Change management

Experienced project managers know that change is inevitable and there are many consequences of failing to manage project changes. Some of the critical consequences are;     

• Scope creep
• Cost and budget overruns
• Project delays
• Poor quality of the project deliverable
• Often the project team performs incomplete work for the project deliverables
• Stakeholders express concerns about the project manager’s ability to manage the project

So the problem is not the change itself but how the change is managed. There are many benefits of managing changes properly such as increased stakeholders’ satisfaction, improved quality of the project deliverables, opportunities for the additional project work etc. There are basically three types of changes that need to be addressed in order to ensure a project success. These are; 

Technical changes: These are the internal modifications in scope of the work of the project. 

Market changes: These are changes that are inevitable due to external market conditions such as competitors’ product or service enhancements or regulatory changes. 

Contractual changes: Changes that are made on the contract with the stakeholder or supplier. These changes include but not limited to the terms & conditions, scope of work, requirements, schedule, costs etc. 

The most important function of a project manager is to prevent uncontrollable changes. Uncontrolled and unexpected changes in user /stakeholder expectations and requirements as a project progress always negatively impact a project. This is known as scope creep. Many times new features are added to the project with a wrong assumption that one small feature will add nothing to cost or schedule. This unplanned addition is called feature creep. 

A change in the one of the  triple constraints of a project has an impact on the other two. The key is to find balance between the need to manage the scope of the project against the agreed requirements, cost & schedule. 

Impact Analysis for Change Request

Changes may negatively or positively impact a project. When a change request is made, you as a project manager need to analyze the same in order to evaluate whether it is within or outside the scope of the original project requirements as well as how it is going to impact the three constraints of your project namely scope, schedule and cost.  Impact analysis is the most important step to effective change management procedure.  Your impact analysis should not only reveal the impacts of changes on the above three project constrains but also it should provide you the essential information related to the effects of changes on people, processes, quality of the project and on the operation of your company.  By implementing proper impact analysis procedure you should also be able to evaluate the overall project risks, how the change is going to alter the existing risks, whether or not the project is going to face new risks and the cost associated in managing those risks.    

Every organization has its own way of doing things and in most cases structured processes are available.  You need these organization process assets that may or may not have formal procedure for impact analysis. However, the following guidelines will always help you understand essentials of impact analysis procedure and how you can diligently implement such procedure. 

Step one: Do you have the money? 

Every work involves some cost and the impact analysis of change requests also requires some budget especially when it is a large change request.  Do you have the contingency budget to cover the cost or do you need to request the project sponsor / customer to pay for the added cost? 

Discuss this with the project sponsor and always come up with adequate numbers so that you can properly make formal presentation to the project sponsor and request the extra fund that you need for the impact analysis. 

Step two: Determine the reason for the change. 

Why the change request is made in the first place? Can you avoid it / defer it or is it inevitable? Determine the business need for this change and how the change is going to benefit the project, the process, the work product, the quality, the stakeholders and the organization.  Also review the Change Log to determine if the amount of change is excessive on the project. If change is certain, determine what is the priority of this change in comparison to other changes, such as current requests and requests being implemented? 

Step three: Analyze the impact on triple constraints. 

Scope: Determine the impact on the overall scope of the project, Work Breakdown structure (WBS), Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) and Resource Breakdown structure (RBS). You need to find out information in details by identifying the product features that would need to be added, changed, or deleted and any sections of the PBS, components of the WBS that would also need to be added, changed, or deleted and also the resources that would be required to implement changes and how it is going to alter the RBS. 

Also you need to identify any changes that need to be made to the agreement with the customer or any vendor or subcontractor.  

Cost: Identify any changes that need to be made to the cost management plan and the overall financial plan. Who is going to pay for the added cost? Find out whether the change will be paid for by an external sponsor. Similarly like scope, you also need to identify any changes that need to be made to the agreement with the customer or any vendor or subcontractor.  If subcontractors are involved, determine whether the change is going to impact the subcontracting cost. Refer to your organizational process assets and guidelines to ask for the additional cost or price for the change from the procurement department. Your impact analysis report also should highlight the financial benefit to the project and the financial benefit to your organization. You should also document other benefits such as improved schedule, better performance, lower risk, future opportunities, stakeholder satisfaction, enhancements to the organization’s intellectual capital, and technological advancement. 

Schedule: Your project needs to be completed within time otherwise you are invariably going to incur cost overruns because the project schedule is linked to scope and cost. Estimate the time required to define and plan the proposed solution and the time required to implement the proposed changes. Evaluate the changes to the milestones and to the critical path.  Also identify the changes that would need to be made to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the project management schedules and the milestone lists. Determine changes to the contractual schedule with the subcontractors. Also determine the impact of the change outside the delivery organization by identifying any changes that would need to be made to the Agreement with the sponsor and with any subcontractors. 

Step four: Identify dependencies 

Your various project activities are interwoven by complex successor relationships.  Identify other tasks that are dependent on this change being approved. Also determine the predecessor relationship and prioritize the tasks that must be completed before this change is implemented. Also it is equally important to determine the resource dependencies and how you are going to use resources for this change.  And finally, you also need to identify other dependencies such as market conditions, government regulations etc. 

Step five: Analyze the risks 

Analyze the risks that are associated with this change. Identify all the risks qualitatively and quantitatively the project is facing or will face in the future due to this change. Also identify threats that are associated with this change. Threats would include changes that have possible negative impacts or risk. Even a small change might include a high amount of risk. 

