Volkswagen, once renowned for “German Engineering,” is in turmoil with the news that it engineered its cars to falsify fuel emission standards.   A disastrous ripple effect is causing a CEO resignation, a 30 percent drop in share price, the loss of corporate reputation and a hit to Germany’s GDP.

This huge, skillfully-engineered effort to deceive consumers and regulatory authorities requires more than just replacing the CEO, considering the size and scope of the deception. There were clearly problems throughout the entire enterprise:

•  Lack of transparency
• Lack of accountability
• Lack of sufficient controls to monitor and prevent malfeasance
• Profound human error and failure of ethical standards.

This should be a wake up call for management everywhere to review their project procedures and new product development systems enterprise wide.  Management, project managers and teams should take the lesson – if you don’t take accountability…..accountability takes you.

Between online productivity tools and tracking software, is micromanaging passé?

Hah.

In today’s multi-project environment, empowering teams is a survival technique, not a management technique. Yet PSI trainers and consultants still find managers who over-monitor, dictate how tasks should be done, or insist on daily work breakdowns. The result? A demotivated, demoralized, disengaged team.

Micromanagers hide by calling themselves “perfectionists“. Here’s a quick summary of the difference:

• A perfectionist insists that project materials and reports contain no typos.

• A micromanager rewrites everything for style, not substance, and proofreads everything personally because s/he doesn’t trust Spellcheck.

If that sounds familiar, try these behaviors:

• Barring emergencies, wait for the update meetings.
• Don’t ask to be copied on emails for small details.
• Monitor activities with a one-to- two week (5-10 working days) timeframe to avoid tracking minutia.
• Share the big picture; let staff figure out how to achieve it.

Of course, letting go is easier with a system that empowers teams so managers can supervise multiple projects effectively.

Meanwhile, for the micromanager in your office, send them this. They’ll probably need to lie down with a cool compress for the rest of the day – so you can get some work done.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 is generating a storm of coverage about its rollout being hijacked by scammers tricking folks into installing ransomware on their computers.

No doubt Microsoft thought it was making the upgrade foolproof by automatically installing the upgrade.  Sadly, we live in a world where hackers hack, spoofers spoof, people don’t read the instruction manual and drivers don’t ask for directions.

In other words, we may be hardwired for optimism, but project managers should save it for team morale-building: realists make better project planners.   Project plans based on best-case scenarios don’t take into account that fraudsters hack, employees give notice, or competitors preempt a new product launch.  Similarly, plans built using worst-case scenarios, not only result in unrealistic project completion dates, but a loss of credibility.

The Project Success Method can show teams and managers, in a matter of days, how to plan for contingencies, and how to schedule for the unexpected with techniques like the Worry Curve, forward pass scheduling, strategic compression and much more.

It’s the kind of project management approach even a pessimist could love.   It might even turn them into optimists as the project deadline approaches, on time and on budget.

Who owns your project? Is it the customer? The stakeholders? The project manager? The project sponsor? The one who signs the checks?

Despite semantics about distinctions between “responsibility”, “authority” or “accountability”, the key is performance.  The project team and their performance drives the outcome, and a powerful way to enhance performance is by fostering ownership of the project – not necessarily by profit sharing or company stock – but with psychological ownership.

So effective is psychological ownership, one study shows, that it can boost motivation and productivity even among unmotivated employees with a bad attitude.

PSI’s training encourages ownership from the very start of the project and throughout:

• Teams are actively engaged in planning and scheduling.
• Teams control their schedules provided they meet the deadlines they agreed to.
• Face to face meetings every two weeks encourage dialog and team unity.
• Encouraging communication so that everyone feels they’ve been heard.

Employee ownership is not bestowed or assigned, but developed over time.  With a skilled project manager, even diverse teams can “own” their projects and find professional satisfaction…and a bit of personal satisfaction as well.

That’s what I call The Joy of Ownership.

A survey of 32,000 employees revealed that people who met with their managers up to six hours a week were more inspired, engaged and innovative at work. That confirms PSI’s preference for in-person, biweekly team status meetings to shift the Worry Curve.

We know it’s difficult to make time, coordinate schedules, and reserve the room. However, consider the pitfalls of relying solely on electronic status reports – for project managers and teams:

• It encourages procrastination:  Emailed status reports and updates sit in an inbox with other email – easy to overlook or put off. It doesn’t command the attention a meeting would.

• It discourages group problem solving:  Electronic reporting deprives the project of the collective insight and support of the entire team when problems arise.

• It hinders accountability: The biggest problem electronic reporting creates is enabling team members to avoid public accountability for their tasks by hiding behind email.

In-person meetings create team commitment to the project, to each other and to their own roles in the project, while project managers find it easier to monitor progress, see deviations from the plan and tap the insights of the whole group to find solutions.  Being in a room together drives accountability, results, and a sense of community.

It’s a lot better than hiding behind an email.

Are you getting the most out of your workplace conflicts?

