress later in the day, the second thing happened.  I received a call from my sister.  I pretty much knew what it was about before I answered it.  Our Uncle Gale had passed away.  He had been ill for a long time, so it was comforting to know that he was in a place where he was no longer suffering.  Still, the news brought a larger tidal wave of emotions.  I was angry at myself for allowing the wallowing earlier in the day, for forgetting the bigger picture.  Yes, I have some project stakeholders who fall into the "high maintenance" category.  That hardly seems worth the energy that I spent on it.  My Aunt Iris will never again have the pleasure of the one person with whom she shared conversations, company, and love for over 50 years of marriage.  He leaves behind children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren who loved him and will miss him dearly.  He will be fondly remembered by friends and family.  In the grander scheme of things, those are the kinds of relationships that make a difference.  Sure, I'll work past the issues with my sponsors, my vendor, and my team.  But it's the relationships with my friends and family that I'll be treasuring long past this project.  And that puts everything in the right perspective.

WUHOT... NOT!

I accidentally stumbled over a new acronym when I wrote my book on project management.  I'm making it my mission to make it part of the American vernacular.  The term is WUHOT, and it stands for "Walks Upright, Has Opposable Thumbs" - you know, your basic run-of-the-mill biped.  A primate who navigates (barely) on two legs, preferably without dragging the knuckles.  We're not asking this person to create, to lead, or (God Forbid!!!) to think.  And so this person doesn't.  He or she survives and endures in the world of corporate lingo, not having been deselected by the evolution of organizations.

In Race Through The Forest, my WUHOT has a name:  Reece S'Orce.  Ha!  Can't pull anything over on you... you got that word play right away.  In their generic terms, those breathing assets on our team are called resources.  Especially harsh is to call them head count.  Not humans.  Not people.  Not mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews.  Certainly not dreamers, aspirers, creators, doers, reachers, builders, makers, thinkers, or liaisons.  Nope.  Just resources.  We would not want to differentiate them in any way.  Sure, they may have skill sets, but we don't care.  Not in our own tidy world of making them fit into our project plan like a square peg into a round hole.  And we wonder why the only thing good we can say about them is that they "walk upright, have opposable thumbs."

If we are going to create Carpe Factum organizations, we'll need to find a way to get past the WUHOTs.  While they may not agree, firing them might be a good start.  If you think that is unduly harsh, you would provide the same courtesy to lunchmeat and salad dressing that had lived past their expiration dates.  Why not give the same consideration to people who are not useful to your organization?  Most WUHOTs are not evil by nature.  Just misunderstood.  Zombies in a field of people who probably fit better into their jobs, cultures, and environments.  Some are victims of the Peter Principle.  Some are merely burnt out.  Some were promoted for all the wrong reasons.  Some were hired because of their relationships in the network.  Perhaps voting them off our corporate islands will force them to find a new reality.  One where they can shine... and dream... and accomplish.  Who is preventing your Carpe Factum?

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Why Carpe Factum?

The paradox:  I went to the "dead language" to express the "living concept."

Carpe Factum ... Seize the Accomplishment ... The Latin version of "Git 'er done!" (If you are now haunted by images of Larry the Cable Guy in a toga, my apologies.)

People want to get things done.  They want the feeling of accomplishment.  They want responsibility.  They like to make check marks.  They like to own it.  There's a reason why this concept is at the top of the ever ubiquitous Maslow's hierarchy.  A colleague and good friend of mine, Mike Wagner, is an expert in brand ownership.  Not branding, not logos, not marketing slogans, not advertising.  Brand ownership.  The relevant meshing of internal and external messages into a uniquely relevant presence.  The ability to own it to a degree that accomplishments toward that ownership are a natural by-product.

I'm a project manager by trade.  Carpe Factum is more than project management.  It's about creativity.  It's about navigation.  It's about balance.  It's about passion.  It's about motivation.  It ends with the check mark, but (as with most things in life) the journey is so much more enriching than the mere destination.

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