Step six:  Determine the impact on the Project management system 

Identify and list all the changes that would need to be made to the project procedures description or to the project decision structure. Identify changes that would need to be made to the communications management plan, the project quality plan, the risk management plan, the technical environment plan and overall the project management plan.  Also determine the costs to update the project management system.  

Step seven: Document your findings  

Properly document all the results of your impact analysis. Prepare a detail report for the change control board to approve changes. Follow your organizational process assets and procedural guidelines to document reports of the impact analysis. When the change request is approved by the change control board, the change order is created. Identify the project documentation, including the project management system documents, which must be changed or updated to reflect the approved change. Update the financial management plan when a change has a financial impact. In order to show the changes to work items or completion dates, update the project management schedule, operational schedule, and the work breakdown structure. Most of the change request is associated with changes to the scope and in such scenario update the project definition, deliverable definition, or other documents that control the project scope.  Also update the technical specifications, the test plans, the quality management plans.  A great deal of a project manger’s time is spent on communication.  With every approved change request, you need to prepare new reports or arrange new meetings and that is why it is imperative that you also update the communications management plan.  Most important document update is the updates on the risk register. Document all the qualitative and quantitative risks and also include updated risk definitions due to this change.  

If the change control board approves a change request then you need to create change management work product that will consist of change request templates, instructions for the changes or the change order and a log to record changes.  

Implementation of change management also equally important and things may go wrong if a project manager fails to properly implement change management. That is why it is important that the project manager work cohesively with the team as well as with the change control board.  

Also another important factor to remember is that the impact analysis for multiple change requests may not reveal hidden costs. In such scenario, it is always recommended to rely on expert judgment.  

Identify stakeholders and bring them early. Stakeholders who are found later will make changes and could cause delays. Any change that is made later is harder to integrate and is much more costly. Communicate with the stakeholders effectively and on a regular basis. Give a project presentation, list all their issues and concerns, report progress and inform changes and updates to the project management plan. Another important function of a project manager is to prevent uncontrollable changes. Stakeholders have greater influences over the requirements as well as changes in a project. That is why it important to have effective communications within the team and between the team and other project stakeholders.

Let’s try to understand why do you need a communication management plan?

• Communications management plan reduces and mitigates risk
• It provides you clear guidelines on how  you formally  interact with the project stakeholders
• Communication management  plan provides tools to utilize resources effectively
• It gives you the ability to analyze the impacts of various meetings
• It also ensures mutual commitments with the sponsor and other stakeholders
• The Communications management plan clearly documents all the deliverables and delivery schedules
• You should  be able to deliver  the right message at the right time to sponsors so that you can control  rumors and unnecessary work products
• A well defined communication management plan enhances your ability to meet stakeholders’ expectations

A project manager inspires people, shares the project vision with the group and creates a very motivating environment.  Communicate with all levels of the members of your team regardless of level. Communicate clearly your plans & ideas and make sure everybody understands them.

Your communication management plan should include both internal communications and external communications. Your internal communication management plan includes status report, progress report, trend report, forecasting report, variance report, earned value report etc. External communications requirements include types of meetings and reports, existing policies and contractual agreements etc.

Here are some simple steps to create an effective communication management plan.

Step 1: Documents the followings

1. With whom you need to communicate?
2. What deliverables are needed?
3. What media you are going to employ in the communication?
4. When the communication will occur?
5. Where the communication will occur?
6. The purpose of the communication

Step 2:  Document the list of deliverables, the list of stakeholders and your stakeholder analysis for each stakeholder. You need to document communications requirements with the sponsor, with the functional management, the subcontractors and with the team.

Step 3:  Determine the needs for media. Your communication management plan should have a media section where you document the types of media that you plan to use for communications on this project. Document the media requirements to make sure that all stakeholders have access to the particular media or technology that they need for their required communications.

Most cases you will be using the following media types:

• Conference calls
• Fax
• Knowledge repositories available on company’s intranet
• Paper reports
• Power point presentations
• E-mails
• Video conferences
• Instant messages such as AIM
• Electronic files, including zipped files, word processing files, and spreadsheets
• Web sites
• Information stored electronically on company servers
• Project management software such as MS Project
• On line project tracking tools

Step 4:  Document a schedule for the milestones and communication deliverables. You should have a table or calendar that shows your deliverables and other communications time.

Step 5: Determine the assumptions, dependencies, and risks associated with your project communications.

List all important assumptions you considered while creating communications management plan such as all stakeholders speak English or all team members will be company’s full time employees only. This may change the moment you hire contractors.

List all important factors upon which your communications management plan depends. For example, the communication among team members located in several time zones depends on how and when they communicate, what communication media they use and how they distribute reports.  A dependency is an input or output or time-related relationship.

When managing dependencies, confirm that the deliverables are well-defined, within the project scope, and also include a statement of work. Confirm that the schedule and cost are understood by the parties involved.

Identify past, present and potential risks that the current project faced, is currently facing or will face in the near future and list any important risks inherent in the communications management plan.  

Step 6:  Every work involves some cost and in your communication management you should itemize the costs associated with communications. For example, you should have a list of cost associated with conference calls , video conferences, instant messages such as AIM, your and team members time in preparing reports, cost of using other facilities etc.

Step 7:  The final step is to review your plan before you finalize it. Here is a check list of your communication management plan.