PSI considers project conflicts a feature, not a bug, especially in the chartering process. A skilled facilitator uses conflicts (in resources, scheduling, timing and more) to flag problems and solve them. The key is having the right skills and credentials:

-They understand the contents and value of a good project charter

-They can lead a diverse group in a complex discussion for two hours or more

-They have no stake in any particular outcome

Two out of three won’t fly here. Although your company’s project manager seems like a logical choice, neither the project manager, the customer, nor the project sponsor should be facilitators. Team members will either withhold problems (thus not solving them) or consider the process a charade and their input won’t be heeded. Either way, the project suffers because not all problems have been addressed and because the project team has limited commitment.

Some companies tap someone from HR, or get someone from the International Association of Facilitators. Call me biased, but for a chartering process with a proven track record of success, outside experts from PSI, who can facilitate and consult on the project, are your best bet.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, keep ‘em or break ‘em – this is the time of year where New Year Resolutions are made… and often broken. We all do it. Every year we make resolutions that are all too quickly broken. Why? The reasons are varied. Perhaps the goal was simply too extreme, “I’m never going to eat candy again.” Or maybe it was too vague, “I’m going to work out this year.” Maybe the goal was stated correctly, but you wanted to make sure you did it “right,” which meant an informed decision was required—read: research. Research that you will “eventually” get around to doing.

Let’s discuss that last one for a minute. Like many of you, I too often fall into the Analysis-Paralysis trap – that innate desire to make the perfect informed decision or choice. For me, this need results in immense amounts of research, followed by a rigorous debate of the pros and cons for each option. Usually, just as I’ve made my best, well-informed decision, I learn of some new feature or option which, of course, changes the equation, forcing me to repeat the process anew with the new information provided.

Quick example: Several years ago, the heart rate monitor chest strap that I used while exercising stopped working. I went to the company’s website in order to find a replacement. While searching for my model, I discovered a plethora of new models with some features not offered in my older version. I immediately began clicking through some of them and an hour later decided I would need to do some research before spending my hard-earned money. Over the next few months (yes, months), I would, invest more time and effort in searching to find the “best fit.” I eventually grew tired of the search and, not wanting to regret purchasing the wrong one, did nothing. Every now and then, I would resolve to get my new heart rate monitor and the vicious Analysis-Paralysis cycle would start again.

So which one do you think I ended up buying? The “highest rated”? The “pro’s choice”? The “best seller”? As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I did not end up purchasing a single one. To make matters worse, I was using the lack of a heart rate monitor as an excuse to not work out. Basically, I wasted a lot of time and negatively impacted my health – all because I fell into the Analysis-Paralysis trap.

However, unlikely as it may seem based off the aforementioned, I did indeed eventually purchase a new heart rate monitor watch and chest strap. What changed? Something came along that shifted my focus – a friend challenged me to compete with him in a triathlon sprint, and I accepted. As I began to train, I wanted to track my progress – which, of course, meant I would need a good, high-quality heart rate monitor – and the trap was seemingly set anew (the movie Ground Hog Day suddenly comes to mind but that’s a blog for another day). Luckily, I was able to break the cycle this time thanks to an epiphany I had. Although I wanted to purchase the perfect one, I really only needed to buy one that would help me meet my workout goals. With the deadline for the sprint set, I couldn’t afford to waste a lot of time, so I set a goal of picking my heart rate monitor within my two next website research sessions. I held myself accountable to my goal, and I selected my heart rate monitor within the week.

I’m happy to report that I’ve had my new chest strap now for about six months. Is it the best one out there? I honestly can’t say, but I know that it works, and that’s ultimately what counts. I’ve begun my training and it’s helping me move forward towards my goal of finishing the sprint (an ironic anecdotal coincidence for those versed in Agile). Frankly, there are probably better options available, but I have learned that the benefit of finding the “perfect one” is not worth the set-back in time I would lose figuring out which one that is.

So what does all of this have to do with project management? That’s an excellent question and I’m glad you asked! Analysis- Paralysis was holding me back and could very well be what is holding YOU back from delivering that successful project! If you recognize that you and your organization need to get better at project delivery, but you aren’t quite sure how to proceed to get it “right,” this might be your problem as well. Should you focus on the process first? Or should you pick the software and let it drive the process? Maybe you should do some research on this. Sound familiar?

I happen to be a firm believer that laying a solid foundation that can grow and grow WITH your organization is important. Much more important, when you think of it, than what software tool you use to implement said growth. To me, software should be just one of the many tools we have in our project management toolbox that help make life easier for us (much like my heart rate monitor). I do not believe it is the answer to the question, “What will make me successful in managing my projects?”

So, can I make a suggestion? DO SOMETHING! DO ANYTHING! BUT DON’T DO NOTHING! Trust me, in six months, you’ll be so happy that you didn’t allow yourself to be paralyzed by indecision. Write a project charter. Get your team together and actually have a face-to-face dialogue about the project. Put together a schedule with your team that is believable and actionable. Communicate on a regular basis to identify and resolve project issues. Collaborate with your team. Do them all or just pick one, but start today and do something. One of my favorite proverbs is: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Today I challenge you to take that first step towards your project’s success!