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Tag: Change Management

From the Sponsor’s Desk – The Six Secrets of Project Prosperity

Written by Drew Davison on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on From the Sponsor’s Desk – The Six Secrets of Project Prosperity

Imagine this. Your boss asks you to work with eight countries in West Africa.

The assignment: to support the establishment of practices for the effective and equitable operation of microfinance lending to small and medium size business clients in the region. He tells you it’s vital to the growth of the local economies and to the region as a whole.

That request is probably well outside the comfort zone of most project managers. It’s hard to image where you’d even start. But CESO knows. In fact, they do this kind of thing all the time, with limited financing, a small full time staff of fifty, and a core of seasoned Canadian volunteers. They deliver successfully, time after time, using what I call the six secrets of project prosperity.

Thanks to Leah Oliveira, Director, Communications and Engagement at CESO for the details on this story.

The Situation

The mission of the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) is “to strengthen economic and social well-being in Canada and abroad through engagement of skilled and experienced Canadian volunteers working co-operatively with partners and clients to create solutions that foster long-term economic growth and self-reliance”.

As I recounted in my previous post on CESO, Stronger Economies, Better Lives, CESO focuses on helping small and medium size businesses (SMB’s) as a catalyst for growing individual and community prosperity. Providing funding to those SMB’s is an essential component of that strategy. Unfortunately, traditional lending organizations aren’t always interested or able to serve those needs. That’s where microfinancing comes in.

Working with its network of government and non-governmental organizations, private sector enterprises, clients and its own staff and volunteers on the ground in West Africa, CESO identified available and effective microfinancing services as a foundational need for continued SMB growth and development. While microfinancing was often available, the offerings weren’t regulated to ensure SMB clients were protected from abuse. That posed a potential risk to borrowers and thus a constraint on SMB viability.

The Goal

The challenge, therefore, was to bring together the national microfinance institutions of eight West African countries to define, institute and administer policies and practices that would ensure safe and accessible microfinancing services throughout the region. Consistent oversight of microfinancing practices would enable lenders to achieve a reasonable return on their investments while providing SMB’s with access to the capital needed to start and grow their businesses without fear of abuse. It would also provide a unified, singular voice to work with regional institutions, governments, international partners, the regional central bank, and more broadly with the West African Monetary Union.

The Project

This program started almost twelve years ago and involved some fifty CESO Volunteer Advisors and other CESO staff over that time. Each assignment involved contact with current and prospective SMB clients or microfinance organizations along with other interested parties. The engagements would identify local needs and problems, potential future issues and concerns, current and future risks and opportunities, and potential remedies.
Over time, the outputs from these assignments were rationalized, assimilated into a broader body of knowledge that became a framework for collaboration across the stakeholders involved, locally, nationally and finally across all eight West African nations.

The Results

Those years of work culminated in the first annual general meeting of the West African Microfinancing Foundation in October of 2016.

Microfinance in West Africa is now a dynamic economic and social sector which empowers more than 9% of the total population in 8 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) of the West African Monetary and Economic Union. In comparison, traditional banking amounts to 5.5%. According to the available statistics, at the end of March 2015, there were 724 microfinance institutions in the affected region, attracting more than 13.8 million beneficiaries.

Continuing assessment of ongoing performance will focus on the following metrics:

  • Social return on investment,
  • Outreach or improved local credit markets – how many clients are being served
  • Collection performance – how well is microfinance collecting its loans
  • Financial sustainability – is the organization profitable enough to maintain and expand its services
  • Efficiency – how well does the organization control its administrative costs.

How Great Leaders Delivered

The six secrets that CESO used to achieve these great results are, in fact, the cornerstone of everything they do. They include:

