Author: Lisa Anderson

Your customer or project recipient calls and says, “I need this project milestone completed by Friday”.  You respond, “We need until the following Tuesday to meet your expectations.”  So, after a bit more conversation where you think the project recipient understands the need for additional time, he closes by saying “So we’ll talk on Friday after the milestone is complete” and hangs up. 

Does this sound familiar?  I imagine so, as not only did one of my readers request this article but I also frequently hear it from project teams of all sizes and companies.

So, what do we do?  There are certainly no simple answers.  However, in my experience in working with project teams globally across multiple industries, I’ve found the following three strategies provide the optimal route to achieve success: 1) Stop it before it starts!  2) Offer options.  3) Put it in your customer’s best interest. 

1. Stop it before it starts! – The best strategy is to take preventative action so that unrealistic demands are squashed prior to rising to the surface. Undoubtedly, the best way to accomplish this goal is to talk with your customers/ project recipients in the beginning – before the project gets going.  Go to the top (the highest level leader of your customers/ project recipients).  Discuss what will likely occur based on your experience and get them on board with the process upfront (including potential roadblocks, etc.).  Ask questions.  Probe for areas where there might be an expectation miss-match, and then address those items upfront.

For example, when I led a project team for an ERP implementation, we knew a key milestone would take longer than some of the customers/ project recipients would like if we implemented with sufficient training and education to ensure a smooth transition from the current ERP system.  We preempted the “bad news” conversation of missing the customers’ expectation of an earlier milestone date by addressing the issue upfront with the top leaders.  Going to the top is critical; otherwise, all discussions and efforts could end up a waste of time, and you still have unhappy customers.

2. Offer options – When addressing the potential challenges upfront, the secret to success is to involve your customer/ project recipient in the resolution.  Offer options from which to choose that will allow the customer to feel comfortable.

For example, in the ERP implementation example, we were able to offer three options for the completion of the milestone.  For each of these options, there were different levels of training/ education and resource requirements.  Thus, there were three different expected outcomes associated with the options.  Of course, we didn’t offer an option with awful consequences as it would be negligent; however, we offered three varying levels of success and investment.  By having the customer involved in the decision-making process, he became more committed to the plan.

3. Put it in your customer’s best interest – There is no better way to ensure success than to put it in your customer’s best interest.  Communicate why your customer/ project recipient will be better off with your suggestions. 

For example, using the same ERP example, explain that in your experience from dozens of implementations, those customers who included the expanded training and education programs experience 20% fewer customer complaints in the first month after go-live.  Suddenly, the customer is thinking about ensuring a seamless transition for customers and has forgotten his concerns that the date is longer than he’d prefer.  The aggressive schedule now comes at too high of a cost.

Unrealistic demands, especially in regards to schedule, are common; thus, it’s in our best interest to become proficient at addressing them successfully.  Unfortunately, the only way I’ve seen to repeatedly ensure success is to address these upfront.  Once the project is in progress, it often becomes impossible to communicate effectively and fend off unrealistic demands while maintaining a happy customer. The risk in letting that situation occur is too high.  Instead of taking that chance (as most projects are big ticket or high priority in today’s marketplace), why not take a step back and set the project up for success upfront?

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Those companies who invested during the last three recessions have passed by their competition who didn’t invest!  If you survived through the recession and are working to leverage the recovery with a few key projects, there’s no time to waste with miss-managed projects – or you’ll see your competition leave you in the dust.  Pay attention to what you can learn from project failure to ensure you’re successful when it counts!

In thinking of good examples of project failure (unfortunately, I’ve seen more than one in my time), I thought we’d discuss a failed company integration program, as it illustrated typical failure points. 

A mid-market manufacturer purchased two companies – one smaller and one larger than itself.  There was a vast opportunity in terms of product synergies; however, it failed to yield even meager results.  What went wrong?  1) Too many chiefs and no Indians.  2) Lost critical knowledge base.  3) Forgot to ask questions. 

1.  Too many chiefs and no Indians – As well-intentioned as the leadership was in terms of hiring experts with knowledge in the acquired companies and with large-company experience (since, clearly, the company was going to grow dramatically in size through the process), there were not nearly enough Indians to implement the millions of project tasks requested by the chiefs.  No program can be successful without considering the scope and complexity of implementation. 

