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Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Top 3 Business Skills for Project Managers
Monday, April 11, 2016
Less is More
Less is more, or at least, that's what the expression says. Always true? Not always. As another cliche says, the devil's in the details. Project schedules and plans should be more detailed, not less, so that key tasks aren't left out.
But on the whole, if you apply a "less is more" mindset to how you practice project management, your projects will have more successful outcomes.
Where can you do less and get better results? Meetings, status updates, project delivery and more.
Let me elaborate. You'll be a more effective communicator, and keep your team more productive if you keep your meetings and emails brief, clear and concise. Always go for short and sweet over long and rambling. Common sense? Sure. Your team will understand better what they need to deliver if your direction to them is pointed and direct. Brief and focused meetings and emails will do this. Have an agenda for meetings to keep them on track. Take conversations that threaten to derail your meetings off-line. Succinct, to-the-point emails are much more likely to communicate your message than several paragraph emails that try to cover too much ground. Always strive for simplicity.
How do you keep project delivery simple? The more complex the project, the more you should try to break it into smaller parts, deliver in multiple phases, turn a large project into a program made up of smaller projects.
Are there times when the "simplify it" approach won't work? Yes. Programs require a process which allows PMs of sub-projects to communicate status, issues and risks with each other to help avoid siloing. But even here, the methods to collect sub-project status should be kept simple.
Simplified communications and processes allow your teams to focus on key deliverables, and you to deliver more for less.
But on the whole, if you apply a "less is more" mindset to how you practice project management, your projects will have more successful outcomes.
Where can you do less and get better results? Meetings, status updates, project delivery and more.
Let me elaborate. You'll be a more effective communicator, and keep your team more productive if you keep your meetings and emails brief, clear and concise. Always go for short and sweet over long and rambling. Common sense? Sure. Your team will understand better what they need to deliver if your direction to them is pointed and direct. Brief and focused meetings and emails will do this. Have an agenda for meetings to keep them on track. Take conversations that threaten to derail your meetings off-line. Succinct, to-the-point emails are much more likely to communicate your message than several paragraph emails that try to cover too much ground. Always strive for simplicity.
How do you keep project delivery simple? The more complex the project, the more you should try to break it into smaller parts, deliver in multiple phases, turn a large project into a program made up of smaller projects.
Are there times when the "simplify it" approach won't work? Yes. Programs require a process which allows PMs of sub-projects to communicate status, issues and risks with each other to help avoid siloing. But even here, the methods to collect sub-project status should be kept simple.
Simplified communications and processes allow your teams to focus on key deliverables, and you to deliver more for less.
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