  1. Mission, Vision, Culture – All of CESO’s operations are framed by their mandate established fifty years ago and mentioned at the start of this article. They are driven by local needs. Their main emphasis is always on strengthening and enabling local clients and partners through knowledge transfer and collaboration.
  2. Human capital – CESO’s focus is on building individual skills and capabilities in the private sector and supporting institutions. To that end, they select and assign highly skilled Canadian Volunteer Advisors to train and mentor local entrepreneurs and institutional staff to realize sustainable change. CESO has mentored and trained almost 6,000 people in their target communities over the last two years alone.
  3. The long view – We know that projects that are spawned by a strategic plan and guided by an organization’s strategic direction tend to be more successful on all fronts. So, it’s no surprise that CESO’s remarkable record of success can lay claim to a similar enabler. At least 85 per cent of CESO projects are conducted under the auspices of a Partnership Action Plan, including the microfinance initiative. The plan is developed by a CESO Lead Volunteer Advisor in collaboration with local partners. It provides the blueprint for assignments that will be carried out over the entire course of the multi-year timeframe. The remaining 15 per cent of projects are purposefully constructed under a “fee for service.” These projects tend to come from new, often smaller partnerships that serve in many ways as pilot projects for both CESO and the partner, many of which are developed into multi-year partnerships following the test project.
  4. Networks of Relationships – CESO’s Country Representatives look after business development on a country by country basis. They find and identify partners and clients, build and sustain those relationships, manage local government relations and liaise between CESO, the local, regional and national governments and Canadian embassies. The networks are formed and nurtured independent of any particular project. Yet, they are what allow CESO to frame the opportunities, engage the required stakeholders and launch initiatives quickly and effectively. The relationships, for the most part, are already in place.
  5. Partnerships – CESO’s partnership model is adaptable to different situations as well as being scalable to various sizes of enterprises and undertakings. The microfinance initiative involved the formation of partnerships across four levels in West Africa, with individual entrepreneurs, building capacity in local microfinance institutions, advising national micro-finance regulatory institutions and at a regional level with the West African Monetary Union. The overall partnership model facilitated and reinforced the formation and operation of those separate groups. That’s just the way CESO does business.
  6. Best practices – Every assignment and every project goes through a formal evaluation process with the participation of involved partners, clients and CESO staff. Lessons learned are formalized and add to the best practice body of knowledge to help improve future performance. CESO even has a formal position called a Knowledge Officer. People in this role are accountable for eliciting and sharing information and best practices and facilitate getting evaluative information back to CESO. If only every organization had a Knowledge Officer or two.

These six secrets to CESO’s continuing success are not generally what come to mind when one thinks about key project success factors. Nor are they always easy to implement in every project situation. In fact, most of these six secrets are typically beyond the scope of any one project. However, CESO’s track record demonstrates the power of the practices to produce consistently sustainable change.

So, be a Great Leader and put these points on your checklist of things to consider so you too can achieve great results. You might not be able to go all in on each practice. But perhaps going just a little way towards CESO’s secret six can give you that critical edge. And remember, use Project Pre-Check’s three building blocks covering the key stakeholder group (including the key stakeholder roles), the decision management process and Decision Framework best practices right up front so you don’t overlook these key success factors. You’ll find that CESO’s six secrets to project prosperity are included.

If you are intrigued by CESO’s mission and would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer advisor, at home or abroad, check out their website. It covers the skills they’re looking for and the steps involved to become a volunteer.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has willingly shared their experiences for presentation in this blog. Everyone benefits. First time contributors get a copy of one of my books. Readers get insights they can apply to their own unique circumstances. So, if you have a project experience, good, bad and everything in between, send me the details and we’ll chat. I’ll write it up and, when you’re happy with the results, Project Times will post it so others can learn from your insights. Thanks

8 Things You Must do Better to Make Better Decisions

Written by Richard Lannon on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on 8 Things You Must do Better to Make Better Decisions

I have been thinking lately about what it takes to make decisions. Just recently I was presented with a situation where some major decisions will need to be made.

Ones that impact changes in business and careers focus and could mean going into a whole new direction. So you have to make the best decision with the information at hand for your organization. From that perspective I think there are eight things you must do to make better decisions.

1. Invest in decision making skills.

This is something that holds true today as it did ten years ago or more. I see this as a foundational skill that people need to learn, practice and apply. There are many approaches or methodologies that can be applied in the decision making process whether you are a traditional organization, project based, a committee environment or driven by the board of directors. Often the fundamentals of decision making are missing. Look at the environment and create an appropriate decision making structure.

2. Create time to think ahead.

Time, time and more time is something we don’t have. It has become a luxury that most people can’t afford. Yet making good decisions requires time to reflect and look at the road ahead. What if you are considering changing careers and decide to go in a whole new direction? This is a big decision. This applies to a business venture also. Change and transformation are difficult to do on a whim, often you are required to think and plan ahead. But don’t over think long term plans as things change around you quickly.