• List of your stakeholders and your detail plan on their communication needs
• Organizational type such as projectized, functional or matrix
• Document any geographic or multicultural requirements
• If you are working with a remote team make sure remote team requirements are met
• Document use of technology against your stakeholders’ access and technical skills
• Check to be sure your stakeholders are assigned appropriately to the reports, meetings, and other communications types according to role, level of detail, and personal communication preferences
• Review all the levels of communication and do not overburden stakeholders with too much or too little information

Your communication plan also should include the communication methods such as formal, informal, verbal and written. You communicate internally and externally to the project team and vertically and horizontally within the company. Use the following guidelines for selecting a communication method. However, please remember that every organization is different and you need to take into account your company’s processes and procedures for conducting work and communications.

Formal written:  Project charter, reports to the management, project management plans, communicating between divisions etc.

Formal verbal: Presentations and speeches

Informal written: Notes, e-mails, memos, status updates among team members, online chat etc.

Informal verbal: Conversations, meetings, discussion and often water cooler gossip  

In step 3, we will discuss about project changes and  how you manage a change.

You have been a successful techie for several years. You have been working as a team leader at your current job for past eighteen months and you have just successfully completed a huge in-house software development project. Your project manager just got transferred to PMO with a promotion and you are the natural choice of your company to fill that vacant slot.  The company sends you for in-house project management training so that you understand the company’s processes and follow the guidelines of the PMO.  You are excited but bit nervous about your new role. You have acquired the theoretical knowledge about project management methodology and the company’s processes from the training you just completed but you do not know how to effectively implement them in your project.  At this stage anybody would be nervous as wise men said, “you do not know what you do not know”.

Relax! Here are the strategies to function effectively as a project manager and if you follow my simple albeit effective guidelines, you will be very successful in your new role as a project manager.

Step 1:  Understand top ten reasons of a project failure and proactively plan to avoid them.

Step 2:  A project manager spends over 80% of the time communicating. Have a solid communication plan not just a strategy.

Step 3:  Change is inevitable in a project. The problem is not the change itself but how you manage a change. Learn how to manage changes.

Let’s start with step one: Top ten reasons of a project failure.

1. Poor planning: Planning is the most important step of project management process. Half of the battle is won when you plan well. Coordinate with the project participants and the stakeholders to develop a detailed plan for the assigned project. Involve your project team members in planning and have the team buy-in. Prepare project scope, statements of work, work breakdown structures, task estimates, and specific tasks and milestones. Plan resources and schedule for your project implementation. Proactively plan effectively all anticipated bottlenecks, which include but not limited to management escalation, project prioritization, finding the right trade-offs between the business needs versus technical as well as triple constraints namely; scope, cost and schedule.

 2. Unclear goals and objectives: Many IT projects are elaborated progressively and in these scenarios you as a project manager need to rely on rolling wave planning. Initially the goal of your project may be only partially clear due to a poor requirement gathering in the definition stage of the project and you may not have clear picture of the scope and the schedule.  Defining clear requirements for a project can take time and lots of communication. You need to have expertise in rolling wave planning and that is where you should proactively focus.  You have strengths as well as weakness in this area. Being a technical team leader you can clearly view where the project is heading and you can very well anticipate the technical requirements and the future enhancements but at the same time you do not know how to plan for something that may be the future requirements. The best thing to do in such scenario is to rely on expert judgment.  Find project managers within your organization who have experience in rolling wave planning and seek their guidance. Your strategy should be to combine your technical expertise with experts’ judgments so that you can plan for your project that going to be progressively elaborated.

3. Poor Stakeholder Management: Identify stakeholders and bring them early. Project stakeholders’ interests may be positively or negatively impacted by the project and that is why stakeholders’ influence on the project is the most important thing to consider. Stakeholders who are found later will make changes and could cause delays. Any change that is made later is harder to integrate and is much more costly.

4. Scope creep and Feature creep due to objectives changing during the project: Scope creep refers to uncontrolled and unexpected changes in user expectations and requirements as a project progress, while feature creep refers to uncontrolled addition of features to a system with a wrong assumption that one small feature will add nothing to cost or schedule. Understand project trade-offs and make decisions regarding objectives on the basis of rational insight. Try to prevent project scope and feature creeps by implementing effective scope control methodology.

5. Unrealistic time or resource estimates: Many times project managers makes costly mistakes while estimating time or resources. Always work in a collaborative environment with the team and have the team buy-in and also consult with the project stakeholders as much as possible while preparing the detail project scope statement so that you do not make costly mistakes while preparing the WBS. Also employ effective techniques to estimate the amount of time each activity is expected to take. Be careful not to (common mistake new project managers make) use linear approximation when estimating the schedule For example, if you double the number of developers, you can cut the project time in half. In reality, doubling the number of developers produces a non-linear result.

6. Improper delegation of task and responsibilities: Many times project managers fail to delegate task and responsibilities to the team such a way that it should fit a team member’s job description. Organize the team such way that everybody should work under his/her own specialization so that the team as a cohesive whole performs the work diligently and within time and budget and thus raise efficiency above standard.

7. Lack of executive support and user involvement: Carefully listen to the executive management and the project sponsor and try to find out whether they have reservations about the project. If so, what is their vision for the project and what are their business objectives of the project. Try to work as an interface between the business and technology sides of the company so that you help our company align business with its projects.

