asapm Builds Change Agents (this post stays on top)

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President.

asapm builds the Change Agents of tomorrow. Why do we say this? Because we have, we can, and we do!

With members ranging from young Project Managers to the experienced thought leaders of PM practice, we cover the gamut in experience. Our thrust is to improve the Performance Competence, and therefore the results, of Program and Project Managers, our initiatives, our stakeholders, and our organizations.

Our Certification Program, based on IPMA’s 4-L-C, Four-Level Certification program, is the envy of those who desire PM Certifications that use advanced assessments to verify Competence as the centerpiece of your PM Practice.

Our Competence Enabler program promotes PM Vendors who demonstrate the ability to contribute to the PM Performance of others. If you want better results, talk to our asapm Competence Enablers! Some even help PM consultants and other PM providers, helping them all to improve PM Performance.

About IPMA: International Project Management Association, the World’s first PM association, is a federation of National Associations, that serve locally, and collaborate globally. Our certifications and other offerings are recognized in over 50 other countries around the World, because asapm is IPMA-USA.

What Do You Manage, Leading or Lagging Factors?

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP.

We have just returned from the outstanding-as-usual 2012 Resource Planning Summit, organized by the irrepressible Dick Rutledge, dean of the PM-related conference providers. Only a few others operate at the same level of excellence. One of the key differentiators of Rutledge’s events is his ruthless demands of his speakers for audience take-aways and truly new ideas, as opposed to retreads of tired themes. And this time, we experienced those demands first-hand, as we were a presenter–our first opportunity in the four events we have supported.

Our presentation, Tip of the Iceberg: Managing the Entire ‘berg Improves PM Performance, was developed for this audience of key managers and enterprise leaders. The presentation looked at project and program decision-making from the perspective of top Executives–the tip of the iceberg, as it were. And we identified key practices that Managers in the Middle follow when they add clear value for their executives, their project teams and their organizations.

We asserted, as we did in our 2005 article, Project Levers and Gauges, that the most-effective project and program managers don’t just provide lagging data, they also provide leading information. And, we have carried the theme further, pointing out that this leading information is a well-kept secret of the most effective managers of project managers.

But, let’s start with the background. Many are familiar with the old misconceptions of project management, illustrated by the Triple Constraint, the Iron or Golden Triangle, or some other name. It often includes Time, Cost and Scope. Sometimes Quality is there instead of Scope. Sometimes Performance is the third parameter, which might include Quality and Scope. So far, so good; but why do we call this a misconception in project management? (more…)

A Nuclear Challenge; Guest Post by Glenn Williams

We spotted this article at a popular website, TheStreet.com. It is not accessible to most, because it is part of a paid subscription service, RealMoney. Because we liked it so much, we sought, and received permission to reprint the article, with credit. Why were we so impressed with this analysis by author Glenn Williams?

First, we have experience in Program and Project Management (PPM) in the Nuclear industry, and we continue to follow it. Second, although the article is a financial analysis, it demonstrates great insights, in estimating, in research, and analysis, in a complex subject. Third, Mr. Williams demonstrates the type of professional PPM competence that every Executive should be able to depend upon for advice in strategic decisions. Thank you Glenn, for being such a great example!

And Now, the Article
With license in hand, Southern (SO) is ready to build the [USA] nation’s first generation-III nuclear power plant. While this does not signal any nuclear renaissance, it does provide the nation with badly needed generation. The challenge will be for Southern to build Plant Vogtle’s additions on time and on schedule.

The reality is that cost and schedule will be difficult to achieve. In fact, the probability that Southern’s two 1,154-megawatt units will be operating by 2016/2017 and will have a final cost of $14 billion is about zero. Of course, the best available estimate is being used to forecast the project’s outcome. History has taught us 110 times before, however, that utility estimates for nuclear power plants include dozens of assumptions.

If one of those assumptions is wrong, the estimate is wrong. Remember, the Vogtle project is an attempt to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear power plant.

The question is how far off are Southern’s estimates? The answer is nobody knows. And, if anyone claims they know, they’re lying to you. (more…)

The Importance of Effective Speaking

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP.

Last month we wrote about The Importance of Writing Well. This month, we gently approach the topic of Effective Speaking. This is not to be confused with dialogue between persons–that is yet another topic. Instead, this topic involves speaking in front of groups. Actually, that really makes this multiple topics, because different audience sizes require very different skills. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Effective Speaking has received a lot of recent attention. In part, this is because our USA President is perceived by some to be an excellent orator. In addition to political settings, we have observed many other situations where the ability to speak in a clear and compelling way is an asset to the initiative, whether that initiative is a project, a program, or any other Change Agent venue.