3. Know who you serve.

This is an important point to answer. I know a lot of business leaders and professionals who I am completely confident in their ability to get the job done, to move forward and make things happen. But, they lack an important insight and clarity of who they serve. Decision making is a whole lot easier if you know who you serve whether it is a specific target market, an organization or something else. I think it provides opportunities to make mindful decisions and improve innovation and creativity in solving problems due to clarity and focus. It does not matter if you upset the market because you know who you serve.

4. Question everything, especially the business.

I often get asked how I would approach a specific problem. I am in a meeting and someone sets up a scenario and wants to know my approach. Any good business analyst, trainer or consultant will know the basics; define the problem, evaluation solutions, implement the approved solution, and measure the results. Part of the process is to question the business model. Recently I had this happen in a meeting with an executive director. I was presented with a question and responded but within that response I placed questions to better understand the business model of this organization.

Turns out they are looking for a change and the business model is suspect. It is always good to question, even when answering.

5. We can all think in a straight line.

Straight line or linear thinking is the a, b, c, of decision making. With so many organizations talking about innovation, creativity and being intentional I wonder what’s the point. There are many theories about what approach you should take. I still think the best approach to decision making and initiative integration is a mix between predictive and adaptive planning. These two approaches provide the best of both worlds, and when blended, often provide an organization an approach that works beyond the mere linear.

6. Create a story around decisions.

Life is a story and you write it yourself. With every decision there is a story that comes from people discussions, thinking, making assumptions, determining impact and communicating the decision. Wouldn’t it be great if you could create a decision narrative that is beyond the old boring business report? People want to be part of the decision story that makes a difference thus bridging organization gaps. You should create decision making stories.

7. We are all moving at the speed of a click.

Over decades my career has been part of the professional consulting and service economy which has accelerated at lightning speed in recent years. When I look at the professions’ value stream I think we need to make better decisions around the downstream business environment. Clients no longer just order or buy stuff they engage now in a very different way where it becomes difficult to determine the ROI on business activities. Margins wither as the need to provide valuable free content increases making business decisions a challenge to make. No matter the business you are in, the accelerated service economy is impacting your business.

8. Find a tool, reduce your risk and get costs under control.

The strategic business analyst looks at the past, present and future of a strategic plan and approach and use financial analysis of NPV, IRR and ROI within your business case. But it is important to go further and look at risk with uncertainty analysis. This is something that I learned over time from various economic adjustments (ie: dot com bubble burst, corporate and accounting scandals, subprime mortgages issue, and resource industry collapse) I think uncertainty needs to be determined better. Business intelligence and uncertainty reducing tools can be used to assist in this analysis. My point, the business analyst can play an important part in helping organizations make decisions through embracing uncertainty analysis approaches and tools to help deal effectively with unpredictable times.

Final Thoughts

Big decisions are tough to make, especially when you have invested so much time and effort on your business or focus area. When you work in a space where you are building skills and helping businesses define their future, you start to realize that there are certain truths that exist. One truth, everybody wants to survive and be around a long time. The second truth, that there is always a purpose that needs to be achieved. Third truth, good decisions and core competencies take you a long way to creating a profitable future thus achieving the first two truths.

Losing A Key Player Can Derail Your Project

Written by George Pitagorsky on . Posted in Articles. 5 Comments on Losing A Key Player Can Derail Your Project

Key players are great to have but, when a key player leaves, there is bound to be disruption. Cultivate and acknowledge key players and be prepared for the time when they will leave to minimize the impact and reduce the likelihood of occurrence.

Related Article: How to Increase Teamwork to Ensure Project Success

What is a Key Player?

A key player is a stakeholder who has an important influence on the outcome. They can be a performer, subject matter expert or manager at any level – an integral part of the project team or a sponsor, functional manager or client. According to the Business Dictionary, a key player is an “Individual whose knowledge, creativity, inspiration, reputation, and/or skills are critical to the viability or growth of an organization, and whose loss may cripple it.” [http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/key-person.html]

In an organizational change project focused on performance improvement, a key player would be:

  • a knowledge holder of the organization culture and environment, its procedures, constraints, people and history
  • able to see both the big picture and the tactical details and the way they are interdependent
  • able to lead stakeholders to make smart decisions that consider all the angles and factors at play while being neutral and non-threatening
  • committed to making the project and all of those working on it successful
  • self-managing and able to run their team with a minimal need for management and supervision from above
  • reliable to competently do what they say they’ll do
  • personable, a good communicator in writing and orally and able to work with minimal authority.