8. Failure to communicate and act as a team: Projects sometimes fail due to improper communication.  A great deal of a project manger’s time is spent on communicating. We will discuss more about communication strategy in step-2.

9. Lack of proper risk management: Another potential cause for project failure is the IT managers’ inability to categorize all the risks qualitatively and quantitatively and implement corrective measures. Identify past, present and potential risks that the current project faced, facing or will face in the near future. Carefully and methodically categorize all the risks qualitatively and quantitatively and implement corrective measures. Assign one or two persons from your team as risk owners. These persons identify the risks, discuss the risks with the team and the project manager, find solutions and implement them.

10. Inappropriate skills: In this rapidly changing, technology-driven business environment and the constant changes of technology make it hard to predict skills the IT department will need. Almost all large IT projects require a diverse range of skills. Many teams lack the breadth, and depth they require.  Plan proactively for your resource requirements and make sure that everybody works under his/her own specialization. Have a solid plan for the skills your project requires. Work with your HR manager to evaluate all alternatives, which may include but not limited to hiring contractors, outsourcing, providing training to existing team members etc.

In step 2, we will discuss about communication and how to have a solid communication plan not just a strategy.

Technorati Tags: best-practices, change-management, communication, project-management

by Timsamoff

Even if you believe that everything from dating to contact with God can be managed on the computer, that ain’t quite true. Despite the push for technology in every operation–and despite our first endorsement of (still-sequence) video-conferencing (VC) in a 1983 book, you will want or need to meet face-to-face at times. The message itself will determine. Caution: Don’t believe the opinion-mantra, “It’s gotta be face-to-face.” It ‘don’t gotta be nuthin’ but proper. ‘Proper’ requires thought. Meeting settings must be proper for given messages. Meetings such as skill training are best done in small groups. Military ISD (our source) presents an algorithm for settings-selection.

Every meeting-support technique has strengths and weaknesses; and one of those choices will work better for your meeting than will any others. Selected options by purpose, not dart-throwing. For key tools (pro & con) that can be used to support your message, check a reprint of our ’70s article for basics; slight augmentation needed now. See the original article on our website: click ‘Recognition/Industry’; below Note: ‘AOM & Early Mag Articles’; see article from “Advertising & Sales Promotion” magazine (web p8 of 22pp).

Specifics there are valid unless noted here:

Re: Charts, drawing, chalk-/chem-boards: Verbatim, plus: Computer-aided visuals, now.

Re: Photographs: Verbatim, plus: Also computer-aided visuals, now.

Re: Books, booklets, outlines, tape recordings or disks: Verbatim, plus: Again, computer-aided visuals, now.

Re: Demonstrations and sociodramas (constructed plays, not believed):  Verbatim, plus: Less convincing if computerized.

Re: Role playing: Verbatim, plus: Valid only if live, not computerized.

[Quoted further]: All of the above tools [in the entire original article] have intrinsic value of either a permanent or intermittent nature. By contrast, visual aid equipments are enabling technologies but have no independent value whatsoever! Today’s purveyors have neglected to mention your non-technology options. [End reprint.]

Three significant points:

1. The computer is extremely valuable, of course. However, the eye does not prefer, or distinguish between, the sources of usable graphics. Therefore, slides and printed materials are still valid.
2. All graphics, no matter how simple or complex, must appeal to participants’ understanding of your message’s basic concept (right brain)…to interpret, as a further explanation of the spoken/written words. On-screen words (left-brain) are not legitimate visual ‘aids’ unless the words themselves are at issue. That’s rare. Color is not essential if the graphic itself is clear. (For multiple US military findings: ‘Recognition/Industry’ button, below Note; see “FirstTake” magazine (p13 of 48pp).
3. In meetings/seminars/training, etc, eye cloys more quickly than ear. For long presentations of non-technical material, ear is the preferable recipient. Complex/technical stuff needs visual help.

Decide which of the article’s techniques best suits the purposes and requirements of your message; select the proper support materials and technologies; determine the proper setting for the message, purposes, and audience size. Proper settings might include hotel space.

Audience size is a factor. Don’t guess according to general crowd-control principles: Best size for the meeting purpose, time allotted, and optimum use of likely setting? Military ISD algorithms work well.

You can’t coach a roomful of people in any but a cursory way. Adequate? If not, how enhanced? Smaller break-out sessions suffice? Can/will managers supervise, back at offices? Enough authorities to run multiple break-outs? If not, don’t fake it! Choose: one central session or multiple regional repeats?

Every meeting-caller usually wants to reach everyone in his/her target audience simultaneously. Great, if simultaneity is a valid factor. Bad, if it causes unnecessarily-large convocations. Large meetings feed on their own size and thereby cause additional expenses.

Decades ago, American Express found about two-thirds! of the average corporate travel budget consumed by annual central sales meetings. Computers can change that somewhat: Significant savings are possible via Video Conferencing. Computer programs suffer drop-outs–just like schools or sleepers in central meetings. Also decades ago, “Sales & Marketing Management” magazine’s  ‘Survey of Selling Costs’ (annualized) found multiple regional sales meetings always to cost less than one central meeting.

Unless simultaneity is essential, hold regional meetings whenever possible. That’s more demanding of meeting-caller time, short-term, but it’s also less pressured: Local offices can usually handle most or all logistical needs.