Projects do not fail in formulation; they fail in implementation.  The same is true of strategy.  Therefore, if there are too many chiefs coupled with no Indians, you can easily have the best strategy in the world. While this strategy which should yield significant synergies with huge profit potential,  it can still fail miserably.  Not only did the companies not integrate successfully but customers were lost and cash ran short.

2.  Lost critical knowledge base – Another tempting and normal reaction to planning for the integration is to move people among jobs and change responsibilities.  If handled with expertise, this is fine; however, it rarely occurs.  Even if handled ok, people tend to become disheartened if they perceive the new job as a demotion and/or they have a hard time adjusting to the new situation.  It’s likely their new boss has transitioned as well, and so it can be a tough situation.  Sometimes, they leave.  Sometimes, they end up fired.  And, sometimes they just become unproductive.  All are undesirable results.

For example, in the integration project, the management team hired new leaders, moved employees to different roles and sometimes even to different departments and/or locations, changed responsibilities etc.  They did this in order to reorganize so that the “right people were in the right positions” to support the new organizations.  All done with the best intentions in maon. However, in the end, they lost a critical knowledge base of how the processes and systems worked to support customers.  As a result, although everyone worked hard, customer service levels dropped by 25-50%.

In order to make this transition successful, it is vital to think carefully about who has what knowledge, skills, and history.  Think about your leaders – both formal and informal.  The trick is to utilize the informal and formal leaders effectively to leverage the collective talents of the organization to achieve a successful integration.  Don’t forget about the critical employees who keep things going – shipping, receiving, calling customers etc.  Each person plays a valuable role.  Have you defined how each person fits into the integration plan?   Have you communicated this to them?

3.  Forgot to ask questions – Last but not least, don’t forget to ask questions.  There is no way to know everything required to integrate successfully without continually asking effective questions.  Questions need to be asked of each company, department, and person as the integration proceeds. 

In the integration project, there were so many tasks and issues to address that the executives and project leaders didn’t have the time to ask enough questions.  Thus, they didn’t know we were shipping 50% of our typical volume.  They didn’t realize customers weren’t receiving the same level of service.  They didn’t realize that production was inefficient.  And they didn’t know what the suppliers expected.  Without this critical information, it was easy for the systems to fall apart – and the integration program to fail.

Instead, ask questions.  It’s important not to just ask random, meaningless questions, as that not only wastes time but it will also not help to achieve your goal.  Take the time to learn about the culture, people, processes, and systems, and then ask questions.  Make sure project team members know that you care about their responses.

It is always easy to identify issues with others’ projects (and tempting to tell them all about it); however, it’s not nearly as easy to see or implement on your own projects.  Spend the time upfront to think through examples of program, project and task successes and failures – both yours and others.  What were the root causes of failure?  Ask the project leader.  Ask team members.  Incorporate the lessons learned into your project, and you’ll succeed when it counts the most!

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After stagnating during the recession, executives are anxious to find ways to take advantage of the recovery to drive bottom line results and surpass the competition.  However, there are typically no obvious or easy answers.  Thus, it boils down to which companies develop the best strategies and plans, and, more importantly, implements them successfully.  This is where program management becomes vital.

In my experience, when there are no simple solutions, it requires a more complex set of initiatives to drive substantial results.  Without effective program management, there is no chance to achieve aggressive plans.  So, what are the keys to success? 1) Focus on connections.  2) Rigorous attention to timing.  3) Become a metrics fanatic.

1.      Focus on connections – Will a good project manager automatically be an effective program manager?  No!  When managing to an end result based on multiple projects, connections become critical – connections between projects, tasks, people, etc.

As a program manager, you must focus attention away from achieving specific tasks and individual project critical milestones and towards the connection points.  For example, when I worked with a client to upgrade and launch a core product line, I had to assume that the R&D folks were developing the product according to their specifications, the Engineering folks were upgrading and installing equipment according to their plans, and the rest of the projects were progressing appropriately.  Instead, what was critical and required significant attention were those critical path items and people which crossed over between projects.  Ensuring a smooth integration among the projects was critical to success.

2.      Rigorous attention to timing – Once you’re focused on the connection points, the next key is rigorous attention to timing – and specifically the timing associated with the critical path connection points.  When multiple projects are running concurrently, it cannot be left to chance that the timing will match up.

In order to ensure the timing works, it is imperative to be vigilant with follow-up on the timing of the connection points.  Are there potential roadblocks in the way?  How can they be resolved?  Does a project team need additional resources or to reallocate resources to critical connection point tasks?  Do the project teams understand the importance and priority of these tasks?  Ask questions, and then follow-up, follow-up, and follow-up.