In a more general sense, a key player is an individual who brings an array of skills, knowledge and personal characteristics that are hard to find and which make the individual almost indispensable.

The Impact of Losing a Key Player

Of course, no one is entirely indispensable, and everyone is important to the project outcome. However, a key players’ impact is often proportionally greater than the average stakeholder’s, and they are much harder to replace.

For example, if there are 6 programmers on a software development project, all with roughly equal capabilities and working on well-defined functions, the loss of one of them would impact the schedule, but they would be fairly easy to replace. It is much more difficult to manage the loss of the team-lead who has been onboard for several years, has comprehensive knowledge of the entire product, a sense of where the software fits in the business context, the ability to translate computer-ese into non-technical language, knows the technology intimately and is a strong influencer of how team members relate to the project and one another.

The impact of the loss of this key player will affect the schedule as well as the momentum and direction of the project. This player may be impossible to replace during the course of the project and, maybe, for years to come.

Alternatively, the key player may be a senior executive with vision and a sense of where the project is headed on a strategic level and is willing and able to exercise the will to keep the project funded, staffed and moving in the right direction as things change. Their replacement could take the project in a new direction, re-prioritize the project or add confusion based on a lack of understanding of organizational goals and how they are affected by the project. The replacement could change a healthy dynamic into an unhealthy one if they came to a collaboration-based organization with an authoritarian rather than collaborative approach.

The impact of the loss of a key player is a disruption. Loss of a key player can derail the project. It affects morale, the ability to make the right decisions and the efficiency of having a team member who can cut through with decisive thinking, ask the right questions and motivate the staff.

Be Prepared

As I point out in my forthcoming book on Managing Expectations, don’t expect things to work out exactly the way that you want them to. Change is inevitable. It is wise to expect change and, particularly, disruptive change.

Expecting it doesn’t mean it will happen. It means that you will at least consider it as part of your risk management process and can avoid or minimize the impact of changes, like the loss of a key player, that can disrupt you project.

Being prepared for the loss of a key player involves making sure that there is back up and that key decisions and their rationale are memorialized – written down in easy to retrieve documents. As much as possible, transform tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.

In addition, it is wise to have a backup – one or two people to work in parallel with the key player and who can pick up the work quickly and effectively if the key player leaves.

However, documentation and backup are not cure-alls. They moderate the impact but do not eliminate it. The key player usually brings more to the table than concrete skills and decisions. Documentation is limited and often falls short of being a true reflection of the decision it is meant to memorialize. Backup people are often not as skilled, not as knowledgeable and not as emotionally and socially competent to do the magic that the key player often does.

Being prepared means having realistic expectations – the loss of a key player is a major and hard to manage event. It will likely impact the schedule, lead to higher costs and can impact the level of the quality of the result.

If you lose a key player, be sure to step back and reassess your plan forward. Manage the change on the people involved through effective communication.

Cultivate and Retain Key Players

Key players are valuable. They are “are critical to the viability or growth of an organization, and whose loss may cripple it.”

When you are fortunate enough to have a key player, make sure you recognize and acknowledge their contribution and value. Sometimes you can do it with money and promotions; often it is done through clearly communicating the message. That communication is not just limited to the individual. Everyone on the team needs to be made aware of the contribution that this person is making and its importance.

Often it is obvious, and everyone knows. However, be aware that there may be denial, resistance or simply a lack of conscious recognition. Some key players may be so good at what they do that they make it seems as if everyone is doing the work themselves. Other key players may be less transparent. Some stakeholders may be threatened by or be jealous of a key player. Relationships must be managed.

You cultivate key players by recognizing the people who have that relatively rare capacity to see the big picture and the details, can manage the work, communicate effectively, have good judgment and can work well with others. Once recognized these people must be put in positions that enable them to learn and fine tune their skills. Put them on a fast track and let them know that you appreciate them and their contribution.

Avoid the workings of the Peter Principle – the idea that people in organizations are promoted until they reach a level of incompetence and that marginally competent managers fail to recognize and promote talented junior people to preserve the hierarchy and the status quo.

At the same time, teach your highly competent people that emotional intelligence, humility and patience with “lesser beings” are at least as important as analytical capability, IQ and content knowledge.

In the end, you want to cultivate and recognize your key players and their value while keeping in mind the risks and challenges they bring.