Although computer software now allows collaboration among editors and other specialists, software enables only editorial ‘collectivizing.’ Expertise and authority are NOT created by collaboration–that’s round-table discussion from distant chairs. It does save time and travel.

Many meetings can be held in-house. Choose smaller regional facilities if you hope to avoid in-house interruptions. To manage any such meeting, embargo all phone calls, in or out. You might permit exceptions for the Chairman of the Board and CEO, but only if you value your job.

If you agree on anything with a hotel rep, get everything agreed in writing. All chains and most large facilities have an “in writing only” policy in case of disputes…common when any third party over-stays its allotted time and delays your set-up or scheduled session.

Selected reprints from “AOM” were Copyright either 1970-71, Crain Communications; or 1971-1973, “Sales Management” (later: “Sales & Marketing Management”) magazines.

For more information and a proved form for comparing criteria and selecting hotel facilities, see our website: www.meetingsCavalier.com. Click on ‘Business Writing’; then ‘Titles’ button. At book “Sales Meetings That Work,” click on ‘Chapter 18,’ complete segment. Dow Jones-Irwin’s “SMTW” cover shows under ‘Recognition/Industry’ button.

by Rutty

The sales-oriented, over-use of ‘maxi-media’ (anything in excess of need) was first challenged by me in two columns (1970-71; 71-73) and my first book (1973). A worthwhile message will be listened to and needn’t be prettied-up. Just make it intelligible when heard. “You can put lipstick on a pig, but. . .” Complex messages can be helped only by visuals that help clarify concepts, not illustrate irrelevancies. Pretty-for-the-sake-of-pretty detracts from message.

Old learning? Well, the human brain hasn’t changed much in 10,000 years, according to scientists; so the researched educational principles and findings are still valid. New research on the brain in recent years has identified specific real estate where various brain functions occur. We newly know that the brain has a life-long plasticity and can reassign real estate according to new-learning demands or to compensate for injury.

New proofs of old practices, too: Sleeping on new-learning material can aid retention. New idea? Ask any HS or college student who crams late-night for morning tests. Now we know why it works.

Vicarious practice has long been known to work. Newly-discovered reasons: ‘mirror neurons.’ While watching others, our empathic neural system ‘operates’ inoperatively in muscles, responding to observed action. New understandings of ‘old’ learning. Scientists still haven’t discovered how the functions do in fact function: How and why does consciousness occur?

Meanwhile, you’ll need old and proved learning and research. So return to learning needs:  In specific instances, technology can help in specific meeting/training situations. Don’t rush. ‘Be the first on your block’ to introduce new technology into the meeting room–is for kids. Other-directed meeting-callers have depended on technology and advertising claims to make their decisions and cases–and lost. Technology can’t make decisions. ‘Computer-aided-everything’ is a profitable sales idea–but first pay attention to the ‘aided’ element of the phrase. Aids-choice requires authoritative knowledge of message. Military ISD offers algorithms.

Don’t start with hardware! Increased comfort-of-viewing underlies most A/V technological advances (other than the computer itself). As an element of the surround, comfort contributes only incrementally to learning: unmeasurable in most company circumstances and probably not worth the added time or effort.

To select the proper technology to help deliver your message, first determine what specifics must be delivered in your current or next meeting/training session. For help on this “message” topic, see our prior Blogs.

Next, determine what categories of tools and A/V would aid in making your message and objectives clear to meeting/training participants. Such categories include new tools, prototypes, samples, demonstration/taste/ feel, case histories…and technology, including simple slides. Non-commercial exhibits present unspoken visual comprehension.

Remember: a computer-and-screen is only a fancy chalkboard. New chalk-boards are blank. Ditto, new computers. You enter meaningful material onto blackboards; guess what.  Absolutely nothing can do absolutely everything. Nor can anyone! You need real help based on facts, cases, and qualified opinions. Those are few.

Some books offer chapters prepared by numerous recognized authorities. Yet, no matter how valid the individual chapters, they usually don’t add up to cohesive, workable systems. If books on meetings topics were/are discursive, readers must cut-and-paste into probably-inadequate meeting planning structures. Does the given book present a workable system?

Magazines love tips: they’re plentiful, easy, short, and perfect for filling unused space. Readers cut-and-paste. No system. In short, ersatz “help.” They can’t photograph or sell you your own message. There’s a paucity of worthwhile information in even business journals. Their editors usually defer to the meetings industry press’ editors and viewpoints, because “Don’t they know best?” Obviously not!

The original concept and title we created for “Achieving Objectives in Meetings” has become a standard concept in the meetings professions and essential trade(s). ‘Achieving objectives’ as a communications key is finally being rehabilitated (in different words) by industry-associations that have previously down-played that concept.

Meetings can be improved significantly without extravagant spending when the methods and technology used are chosen with concern for–and protection of–intelligent, do-able messages, aided by proper tools and practice. Aided–not necessarily ‘technology-aided.’

Message-control is free; it’s based on brain, not budget! Now, how much more attention can you pay to the message?

For citations of ignored fundamental research, see wwww.meetingsCavalier.com; then ‘Business Writing.’ At ‘Recognition,’ button, see our bibliography for ‘A&SP/Granddaddy’ button (at base of Note): It’s proof that useful research was long available.

For later presentations of useful specific research findings, largely military, see ‘Recognition/Industry’; then “FirstTake” magazine (p13 of 48); and also ‘AOM & Early Mag articles’ button.

