Now that we’ve explored some rules and beliefs on organizational life, would you like to chime in on rules and beliefs about projects and planning?
Some of the beliefs that have ruled my life:
- I have to plan for contingencies.
- I have to deliver according to plan.
- If I miss a milestone, everything will fall apart.
- If I miss a milestone, it’s no big deal.
etc.
It likely could be done tomorrow.
Have quick daily reviews (even with just yourself) to check the accuracy of the plan.
It’s only a plan, you have to keep it updated and in check if you are going to make it a reality.
Hi Stever, a rule of thumb for me. In meetings whether they be weekly, regular, ad hoc, … whenever I hear some one say.. “so and so needs to answer that question…” and that person is not represented in the meeting, ….. If i’m running the meeting and sometimes even if i’m not, I pick up the cell phone (which is always on vibrate, not ringer), and call that person, document the answer and then move on.
In my experience, everytime we have to make an action to contact someone to get information later…. things slip.
1. You cannot plan for everything
2. You need to “try” to plan for everything
3. You need to be flexible enough to adjust your plan as you go so you can reach completion without giving up due to ‘things not going as planned.’
They say something like “A plan is great, until you catch that unexpected left hook that knocks you silly.”
I laugh at people who are uber organized because they tend to fall to pieces when “things don’t go as planned.”
My main rule for getting things done “Be like water.”
* all planning should leave adequate time to execute and still meeting intended goals. Giving someone a 5 page plan with all contengencies covered 30 mins before the deadline is useless.
* You can usually minimize the impact of two out of three factors: money, time, and quality. Try to reduce money, time and improve quality at the same time almost always ends in a failed project.
* Realize that planning is not executing. Sometimes the plan that gets you to 80% of intended results on time is almost always better than the plan that gets you to 95% three months late.
Recently laid off from 13+ years at Office Depot.
Getting things done at an accurate and fast pace is a necessity in retail. Competition is fierce and mistakes can have devastating results. One mistake in one store is difficult, the same mistake multiplied by 1000 stores can wreck a Company and cause the “death spiral” that has engulfed so many Companies, ie Linens & Things, AC Moore, Circuit City…
To survive employees and companies must remain flexible to change, nimble enough to adapt, and strategically focused on the shifts in society and consumer needs.
Prioritize and categorize your ideas from fantasy, to foundational, to functional. Dream big, build a organization to get it done, then break it into “just do it” bits. Don’t underestimate the power of momentum in activity. If your dreams are based on grounded ethical and moral beliefs, and your foundation is chiseled from the rock of hard work and integrity, then your activity will continue to yield positive results.
Get busy!
I’m finding that many of my first assumptions about projects actually aren’t as fixed as I first thought. For example, the idea that a big project needs to be broken down into smaller steps. Another philosophy would be the “just get started approach” – start chipping away, and the path forward will become more apparent as time goes on. So the whole idea of project planning can actually be challenged in certain situations.
Another interesting dimension is “concentrate on one thing at a time” versus “do a whole bunch of things in parallel.” The tradeoff here depends on your mental bandwidth, the concentration required, and the interdependencies between the sub-tasks.
By definition, we’d like to think, a project is defined by its end goal or deliverable. I’ve seen situations, though, where the experience of DOING the project is what matters, and any end result is just a bonus which helps you feel good about driving things to closure. Many of my coaching engagements have this nature – it’s REALLY about the experience and the learning.
I am uber organized as Richard ( above) says. I have a list of things to do that are important, one for the things that can take place whenever ( no urgency) and a daily routine. When things don’t go according to plan I can usually manage because I always keep an extra margin of time for each tasks- so I’m unlikely to be taken by surprised. And if I am ( I call that a Monday), I get a cup of tea ( yes, I live in England) and I see how to reset my priorities.
I believe in not delaying until tomorrow what you can do today. And I try to keep some time for myself- even if it is just 30 min before falling asleep- to do something I really want to do, not need to. So far it works.
Life is unpredictable, but there is some satisfaction in being efficient and productive.
Hi Stever
nice topic
my beliefs are:
1- You will change from 30% to 40% of your plan when executing…so keep it fixable.
2- When you set a plan and start executing, everything around you will challenge your plan.
How about this simple one:
“If the plan ain’t working, rework the plan.”
It sounds stuffy if I use “isn’t”. Forgive me, Grammar Girl.
One tip I’ve found to help keep my task management system uncluttered is to never enter/track any steps on a project beyond the literal “next step”. Keeps # of items down, and as long as I declare the next step whenever I finish a step, all projects remain in an actionable state.
Only exception to the rule I’ve found necessary is where there is a long critical path with dependencies on resources I don’t control, i.e. projects with any degree of “cat herding” involved.
My favorite: “A plan is a picture of how it ain’t gonna go.” You’ve got to plan, and you’ve got to know that it’s going to change.
A plan is neccessary, but it needs to be 1)simple and 2) flexible.
In one of my favorite movies, “Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House” you can see this in exaggerated comic action. From literature, “The Count of Monte Cristo” develops his plan while spending the dark years in prison. In both examples, the planning process creates a solution to their “pain” but they end up successful because they were willing to deviate from their plans, while still keeping the goal in sight.