The Million Dollar Project Manager

Written by Lisa Anderson on . Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on The Million Dollar Project Manager

In our experience working with manufacturers and distributors from small, family-owned businesses to medium-sized, private equity backed companies to global….

large, complex organizations, projects account for 80% of the improvement. There are projects to improve efficiencies, reduce inventory, grow sales, expand into new regions, consolidate operations and the list goes on. Thus, if we must rely on projects for business growth and profitability, should we think about our project managers as million-dollar project managers?

Most likely the answer is yes. However, in our experience, project managers are not often treated with much respect. Often times they are seen as lower level resources responsible for executing initiatives, coordinating resources and reporting progress up the chain. But, is this how we should treat our resources who can have such a far-reaching impact?

Let’s think about the reach of project managers impact. There are several key points to consider:

  1. Impact on resources: Undoubtedly, the number one concern from all levels of leadership relates back to resources. There are “too many,” “not enough,” “not the right skills,” “not allocated properly” and so on. Thus, anyone who has a significant impact on resources should be considered valuable.
  2. Daily decisions on which tasks gain priority: Similar to the impact on resources, determining the priority of tasks is crucial. As a project manager, there is a constant need to prioritize among tasks, collaborate with departments, etc.
  3. Ingrained in the business: Project managers are in the “thick of things” on a daily basis. In order to complete tasks and achieve results, project managers are involved in a wide array of activities. They are familiar with what is working and what isn’t working in each department as it relates to project tasks. There are very few projects which are confined to a singular department.
  4. Communicate across the organization: In order to complete their tasks, the project manager must communicate and collaborate across departments and layers of the organization. Since high-quality resources are hard to come by, it is vital to keep communications in a positive light.
  5. Impact on profit: Certainly, almost every project relates back to profitability in some respect. Whether we are growing the business, increasing margins, automating key processes or improving efficiencies, there is a direct impact on profit.

So, since it is clear that project managers have a substantial impact on business success, it is wise to think about how to maximize their performance. As a metaphor, the million-dollar project manager is appealing since there is often million-dollar impacts. Thus, what should we do to ensure project managers are treated more like million-dollar project managers?

  1. Provide clarity of the big picture: Project managers will be more invested in their projects if they understand the impact on the organization. Make sure to provide clarity of the big picture and how they fit in.
  2. Give them discretion: There have been countless studies as to what is most successful in keeping valuable employees (like your million-dollar project managers), and the net conclusion is that employees want some ability to affect the outcome of their work. We must give them some level of discretion to make decisions and guide their projects within reasonable parameters.
  3. Recognize small wins: Managing projects can be a slog into details with little to show for it. Find small wins to celebrate. Make a big deal of the importance and tie it back to the project manager and their team.
  4. Support their decisions: There is nothing more important than supporting your project managers. Of course, providing constructive feedback is essential; however, when in the heat of the battle, it is vital to support your project manager’s decisions. Without this support at critical junctures, the project will suffer, and the project manager will become dismayed.
  5. Promote the project: Promoting the project throughout the organization can do quite a lot for its chances of success. How do you get resources to want to join your project team? Start by being attractive. This often times goes back to how compelling the project seems. Make it so! Do you think the best leaders’ projects for improving margins happen to be more enticing than the average leaders’ projects of the same type? No; perception becomes a reality.

Since projects will have a substantial effect on your customer loyalty and bottom line – the two most critical aspects of any business – it is worthwhile taking a few steps back to think about the project managers driving these results. If you think about their impact, a million dollars might not be sufficient. Therefore, start thinking about your project managers as though they have a million-dollar impact and results will follow.

From the Sponsor’s Desk: The Power of One

Written by Drew Davison on . Posted in Articles. 8 Comments on From the Sponsor’s Desk: The Power of One

It’s easy to follow routines.

But, good things often happen when someone senses an opportunity, deviates from the well-worn path, and chooses to follow a new road to an uncertain but potentially brighter future, bringing others on the journey as well. It’s the power of one!

In this case, a longtime member of a football pool took a different path when another member of the pool died and left his family in the lurch. His insight and leadership helped a community pull together to provide crucial support for the deceased’s family and build a cause in the process.

Related Article: From Doing to Managing to Leading

Thanks to M.A. for the story behind this case.

The Situation

Twelve friends had been involved in a football pool since high school. They went their separate ways in pursuit of their careers, but when the crisp autumn air signaled the start of another football season, they’d get together once again to conduct the draft they each hoped would win them the coveted prize. And, of course, share a few beers.