For comprehensive information and procedures re: meetings needs and aids, you might see our “Sales Meetings That Work.”

For hotel-related methodology, see tomorrow’s blog.

When encountering someone for the first time, first impressions count.  This is particularly true when networking with others—you want to leave a positive, memorable impact when meeting others.  Through observation and measurement you can improve your presence and connection – ideally to leverage the encounter for lasting value. 

Think about your first contact with someone.  Do you exhibit the following qualities to make you stand out and be remembered in a positive manner?

1. Confident:  Do you inspire others?  Do you speak in a sure way? Are you poised and level-headed?
2. Credible:  Do you have expertise and can you be trusted?  Have often can you persuade others?
3. Capable:  Do you have what it takes to get the job done?  Are you efficient, effective an expert in your field?
4. Calm:  Do you remain unruffled during turbulent times? 
5. Clean:  Do you have a neat appearance?  Can you speak in plain language; get right to the point, present fresh ideas?
6. Charisma:  Can you use your personal being, rather than speech or logic alone, to interact with others in a real and meaningful way?
7. Connections:  Do you establish lasting relationships?

Everything you do during the first 2 seconds of an interaction speaks volumes, especially your actions:

• Do you maintain direct eye contact during dialogue?
• What do you with your hands when you communicate?
• Do you face the other person in an “open” pose?
• Can you stand still?  Do you jiggle your feet, your knee, or your leg?
• Are you aware of your facial expressions?
• How’s the pitch of your voice?  Do you speak clearly?

Bring a buddy to the next networking event.  Ask your pal to observe you from a distance—solicit honest feedback when the event is over – How did you do?  What did you do?  Focus on a few improvement opportunities and try again, but make it quick.

Lisa DiTullio, Principal, Lisa DiTullio & Associates, LLC

Well, it’s been quite a week.  After 7 days of heightened attention on my interpersonal communication skills I can’t say I feel I’ve made much progress.  Aside from some encouraging email from a few friends cheering me on in my (decades old) quest to improve myself, there’s no indication that a complete transformation of my relationships in imminent.  Nevertheless, this is a marathon, not a sprint, so I remain committed to this path.

My last blog, Dear Diary #3, was about conjuring action through clear commitment.  Immediately after writing that blog I was engulfed in a sea of commitments that I had made over the past couple of months.  I had to wake up at 4:30 AM Saturday morning in order to make a 6:53 AM flight on my way to Tokyo, and with my packing still undone Friday night, I was looking down the barrel of a half dozen broken promises.  What’s a person who’s word is their bond to do?  Yup, I decided to stay up until 3 AM getting all of it done.  Now, I love my sleep, and I sure do intend to make a lot fewer promises this year as a result of this recent reminder of how much I detest waking up after only 1.5 hours of sleep, but I did follow up on every one of those commitments before laying my head oh so briefly on that luscious pillow.

The fourth and final step in improved communication guarantees that the future envisioned and committed to is actually achieved, and strengthens relationships by building trust.  It’s been said that trust is the residue of promises made and kept.  Following up on our own commitments builds trust with others.  Following up on the commitments others make to us supports them in maintaining our trust in them.  FAILING to follow up on our own promises undermines our integrity and our self-esteem, as we usually know very well that we’ve chosen the sneaky path by letting something slide that should have been taken care of.  And failing to follow up with others cruelly tempts them to do the same.  I’d like to believe I’d do everything I commit to without the threat of follow up.  But if I’m honest with myself I have to admit that I’m much more likely to follow through on a commitment I make if I know that the other person involved is going to be checking in with me to hold me accountable.  It’s only fair to give other people that incentive by securing a follow up date by which I’ll be checking with them on their progress.

There are some people in this world, including myself, who will do what we’ve promised even if other people don’t bug us about it (maybe because we were raised Catholic and guilt is still a major motivator).  But that’s absolutely not the norm (doing what we promised without being bugged, not being Catholic!).  I’ve been working in project teams for over 20 years now, and I can tell you that commitments to action alone – without follow up – have been completed less than 30% of the time, whereas commitments with follow up accountability built into the agreement have had more than double that.  That’s sending action items out in email (where you’re lucky if it’s even read, let alone done) is so ineffective, and keeping a permanent Action Item List for all to see pasted on the team wiki, and trotted out at every team meeting, results in much greater levels of follow through.  Let’s face it, if I know I’m never going to see you again, and you are never going to check in with me to see if I did what I promised, I’m likely to prioritize that promise pretty darn low.  Except for the guilt thing.

So, let’s review my plan for improving my relationships via vastly enhanced communication skills:

Step 1 – Categorize the kinds of conversations I’m having.

Step 2 – Escape the grip of the past by shifting my focus to the future.

Step 3 – Eschew weasel words and powerfully commit to take action!

Step 4 – If I expect “follow through”, plan on “follow up”.

OK, that should keep me busy for the next year.  And I’m putting a reminder in my calendar every month so I’ll be following up with myself.

Keep it real!  Keep it Scrappy!  Keep it real Scrappy!