Great Writer = Great Speaker?
You’d think that great writers would find it easy to also be great speakers. After all, being able to clearly explain complex topics in a way that everyone understands, is a gift–one that should easily transfer to speaking. But ‘taint necessarily so. I recall the excitement, when it first came out, around the book, In Search of Excellence. Author Tom Peters (together with Robert Waterman, Jr.) wrote such a compelling book that everyone wanted him to speak to their group or company. As I recall, at that time, his speaking skills did not match his research and writing skills. Some people were disappointed.

But, Tom Peters understood: He worked on his Effective Speaking skills. Soon, he was such a great speaker that he had no need to write another book; his speaking, advisory services, and overall message were all so popular. But the question remains: Great Writer = Great Speaker? A web search turns up many interesting discussions, and the results are mixed. Some say “yes!” Some say, “not necessarily so.”  (more…)

Where Did the Term Stakeholder Come From?

Guest Post by asapm Co-Founder Robert Youker

In September of 2006, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoelick used the word “stakeholder” when speaking about US/China relations.  The Chinese language does not have a corollary word for “stakeholder” and the use of the word led to quite a fuss. The State Department suggested a Chinese phrase meaning “participants with related interests”.

The term stakeholder had come into common useage by the end of the last century, but where did the word come from?  One possible source is the person who holds the money or stakes in a bet. Another possibility is in mining prospecting where you drive stakes into the fours corners of the property you want to claim.

Stakeholders are people inside and outside an organization who have a vested interest in a problem and its solution.  They can be both positive and negative in their interests.  Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, has a good section on the term. In all current project planning a stakeholder analysis is a vital step. But where did the common modern useage of people in “interest groups” come from? (more…)

The Importance of Writing Well

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP.

For years I’ve used an introductory dialogue for classroom Communication topics. It involves a tee-up, “Based on research done by the US Navy years ago, different people have different preferences in the way they receive information.” And then I write on a flipchart the following, while saying most of these words:

• 45% Readers
• 45% Listeners
• 5% Both
• 5% Fool

The key is this: While I’d write Fool, I’d say Neither. Typical of American humor.

In a room of 20-25 people, around half would laugh, the others would wonder why they are laughing. It is because some were listening, and others were reading.

Improving Communication Effectiveness
But this little vignette brings up a very important point: Statistically, about half of all people prefer to listen to get their information, and about half prefer to read it. Which are you? While the cited statistics say that about 5% do both equally well, the majority of all participants usually think they are part of that 5%. And the majority think their husband/wife/manager/co-worker/customer (pick one) is the last on the list above.

Great communicators seem to intuitively understand the preferences of their audiences. Meanwhile, I resort to using simple models and observation to approximate a similar result. At least, I do when I focus on Conscious Communication, rather than just using my own preferences, and expect that everyone else understands perfectly. Is this Reader/Listener preference why many of us only communicate effectively with half our audiences? And then we wonder what’s wrong with them? Perhaps we can all benefit from a bit more Conscious Communication.

Some readers have already figured out that this might be a two-part article, about Writing and Speaking effectively. Perhaps, and as I recall, it was Epictetus, who said, “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” He understood the importance of listening well in the first Century AD. This series may have more than two parts, if we take the hint and also discuss the lost art of Listening.

The Importance of Writing
Is writing one of your greatest skills? It should be. Many others think that writing is diminishing in importance as we become more technologically connected. I think today’s technology increases the need for effective writing. People have less time than ever to wade through lengthy emails (yes, I am an offender), dense prose (ditto), and unedited papers. Well, at least Rose has cured me of most of that, except when she lets one slip through.

Project Documentation is a good example of important writing. This is the trail you leave (you do, don’t you?), that other people follow, so they can evaluate your results, figure out why you chose a particular solution, or adapt and tune your results for changing business needs. Documentation of your role as a competent and performing Project Manager is essential in any advanced PM certification. And you document your competence not in just one aspect of the project, but in 46-50 different Competence Elements. Clearly, documentation is important.

Why Do We Write?
We write to inform; to persuade; to evoke responses, so we can change from one voice to a team in dialogue. In a project, we write:

• To get more funding, or obtain the right Talent.
• To avoid or prevent a Risk, by successfully recommending a preventative action.
• To transfer understood work efforts from self to others: Writing is key to effective delegation.
• To clearly define the terms of a contract or other type of agreement.
• To resolve an open issue, that must be acted upon within a window of opportunity.
• To explain the consequences of a project delay or budget overage.
• To inform organization stakeholders and leaders of a project’s status.
• To give praise to key team members or stakeholders.

And, for many more reasons–and that is just in the project setting. But if only half of your audience “gets it” when you write, how will you accompany your writing, so the entire message is received? Verification and observation help, but effective project managers also follow up verbally.