3.       Become a metrics fanatic – As much as I’m annoyed by people who lose all sense of relevance and get caught up in scorecards to the detriment of true progress and results, I admit that metrics play a vital role – even more so with program management than with project management.  As you are focused on multiple projects and connection points simultaneously and accounting for changes in the environment, roadblocks etc., there is nothing more important than developing a scorecard.

Follow typical best practices in developing metrics.  Keep them simple.  Don’t over-measure irrelevant activities.  Make them visible – a simple red, yellow, green light system for key connection points and critical path items can do the trick.  Do not be too accommodating in order to not upset the apple cart.  One of the keys to success is not just to measure progress but to be upfront as issues arise.  Encourage folks to confront bad news early.  In my experience, almost any issue can be resolved if addressed early.  Hoping it will go away typically only makes it worse.

Last but not least, don’t just measure and publish.  Communication is vital.  Bring the appropriate project teams and people together.  Brainstorm with your teams as to what is critical to measure, how to effectively measure it and how to confront issues.

In today’s business environment, programs are required to deliver the correct series of results which will add up and achieve a significant bottom line impact for an organization.  In my experience, 80% of the intended benefits will not be achieved.  Instead, take charge of the future and become part of the 20% who achieve success through effective program management.

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As the stock market continues to climb and sales figures are strong, it is apparent we are in a recovery.  Regardless of whether the recovery lasts for 1 month, 1 quarter, 1 year or longer, the opportunity will pass you by if you are not ahead of the pack and aggressive in your efforts to leverage the recovery. 

For those who survived the recession, it will be a fierce battle for each additional dollar of revenue – after all, every business I talk with is anxious to grow sales.  And, since the recovery is a weak one, it will likely require taking market share from competitors – those who have gone out of business and those who are slower to leverage the recovery.  Thus, it is an opportune time to re-review your projects for those which will help you leverage the recovery.

It’s time to re-think priorities inclusive of projects.  It’s easy to become enamored with a project which will achieve a worthwhile goal which has been your ‘baby’ for quite some time.  Instead, toss out the sacred cows.  Think about which projects will achieve the most significant benefits which tie directly to leveraging the recovery, as those are time-sensitive.  Consider the following: 1) A renewed focus on customer service.  2) The value of partnerships.  3) Last but not least, cash remains king.

1.  A renewed focus on customer service – As consumers and businesses choose from whom to buy, customer service is rising to the top.  As everyone remains more concerned with what they purchase and what they are getting for their scarcer funds, expectations rise.  Thus, exceptional customer service is no longer a differentiator; it must be an assumption. 

For example, what I heard from one client from a recession-laden industry, was that those competitors who could deliver 5% quicker, with reliability and superior customer service got the sale.  There were no other differentiators.  In this case, what could be more important than a renewed focus on customer service?

2.  The value of partnerships – Similar to the saying “two heads are better than one”; an effective partnership can yield substantially greater results than either party working alone.  Thus, it is important to be looking for potential partnership opportunities; otherwise, they’ll pass you by without a second thought.  As the opportunity arises, resources should be diverted to these projects with high potential.     

For example, in several of my clients and with my former employer, significant revenue increases were largely due to partnerships.  In one case, we implemented vendor managed inventory jointly with our #1 customer and were able to not only improve lead times and reduce inventory levels but we were also able to strengthen the partnership such that revenues grew for both parties.  In another example, my client was able to build and become the bridge for significant relationships with both customers and suppliers such that all three parties were able to achieve higher profitability with key contracts.

3.  Last but not least, cash remains king – Although credit markets are beginning to show a little bit of positive growth, cash remains king.  Thus, remember to continue to prioritize those projects which will free up cash flow.  However, the key is to stay light on your feet and not be averse to investing for significant opportunities. 

During the recession, most businesses were reluctant to invest in projects with 10 to 1 returns – surprising but true.  During the recovery, those businesses which keep abreast of opportunities and are willing to invest in those which will achieve sales growth and significant return will leverage the recovery.  And those which not only invest wisely but remain steadfast and committed to projects which free up cash will be those who leapfrog the competition.

The recovery is here; there’s no more time for analysis and inaction.  Instead, those leaders who are willing to make quick decisions to leverage the recovery and who are ready to kill the sacred cow projects for those with potential to take advantage of the current environment while remaining committed to their employees, customers and other partners will achieve success in whatever window of time is available in this recovery.

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