Shortly after the end of the season three years ago, Frank, one of the pool’s long time members, died of a massive heart attack. In his mid-forties, he was a middle-class guy with a stay-at-home wife and two young kids, one with special needs. His death placed his family in an immediate financial crisis.

Andy, the pool winner that season, saw an opportunity to help. He told his fellow pool members that he was donating his winnings – a little over $800 – to help the family. He asked for them to contribute what they could.

The Goal

Andy’s goal was to raise a bit of money to help the family in the short term. If he could convince some of his fellow pool members to contribute, that would help Frank’s family, at least in the short term.

The Project

Andy emailed the pool members about his intent to donate his winnings and asked them to donate what they could. He also called each pool member and chatted about Frank, what a shock his death was, what a great guy he was, what a great father and husband he was, how he would be missed and what a challenge it would be for Frank’s family to get on without him.

Shortly thereafter, the cheques started arriving in the mail. As they arrived, Andy would send out an update to the pool members with the latest total. He called the contributors to thank them for their generosity. He called Frank’s spouse to give her the good news.

The Results

Andy’s efforts raised more than $13,000 for Frank’s family that the first year. The money came from the pool members and their friends and family who heard about Frank’s death and what the pool members were doing to help.

Andy’s twelve-year-old son heard his dad talking to the pool members about Frank’s death and their plans to raise money for the family. Unannounced, he jumped on his bike, rode to his bank and withdrew all his money, $652.35 to be exact, to help the cause. When he presented the money to his father, Andy was moved to tears.

The following year, the group raised over $17,000 for Frank’s family. The year after, the total hit almost $20,000. Frank’s widow was overwhelmed. She had a little party for the pool members every year so she and her daughters could say thanks. She told the contributors that their donations had kept the family afloat.

Last year, Frank’s widow called Andy to tell him that she and her daughters were doing fine. She had found a good job. Her daughters were well looked after. She wanted the fundraising to wind down or go to another deserving candidate. The pool members decided to continue the fundraising effort and direct the proceeds to a local homeless shelter. The power of one!

How a Great Leader Made It Happen

Andy’s actions were motivated by a visceral need to make a difference for Frank’s family. It was intuitive. In reality, he actually applied a five-step approach to delivering change:

1. Identify the opportunity – This change would never have happened if Andy hadn’t recognized the opportunity and taken a different path. That was the catalyst for all the good that followed.
2. Take the lead – It’s one thing to have a good idea. It’s quite a different thing to actually take personal action in support of that idea. Andy’s decision to donate his winnings provided the example that others would follow.
3. Socialize – Andy talked it up. He told the other pool members what he planned to do. He talked to them about what a good guy Frank was and what a devastating loss his death was for the family. With Andy’s push, the feelings of the other pool members coalesced around the need to help.
4. Champion – Andy told his pool mates when the donations started coming in. He thanked each member when they made a donation. He told them about his son’s contribution. He encouraged them to get their family and friends involved. He passed on the words of thanks from Frank’s widow and his daughters. He kept the ball rolling and the donations coming.
5. Celebrate – We all like to celebrate when a project is delivered successfully. Andy and his football pool members were no different. They all celebrated as the donated amounts rose. They celebrated with Frank’s widow and daughters. The celebrations reinforced the rightness of their actions and the need to continue.

Now, you might ask, what does this story have to do with running a project or managing change? Simply this. A project is all about delivering a new way – a new product, a new organization, a new process, etc. As part of that effort, a myriad of decisions need to be made. If everyone involved in the change keeps an eye open for new opportunities and applies Andy’s five steps, just think of the multiplying effect that would have on the outcome. Stupendous! That would definitely capitalize on the power of one.

So, whatever the situation, always look for opportunities to make a difference. And, when you find those opportunities, put these points on your checklist of things to do so you too can be a Great Leader. And remember, use Project Pre-Check’s three building blocks covering the key stakeholder group, the decision management process and Decision Framework best practices right up front so you don’t overlook these key success factors.

Finally, thanks to everyone who has willingly shared your experiences for presentation in this blog. Everyone benefits. First time contributors get a copy of one of my books. Readers get insights they can apply to their own unique circumstances. So, if you have a project experience, good, bad and everything in between, send me the details and we’ll chat. I’ll write it up and, when you’re happy with the results, Project Times will post it so others can learn from your insights. Thanks