- Kimberly

Kimberly Wiefling, Author, Scrappy Project Management

In the “Dear Diary #2” blog I made a commitment to re-engineer my relationship with my dad – getting unstuck from the past conversation swirling around in my head about him.  (Perhaps you made a similar commitment to doing that with a colleague or boss after reading that blog?)  After recognizing that the historical banter in my head was largely based on experiences over 3 decades ago, and some practice imagining a future relationship with my dad where we actually enjoyed one another’s company, I rang him up.  Surprisingly (to me) we had a rip-roaring time – chatting, joking, laughing, and planning to get together this summer for the obligatory family wedding reunion.  He lamented how my mom was “all over him” for using the “F word” too much (is there such a thing?), so I worked that into the conversation every chance I got just to kid around with him.  Hearing my mom shout “What’s she saying?!!” in the background over and over again, and him giggle with delight in response, filled me with glee.

It was one of the most pleasant conversations I’ve had with him in ages.  Maybe, through some strange act of synchronicity, my dad suddenly turned into a nicer human being.  But I think the change was mostly due to the difference in my attitude – my maintaining a focus on a future possibility for our relationship during the conversation instead of holding expectations based on the past.  Well, “that’s one in a row”, as they say.  I’m going to continue to fight the grip of memory and experience in hopes of creating a future relationship with my dad that’s truly extraordinary.  That should come in handy in my project management, too, where years of experience have grown in me a cynical attitude taller than Dubai’s Khalifa Tower.  My only fear in letting go of the past in the area of project management is that I won’t be as funny in my keynote speeches without all of the negativity.  (OK, maybe I can dredge up the cynicism when I’m on stage just for entertainment purposes.)

With the past no longer blinding us, let’s move on to the next step in improving communication skills – conjuring up action.

Step 3 – Eschew weasel words and powerfully commit to take action!

Replace “I’ll try.” with “You can count on me.” (or say no!)

Replace “I think so . . .” with “I will.” (or say no!)

As you can imagine, I didn’t really look forward to the conversation with my dad.  I was afraid it would be just another disappointment.  But since I had committed to calling him, I did it.  That’s the power of commitment.  It moves people to action.  “Wishing and hoping” don’t even come close!  “I’ll try.” is a phrase I dread.  Give me one solid commitment over a pocket full of wishes and mumbled half-promises any day.  At least I know where I stand if my request is flatly turned down.  At least I won’t waste days waiting for something to happen only to find out at the last minute that it’s not going to be done, leaving me with few – or no – options.  At least I can make other plans.

“No answer” is almost as bad.  A request that receives neither a yes or a no just hangs out there in outer space like a forgotten ornament on a discarded Christmas tree.  I’m never sure if I should ask someone else, repeat my request, or just wait patiently for an answer.  A “No way!” is way better.

Because I’m the most responsible lunatic I know, and so many other people’s work depends on my doing my job, I’ve become a bit of a tyrant with myself about making and keeping commitments.  Sometimes it’s a little exhausting because I make a commitment when I feel well-rested and energized, and then I have to keep the commitment when I’m feeling like something the cat just dragged in.  Just yesterday I was using my 2 minutes of whining per day to lament how “That dang hyperactive Kimberly went and agreed to do this presentation, and now I’ve gotta up and DO it!”  Sometimes I feel as if someone has broken into my office and put all sorts of stuff on my calendar that no reasonable person would agree to, and I have to clean up the mess.  Of course it’s me making the commitments, and keeping them is something I take very seriously no matter how I feel.

Why bother?  Because your words are your power to conjure reality.  Long ago I heard a woman with a chronic disease that occasionally left her temporarily blind or paralyzed speak about how she’s learned to live out of her commitments, not out of her feelings, in order to avoid having her disease sap her power in her life.  No matter how she feels, she does what she promised to do if humanly possible.  That inspiration stuck with me.

If you start using your words carelessly you’ll find your power to create and shape reality slipping away.  The more clear you are with your commitments, the more power you have to create the reality that you intend.  And when you stop settling for vague indications of what you can expect from others you’ll quickly clean up many of the problems plaguing your project execution.

It’s been said “The fortune’s in the follow up.”, but that’s Step 4.  Experiment with making and keeping clear commitments, and settling for nothing less than that from others for the things that matter most.  If it doesn’t matter, “I’ll try.” is perfectly fine.  But if it matters, ‘try’ not to say that (yes, that’s a joke, in case you’re wondering).

TTFN,  – Scrappy Kimberly

Kimberly Wiefling, Author, Scrappy Project Management

Well, I might have gone overboard with my focus on possibility thinking and commitment to action in conversations…  So far this week I’ve envisioned 3 outrageous breakthroughs for myself, arm-twisted 7 friends or relatives to swear an oath to manifesting their own ridiculous goals, and committed myself to a half dozen preposterous projects involving worldwide transformation (as well as time, money, power and resources that I don’t have access to at the moment).  People are starting to avoid hanging out with me for fear that when, say we’re having coffee, and they order their drink via a weakly worded request like “Hmm, oh, I don’t know, a latte sounds pretty good.”, I’ll demand to know “Are you absolutely and completely committed to having a latte?”  I obviously need more practice on applying the conversational tools from the Dear Diary #1 blog, but let’s go on to Step 2 for now.

Step 2 – Escape the grip of the past by shifting my focus to the future.

The past is kept alive in the present by our conversations.  People are obsessed with talking about how various things have been tried before, how they failed, who was to blame, and especially why it guarantees that your idea won’t work today.  They frequently call it “being realistic”, or “the voice of experience.”, but I call it idea homicide.  The future is being murdered by our obsession with the past.  The status quo (the result of a string of things long past) has us in a death grip.  We can’t increase the quality of our project outcomes as long as we’re condemned to merely following the voice of experience.  Even if it worked in the past, “doing things the same old way” doesn’t necessarily continue to work when the world changes around you.  Like watching reruns of “I Love Lucy”, giving too much airtime to the past in our conversations is a recipe guaranteeing that the future will just be more of the same.

