Saturday, March 27, 2010

Afraid of giving estimates

It is amazing how many project plans there are out there that have published dates and the project manager will tell you that the team will not give them estimates.  If there are no estimates, how do we have a date?

Here is a simple fix for when you feel people will not give you estimates.  Simply ask them why!  This  honest approach will catch some off guard, but it will open a dialogue that may break down some barriers.

In my seminars and work with clients, I will ask many team members why they will not give estimates.  Here are some common responses:

- "I am afraid I will be held to it."
- "I am not sure what I am estimating."
- "I don't know what else may be asked of me during the time that I am supposed to be doing this work."
- "I won't really know a real estimate until I get started."

Each of those responses can be worked through.  To really be great at project management, you must earn the trust of your team.  They must know that whatever information they give you is going to benefit them, not work against them.  There seems to be quite a bit of mistrust towards the project manager.  A honest conversation can remove many of these fears or doubts and at least getting you and your team on the right page.

If they are truly unsure, walk them through PERT (Best Case, Most Likely, and Worst Case) estimations.  Then apply formulas or select where you think it will end up.  This will give them an opportunity to present a range of estimates and will give you the opportunity to actually have an idea of a true estimate.  Honest conversations really work!

Be safe out there!

Rick

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Project Called......Life.

It has been a whirlwind week and it is only Wednesday!  In the last 2 weeks, I have given 8 speeches in 2 countries and 6 different cities.  I have also made major strides in seeing a huge dream of mine come to fruition.  I am so full of energy, inspiration, and adrenaline as I have seen a dream turn in to an action plan.  What was a wish now has a due date.  What was a vision now has a task list.  As I reflect, I am so blessed to have had an opportunity to learn, teach, and perform the art of project management.  I want to issue you this challenge:  Where is your project plan for your life?

Now I know there are many project managers that get a bit crazy with this and plan their lives down to the 10 minute increment, but that is not what I am talking about.  What I am talking about is the things that we do everyday are the skills and activities that people flock to hear in self-improvement seminars.  We tend to take these things for granted.  Think about it.  What is your plan for the next year?  If you were to attend a commercial course or go hear any variety of motivational speakers, the message is the same.  You must plan your success, it doesn't seek you out.

What are your goals for the coming year, two years, or five years?  What are the building blocks to achieve those goals?  What action can you take now to start down that path?  This is a work breakdown structure for your life!  Some of the most successful systems out there ask you to make a problem statement (i.e. scope).  Then list milestones (key deliverables) and then break the milestones into "mini-goals" (i.e. the next level of the WBS)  Then you take the mini-goals and create actionable tasks.  The final step is to schedule actual work against the actionable tasks, estimate effort and duration, and create a way to measure success.  Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the project plan for your life!

Try it!  It can really be powerful.  This year, my business partner and I set a five year goal and announced a concept.  Each day, I try to plan an activity to move us towards the concept.  In just the past week, the momentum is taking a life of its own and we went from a concept to a planned date, activity, and scope.  It is amazing that we have had the tools all along to assist ourselves in achieving the next level, we just are not using them to our benefit.  They say that the cobbler's kids have no shoes ;)

Let me end with this question.  What are you going to do tomorrow to take the next step in attaining your goals?  If you do not know, then start with your scope.  Then follow your instincts, project management can guide you the rest of the way.  Good luck!

No Day But Today,

Rick

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Anytime I get too big for my britches..

I just have to come home.  Kids are incredible and I am so blessed to have two wonderful children.  They can light up the room, make you angry, make you laugh until it hurts, make you cry, and make you look inside yourself.  All of that can happen in just a couple of hours!

My daughter asked me this weekend about writing a book and she felt that she should write a book.  I took her up on her offer.  Throughout the weekend she was thinking of characters, stories, situations for the characters, and the general flow of the book.  It was truly an amazing process.  She is 9 years old and has an incredible imagination.  To see her eyes light up when she saw how it was all coming together is something I want to hold in my heart.

My son, who is 3, is fascinated with "Where The Wild Things Are."  I caught him looking at himself in the mirror and practicing his "monster" face.  He was practicing a scowl and getting his hands just right, and then would stomp in the room and announce that he was going to "Eat you up!"  We just laughed and laughed!

We also got a chance to step out for some beautiful weather and go to a park.  I forget how much fun it was as a kid to just be outside and run.  They ran themselves silly and you couldn't get the smile off of my face.

As I reflect on the time this weekend with my family, I look at my station in life.  The job is going well, new ideas and advancements for the company is growing.  The speaking career is really taking off and I am getting booked in Germany, Panama, Brazil, and all over the US.  I am in real negotiations with book #3 and have taken some major steps in advancing towards a life long dream.  Yet, the role that I think I will really be measured on is the role of a Father and Husband.  Was I the best that I could be for them?  Sometimes, I have to remember that the career is a means for them, not the end or the quest.

I took time this weekend to work on that life long dream.  Many are asking me what it is, yet, I do not want to jinx it or discuss it until it is a done deal.  That could be a couple of days, weeks, months, or even years before it happens.  As excited as I am about having a clear vision as to what my future holds, I am so glad that my kids reminded me this weekend of why I pursue this future.  Why I am pushing the career so hard right now.

We were playing a game and my daughter questioned if I really did know anything.  It made me laugh.  It is truly amazing how someone can look at you and hold you in  such high regard, love you as much as they do, yet can make sure that I keep things in perspective.  I hope you take time as you read this to reflect on what is important in your life.  What the quest is really for or why we do what we do.  Realize that "tomorrow" is sometimes too long to wait to make time for what is important.

There really is no day but today,

Rick