Skip to main content

Author: Ilya Bogorad

On Procrastination

Written by Ilya Bogorad on . Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on On Procrastination

“What a peculiar clean freak!” a curious person might exclaim, having examined my daily to-do lists from the last two or three weeks. Intrigued they will be, and why not, for there is one particular chore that I appear to take on every day without fail.

Apparent from my daily lists, I am fond of cleaning my garage, to the point that I do it daily. Now, that’s a standalone three bay garage we are talking about and tidying it every day would be peculiar indeed. How dirty does it get in a day, anyway?

No, my friends, the only reason this item is on my daily list, is that I have been putting it off. Even not-so-gentle reminders from my wife do not seem to produce enough motivation to get me roll up my sleeves. So, what is the reason for my procrastination?

There are factors that cause people to procrastinate. More often than not, we put off things that appear to be tedious, unpleasant, uninspiring, or unimportant. In my case, the garage chore seems to possess all of these qualities. Inevitably, other tasks pop up all the time that I can mentally assign more value, more appeal and more urgency to, and so the poor garage gets bumped again.

Don’t tell me in never happened to you. The only reason I am typing up this stuff now is because I know for the fact that homo sapiens is the species that invented procrastination. Imagine a bear dragging his feet on a new winter den, or a salmon figuring not to run upstream to spawn. It just does not happen in other species, as far as I know.

Here are a few pointers to help to get over the problem.

  1. Deal with tasks decisively. Tackle them as they appear, do not assign them to the ‘maybe tomorrow” category, and take pleasure in striking them off your list.
  2. Use simple task lists. As my case demonstrates, they don’t guarantee that it will get done, but at least they guarantee that is not going to drop off your radar. Besides, ticking things off the list is darn satisfying.
  3. Reward yourself. Do something you really like after you are finished with a dreaded chore. Have a coffee, go for a walk, listen to music, or play Solitaire.
  4. Delegate, if you consistently find yourself dragging your feet on a particular activity. Others may be better suited for it. Your chore may well be someone else’s enjoyment.
  5. Enjoy being productive. I guarantee that your energy level will shoot up if you deal with your task list with vigor and fortitude.

Finally, don’t dawdle, as that is even worse than procrastination. It does not take a whole day to write a project status update, nor do you have to debate with yourself whether to make that dreaded phone call. If you don’t feel like cleaning the garage right now, fine, but remember that you cannot ignore it forever!

Special Announcement: following the success of my recent speaking on best practices in business cases, I am running a seminar on June 24-25, devoted to business case and Cost-Benefit Analysis. All details are available at www.bizvortex.com.

Effective Communication

Written by Ilya Bogorad on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on Effective Communication

Breakdown in communications is often cited as a reason for failure in negotiations, initiatives, projects and organizations. I have yet to see project Lessons Learned, which did not feature communications as one of the competencies to be improved. We are told that communication is something we always must do more of, that it is impossible to over communicate…yet, breakdowns keep happening, to keep the Lessons Learned coming.

So, why is it such a problem?

The following are five reasons that cause or aggravate deficiencies in communication. You may be able to observe all of them in your organization.

  1. Vague responsibilities and poor discipline
    A trivial issue of failing to spell out who is responsible for dissemination of information and facilitation of the communication process can be easily overcome by creating a communication plan, either verbal or written (whatever is appropriate) and sticking to it. Are you delegating it to someone? Be specific on the expectations, the media and the protocol.

  2. Lack of transparency
    “We cannot make it public knowledge”
    “It would not be appropriate”
    “We need to ensure X is ok with us saying this, but he is on vacation for two weeks”
    Sounds familiar? Of course it does. Instead of communicating openly, organizations routinely engage in political hopscotch, which unavoidably produces a brood of worst kept secrets, gossip and uncertainty. And uncertainty kills productivity.
    I command you – cut through this stuff, be proactive and foster the spirit of transparence within your organization. Squash gossip by providing trustworthy information.

  3. Efficiency
    The human brain is an incredibly efficient device, capable of processing massive amounts of information quickly and efficiently. Such processing power is possible due to the presence of synapses, which allow neutrons to exchange information in a parallel mode. It is the power of our brains that makes the otherwise pretty unimpressive hairless ape the most powerful animal on Earth.

    Those organizations that encourage communication in all directions and at all levels, not unlike in a neural network, are the ones that are nimble, quick and powerful. They thrive.

  4. Poor content
    Communication that lacks substance and relevance, no matter how wordy or even eloquent, is useless if not harmful. Provide information, not data; ideas, not words.