Become a conversation terrorist!  Hijack conversations about “what happened last time we tried that”, “the way we’ve always done things around here” and “the reality of the current situation”.  Redirect them to a destination that’s a lot more appealing – the future.  Talk about the what’s possible, what stirs passion, what builds commitment, what inspires action.  Talk about the way we intend things to be around here in the future.  Here’s a good way to start:  “If anything were possible, and you were guaranteed success, what would you begin to create today for <your project, yourself, your work, your family, your career>?”  If a conversation is careening violently toward the abyss of the past, you might try something like “I totally agree with everything you say, AND <dwell purposefully on this word> I’m absolutely committed to creating…<some outrageously wonderful future possibility that makes the person’s hair fly back like they are riding a Harley with no helmet>.”  Follow that up quickly with “What would make that possible?”, and maybe even “Who’s in?!”  These kinds of statements generally evoke more productive conversations, as well as commitments for people to take some action to make a positive difference.

Naturally this stuff can impact our personal lives, too.  And you don’t even need other people to keep you stuck in the past.  Some historical conversations are happening entirely in our heads.  My father wasn’t the easiest person in the world to live with, but I’ve been out of his house for the past 33 years.  Unfortunately, the internal conversation going on in my head about him is still keeping alive all of the angst and grief associated with our early relationship.  The ramblings of the little voice in my head continue to build and maintain a barricade to a decent relationship between us today.  Every time he veers even slightly toward some old, familiar banter, that inner voice starts rattling off all of the stupid nonsense I had to put up with as a child, warning me that it’s just milliseconds from all happening again – as if the future is destined to merely be a reflection of the past.  My dad’s made stunning efforts to create a new kind of relationship with me over the years, but they are all thwarted by the conversations I continue to have with myself.  The only thing that can release me from the grip of the past is imagining a future that today seems unlikely, but would be a more enjoyable way to spend the little time we have left together on this planet.  My dad can’t change because I keep him stuck the way he was 33 years ago through the repeated past conversations swirling around in my head.

OK, that settles it!  I’m going to shift my inner voice to future possibilities, give my dad a call, and see how this works out.

I’ll let you know what happens later this week! – Kimberly

Kimberly Wiefling, Author, Scrappy Project Management

For Christmas one of my closest friends gave me a dish towel that says “Being unstable and b-tchy is just part of my mystique.”  Knowing that there is truth in sarcasm, and understanding the importance of good communication skills and positive relationships to project success, I’ve decided to recommit myself to improving my relationships through improved communication skills.

Step 1 – Categorize the kinds of conversations I’m having.  I figure that being able to identify the different types of conversations should help me engage in each of them in more appropriate ways.  Here are a few of the most important that I’ve identified, and some guidelines for each:

a. Historical – Reviewing the past, what happened, what led to things being the way they are today, can be helpful if we learn from the past and avoid making similar mistakes in the future.  But blaming the past for the present, and digging up reasons in the past that squelch current action and future possibilities – well, that’s like driving while staring in the rear-view mirror.  Get your eyes on the road ahead!

b. Commitment to Action – No mamby-pamby “I’ll try.” or “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”  These are conversations where we clearly state our commitment to either finding a way to achieve what needs to be done, or express our determination to invent a way to do it out of thin air or sheer will-power.

c. Possibility Speaking – Creating the future by first conjuring it into being through conversations that explore what’s possible.  Use Joel Barker’s paradigm shifting question to pry loose your grip on past precedent and the status quo:  “What seems impossible today, but if it WERE possible, would transform <your project, your work, your life, the world> for the better?”

d. Evasive – This is where the “I’ll try.” or “Well, I’ll see what I can do.” conversations fit, or in some corporate cultures it shows up as “We need to study further.”, “We need more data.”, or “We don’t have enough <time, money, people, etc.>”   Avoid these like the plague – they sap your personal power and undermine your cred with others.  Don’t be afraid to label these for what they are, and either get agreement on something that everyone CAN clearly commit to, or move on to people who WILL make a clear and firm commitment.  Life’s too short to spend hanging out with this “wait and see” crowd.

e. Whining and Complaining – Everyone’s got their own burdens, and dumping a load of verbal vomit on others is not going to help me become the kind of leader I admire.  Venting can be healthy, but limit it to 2 minutes, or pay a professional to listen to the BMW (b-tching, moaning and whining).  Don’t lay that crap on family and friends.

f. Gossip and Bad-mouthing Others – Just don’t do it.  It might feel satisfying to rip on other people, but it erodes my integrity and undermines any respect the other person might have for me.

In order to become a more effective project leader (and better human being, like Tiger Woods aspires to be) I’m determined to focus on conversations c. and b., spend an appropriate amount of chat time on a., and eschew d., e. and f. like they’re a virulent form of the H1N1 virus.

Step 2 later this week . . .

Wish me luck!  – Scrappy Kimberly
Kimberly Wiefling, Author, Scrappy Project Management

P.S.  Did you know “that” word is an acronym that stands for “Being in Total Control of Herself”, or “Boys I’m Taking Charge Here”?