The JANOP RSS Feed - August 25, 2011

tadenouga@janop.com (Talibah Adenouga, CPO) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:48:00 GMT

Last week I shared with a group an epiphany I had while watching an episode of the television series 24. The concepts and hurdles many of the projects we are tasked with completing in real life are very similar to the ones in 24, although not nearly as dramatic. How? Because, when it comes right down to it, many things in life are a project. In 24, the project just happens to be saving the country from terrorist plots. Your projects may not be that serious, but I assure you these principles still apply.

Since there's the possibility that a few of you have never heard of the award winning, eight season run, plus a movie, series 24. It was an American television series that included 24, 1 hour long shows. Each season followed the life of Jack Bauer during 24 hours of his life as he attempts to stop all kinds of evil terrorist plots including presidential assassination attempts, nuclear threats, bombs going off, cyber sabotage, and just all kinds of stuff folks were trying to do to bring this country down. And all the activities are shown in real time, sometimes overlapping. Very cool stuff.

For those who are familiar with and a fan of 24, as I am, know that the main character, Jack Bauer, was someone who could get the job done. It seemed that without Jack, the folks in charge of saving the country would not have succeeded by any stretch of the imagination. While I was sitting there watching it, I was thinking, man I wish I had Jack Bauer on some of my projects back in the day. I wouldn't have had nearly as much trouble as I did if he had been on my team. And secretly, I kinda hope there is a Jack Baueresque person that really exists, saving us from all the evil against the US. Improbable, I know, but I can dream.

Now that we are all on the same page, here are the lessons I learned from the 24 television series.

1. Every decision made during the project needs to be in alignment with the primary objective or project goal. Always keeping the primary objective in mind, and matching activities against it, will ensure you stay on track. This is done most effectively with a Project Plan, and other project documentation. However, before you can align your activities with the project's objective, you have to understand what your objective is. If you aren't clear about the objective, you'll waste time that your team members probably don't have. This will soon cause you to lose participation from the resources you need most. Time is a precious commodity you cannot get back, once spent. Use it wisely, and stay focused on the primary objective.

2. If you examine the actions of the main character, Jack Bauer, carefully, you will notice that although he took extreme actions to get the job done, he always stayed true to the good within him. Sometimes we, as project managers, are put in a position that forces us to do things we don't agree with to get things done. You have to know what you are willing to live with, which is a decision only you can make. If you are faced with a decision that will go against your beliefs and/or values, don't do it. Keep in mind that this is a very loaded statement, which may require a reassignment or resignation. Because, when it comes down to it, you still have a job to do, and the company still expects you to perform your job. However, there is usually more than one way to do things. Just find another way to get the job done effectively, while still staying true to yourself. Make sure you speak to your leadership, and have their support though. In the same respect, you may have to do what you know is right, even if your project team members don't agree with it at the time. When these situations arise, and they need to be few and far between, you must be sure that you examine all other options objectively before you take action. However, your objective opinion needs to be backed up by subject matter experts and extensive discussion with the project team to understand their perspective and objections. You cannot get the project done, without the project team. If after examining all the options you feel that you must go against the majority consensus, do it. But, make sure you document very well, explain to your team why you decided to move in a different direction, and let them know that you respect and value their opinion.

3. One of Jack's greatest assets was knowing who he could trust, and who he could depend on. As a project manager, it is imperative that you be able to do the same. Not everyone assigned to your team is going to be on your side. Nor is everyone assigned to your team working with you or toward the same goal. You have to be able to know who you can trust, and further who can get the job done. That way if you find a teammate is actually hindering progress, you can quickly reassign tasks to other teammates.

4. A vast majority of project failure is due to an inexperienced Project Manager. It's actually the second greatest cause of a failed project, and can cost a corporation millions of dollars a year. Not every wrong decision can be corrected, and all it takes is one wrong decision to kill a project. Pride, fear, and assumed power can be dangerous causes of clouded judgment. As a Project Manager, you have to be a good decision maker. There's just no way around it. If you find that you're struggling in your role, seek out a mentor, or at the very least, ask advice from your co-workers and subject matter experts. If you find yourself consistently making the wrong decision, you may have to be truthful with yourself and find a position more in line with your strengths.

5. It may seem unfair but, even if you achieve the goals or primary objective set forth, you still have to deal with any consequences from the actions taken to get there. Though Jack's actions saved the country many times over, these same actions caused him to lose the woman he loved, contact with his family, and forced him to fake his death and live his life in exile by the end of Season 4. Talk about consequences of your actions.

6. Even if your project is going along well, and everything is on track, one small activity or decision can cause the whole project to go downhill. No matter how prepared you are, or how much you communicate with your team and stakeholders, something can still go wrong. In order to be prepared you must build in flexibility in case the unknown happens. Especially in case new information is revealed later on down the line, that causes you to change direction slightly in order to achieve the main project goal successfully. Time and time again, the characters in 24 had to be flexible, put aside any personal feelings they held, and work together with the information they had to achieve a common goal. That's hard to do, and thankfully most of us will never have to manage any save the country types of projects, but none the less, we still need to make sure that we stay prepared, flexible, and focused. How flexible you can be will usually depend on the type of projects you work on, and your leadership. Many feel that flexibility is a waste of resources, if you never use the flexibility that has been factored in. But try to be as reasonably flexible as you can.

So, in closing. Remember to always keep the project goal or primary objective in mind, stay true to yourself, make and keep trustworthy allies that know how to get the job done, the person leading the project will ultimately determine the success of the project, regardless of how successful the project implementation, consequences still exist, and be flexible, because a lot can happen in a day.

The JANOP RSS Feed - July 4, 2011

tadenouga@janop.com (Talibah Adenouga, CPO) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:53:00 GMT

Happy Independence Day America:
The United States of America celebrates its 235th year since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

It is such a blessing to be a citizen of a country where you can be anything, you can do anything, you can be anything.
God bless America!