  5. Lack of discipline
    Nothing to say here but that we all goof off, forget, procrastinate and drop the ball. There is no excuse for it. Maybe I‘ll talk about how to deal with these later… perhaps next time… if I remember!

By the way, I’ll be speaking on the Best Practices in Business Cases at the Toronto Chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysts (http://www.iibatoronto.org) on May 28. Check with them if you’re interested in attending as a guest.

Are You a Better Person Today?

Written by Ilya Bogorad on . Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on Are You a Better Person Today?

I write for Project Times once a month. Since the last time, I have started new projects, spoken to several new prospective clients, written a couple of articles and prepared for several speaking assignments. I have attended three industry events and a specialty seminar in London (UK). I have read two fiction books and two books related to my specialty. I have moved my house, got together with friends (several times) and enjoyed quality time with my family. Casting my mind back 30 days, I find that I am better today than I was then, for myself, for my clients and for my loved ones.
How have you improved yourself, professionally, since we last spoke?

Have you developed a better understanding of your current industry? Have you sat down for a coffee with a subject matter expert to tease out the precious tidbits of knowledge we all are happy to share, when prompted?

Are you a better communicator today? Have you picked up, or developed yourself, some dramatically useful visual aids or templates. Have you learned to project yourself? To listen to others?

Have you made a concerted effort to understand the strategy of the organization? Have you determined how your project or project portfolio fits into it? For Pete’s sake, don’t tell me it’s not your job!

You might have improved your business acumen by delving in to the world of finance and taking your skills to the next level from the basic understanding of financial statements. Financial language is what the business speaks, and a project manager who can’t is at a great disadvantage. In fact, not being able to converse with a CFO is often a career-limiting move.

How many times have you had a lunch with your project sponsor? What is more important for your project than developing a solid, trusting relationship with him or her?

Have you attended an industry event, read a specialty book and stayed on top of current trends? Have you given back to the profession by mentoring a colleague, delivering a presentation or writing an article?

If you haven’t, where are you heading?

Special announcement: I hope we can meet at ProjectWorld in Toronto. My presentation on Healthcare projects is at 3:45pm on April 16, and I am a panelist in a discussion on whether one size of PMO fits all settings, on April 17.

What is the Most Serious Issue with Project Management Today?

Written by Ilya Bogorad on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on What is the Most Serious Issue with Project Management Today?

No profession is immune to problems and shortcomings, and project management is no exception. In my opinion, the most critical issue with the profession today is as follows: it is just not strategic enough. What on earth does this mean, you ask? Let me explain.
The famous quote from Peter Drucker goes like this:

And the Rant Goes On!

Written by Ilya Bogorad on . Posted in Articles. 6 Comments on And the Rant Goes On!

In my last blog, I complained about how the two words “Project Manager” can mean such different things to different people. Let me continue my rant on perceptions of the role of the project manager. Well, first of all, why am I making such fuss about this? Because it is just too important to ignore!

A few years ago, at the time of my getting pretty bored with my well-paying full time job, I read Peter Block’s famous Flawless Consulting. The most important thing I learned from it follows: happy and prosperous consultants never position themselves with client as a “pair of hands”.

Far too many of my colleagues in project management are happy with the “facilitator” role. They maintain project schedules and set up meetings, keep minutes and file timesheets. I don’t know why anyone would like such a mind-numbing, boring, low-value job. Fine, perhaps, for a young kid right out of the school, for a short time, just to figure out how the corporate world works, but for a mid-career professional? Please!

I sometimes receive calls for recruiters and am constantly amazed how low project managers’ rates have fallen! I recently heard that banks pay as low as $60,000 and that it is dragging the whole market down. Except, if we are talking about the facilitator role, 60K is just too generous. I can get a clerical person do the same job for much less than that.

What makes sense to me, in terms of positioning, is the “taskmaster” project manager. As an executive or a project sponsor, I want to see someone stepping up and taking on the responsibility of running a project for me. There are clearly defined boundaries, and if the issue is outside of them, I am made aware and expected to provide guidance. This is a partnership, and I rely on the project manager as much as he or she relies on me. A good taskmaster is worth a lot.

The positioning of the project manager as a “mover and a shaker” is appealing and potentially very lucrative, except that:

  1. If such expectation comes without true empowering, which is often the case, the project manager will certainly under deliver (and possibly shorten his expected lifespan).
  2. Inevitable risks outside of the project manager’s control become the project manager’s problem. How do I control things outside of my control? This can get very stressful.

These points are so serious that I would never take on a mover and shaker role unless I have dealt with these issues, no matter how much I like the feeling of making things happen. And I like this feeling a lot!