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5 Ways You Can Improve Your Project Today Sometimes it makes sense to take a step back from what we are doing to evaluate where things are, where they're going and how we can improve our results. It is during these moments of contemplation that we find nuggets of attained knowledge that couldn't break through the vagaries of day-to-day activities and emergencies. It is when we find ourselves saying, "I knew that. Why haven't I been doing it." Fortunately, that recognition can lead us to refocus our energies back on those project completion points that can have the most impact on our final results. Here are five ways to get your project (or projects) done on cost, on schedule, and on technical parameters. 1. Stay on Target. It's easy to inadvertently slide onto peripheral aspects of a job that are fun, or seemingly better, or simply easier, to do, but don't necessarily help us get the job done. For instance, let's say we are to run an item through a particular test to verify the item operates properly. While conducting the test we discover that with a few minor changes to the building of the item we can insure a higher quality item. The temptation will be strong to stop the testing task, improve the build process, remake the item and then proceed with the testing. Of course, the problem with this approach is that we will have lost a day, a week, a month on the real job. It would have been far better to proceed with the test as is (good enough is good enough*), to have made a note of the potential product improvements and presented them as part of a formal quality improvement process. Stay on target. * It was Voltaire who said, "The perfect is the enemy of the good." 2. Eliminate the Nice-to-Haves. Let's take a look at the activities/tasks in our schedule and re-affirm that they are valid. While building the project schedule we typically include every task we think we should do or would like to do. Of course, the only activities that are of true value are the ones that we must do. Check your schedule for those activities that aren't mandatory. Pluck the nice-to-have activities from the schedule. Remember: Finishing early is a good thing. And, if you gain a reputation for doing so, you'll never be without work. 3. Focus on Milestones. Drive your project by a focus on the completion of things, i.e., the results. Make sure every task ends in a measurable milestone. For every task ask the following questions (I like to think of them as a 1950's Rock n' Roll group: Why and the Three Wills):
4. Stop Starting. Do. This might be more appropriate to an article on time management, but it has a huge impact on every project I've ever seen. Clock yourself tomorrow: How much time elapses from the moment you arrive at your desk until you are actually doing project work*? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? If it's more than 96 seconds you're wasting time. Look. 15 minutes a day X 240 work days per year equals 3600 minutes. 3600 divided by 60 minutes per hour equals 60 hours per year. That's one and a half work weeks per year! Wasted! Gone! Double it to three wasted weeks if you need 30 minutes to "settle in." How much work could you get done in three weeks? Now, ask yourself again why you were late on that last project. * Arranging pencils, adjusting window shades, getting coffee, answering personal emails, visiting with your cubemate, discussing yesterday's game, etc. are not within the category called work. A colleague of mine knows a procurement manager on Long Island who mandates 1.5 hours at the beginning of the day and another 1.5 hours at the end of the day as "no interference" times. That's when the vital work gets done. Can you implement something similar? 5. Be Unreasonable. Expect Team Members (and Customers/Sponsors) to meet their commitments. If a report is due on your desk at Noon on Thursday, call the provider at 9:00AM on Monday to verify that the report will show up on time. When the provider says, "Yep, things are going great." You might ask, "What does great mean in your department?" While the provider won't say so, he or she is probably thinking that "going great" means "I haven't started it yet, but now that I know you're watching, I'll get on it right away." If the report isn't on your desk by Noon on Thursday, the provider should have a significant emotional experience occur in their life at 12:05PM: that would be a phone call-- better yet, a visit--from you. Do not presume that this will make you popular, but it will make you successful. By the way, holding your Teammate's feet to the fire only works if your own tootsies are a little singed and smoking. Execution for Results Note that each of the above recommendations includes an action verb: Stay, Eliminate, Focus, Do and Be. Thus, there is no benefit in simply reading them. There is only benefit in executing them. That is where your project's success lies. That is where your success lies. That is The Vital Edge.
To Your Vital Success, To comment on this article, click here. To subscribe to The Vital Edge, click here. © 2009 Sean Alexander. All Rights Reserved. WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Sean Alexander is President of VitalThought, a boutique consulting company that focuses on
Results-Based Management. His monthly ezine, The Vital Edge, helps executives, project managers and team members discover project and personal success with results-based strategies and tactics. If you're ready to energize your projects and yourself, investigate the possibilities at www.vitalthought.com.  |