Duty Writing Versus Inspired Writing
I know people who write very well. Several are leaders of asapm. For me, it can take weeks to get inspired about an article. Sometimes, just as with some of my favorite people, leaving something to the last minute inspires me a little bit, as the looming deadline juices my adrenalin. But the inspiration is essential. No one wants to read an article that was written just because it is a duty. This article, for example, was started in early November, as a duty. Needed it for a November newsletter. Now, here it is January 6, and I had an Epiphany: the tee-up that this article begins with.

Are your project reports Duty Writing or Inspired Writing? Fear is not quite the same as Inspiration, although there is a slight resemblance. In failing projects, a few hours of reading project communications easily shows the problems, the attempts to CYA (a clever approach to avoiding blame, spelled out, it means Cover Your Anatomy); the early signs of a looming disaster. This is panicked Duty Writing, and over my consulting career, I’ve seen too many examples.

For me, Inspired Writing usually begins with a middle-of-the-night insight. Then I’m off and writing. Inspired Writing is more enjoyable for the writer, and usually more enjoyable to read.

Writing Well
In earlier generations, we all went through the writing classes in grade school, maybe multiple times: Outlining; sentence structure (remember diagramming?); declensions, person, nominative and dative; all the science of writing. But there is a difference between a well-structured sentence, and a compelling one, isn’t there? And how do we learn to write compelling phrases? Look at that list under Why Do We Write; can you afford to be ineffective in any of those communications? This is a Darwinian-style theme: survival of the fittest writer.

You are successful, in part, because of your writing skills! Such learned techniques as placing the “Why” in the first five words of a report that needs Executive action; of Engineers and IT Talent using more adjectives and adverbs when writing for non-technical stakeholders; and many other techniques. Perhaps we should start a wiki of writing tips for project managers. Such sharing could help all of us in writing well.

Back to our introductory dialogue: Effective writers prepare for their audiences to be some combination of reader and listener. They ask for preferences: “Would you rather review my proposal first, or have me explain the key points, and answer your questions?” That is one of the ways effective writers also become effective communicators.

So yes, in some future posting we will also opine about The Importance of Speaking Well; and probably of Listening, too. Perhaps not immediately; there are a lot of interesting things to write about, early in 2012. May your 2012 be prosperous and successful!

Your Comments?

Experiencing Newvember

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP of Marketing

Typically, and especially in the USA, November is a slow month—the calm before the storm of December, with its end-of-year project deadlines, and fiscal close-out for non-governmental organizations. It is a bit of a relief from the intensity of September and October. This effect is accentuated in the USA by the Thanksgiving week late in the month, that disrupts any schedule for a two week period.

But not this year.

I traveled more this month (on behalf of professional organizations) than any period since May-June, with:

• A keynote for a major University, with a discussion about establishing a truly relevant PM curriculum;
• Participating in an excellent PMO Symposium in Orlando; and (finally) meeting Cornelius Fitchner;
• Speaking of which, contributing to The PM Podcast’s celebratory event, celebrating Cornelius’ 200th offering;
• Participating in an IPMA Executive Board meeting in Sarajevo with a very informative Government/Business Roundtable for the Bosnia-Herzegovina IPMA Member Association;
• A keynote at the incredibly successful 2nd Annual Symposium for AMIP, Asociacion Mexicana de Ingenieria de Proyectos, IPMA-Mexico, in Saltillo, Mexico.

Whew! Wore me out just reading it! (more…)

Project Management: Delivering The Promise

PM Commentary by Stacy Goff, asapm President, IPMA VP of Marketing

This posting is inspired by the theme of IPMA’s 25th World Congress, Brisbane, Australia, October 10-12 2011. We originally developed the content for The PM Podcast’s 200th celebratory podcast, then adapted it for IPMA President Roberto Mori’s Welcome and Introduction speech at the Congress. Finally, thanks to the insight and graciousness of the Australians, we are again using the theme one more time at the asapm Congress scheduled for 5 March, 2012, in Washington DC. Nothing like taking a good idea and re-using it multiple times!

First, thank you to IPMA Member Association AIPM (Australian Institute of Project Management) for a great 2011 IPMA World Congress, and for the inspired theme of the Congress: Project Management—Delivering the Promise.

The promise of project and program management is efficient, effective and beneficial change. We as a profession make that promise to four types of audiences:

• Individual PM Practitioners;
• Project Teams and Stakeholders;
• Enterprise Managers and Executives; and to
• Nations and Society.

Each of these audiences has different needs and different expectations. Let’s explore them.

Our First Audience, Individual PM Practitioners,
expects to improve their project performance, while increasing their job satisfaction and career progression opportunities. To accomplish that, we must move beyond classroom knowledge and testing that brings only short-term results. Why is this important? Based on recent research the half-life of knowledge acquired but not applied is only two weeks. We must follow classroom training with on-the-job application of that knowledge, with four goals: Develop needed skills, improve behavioral competences, gain end-to-end project experience, and achieve measurable project performance results. (more…)