Stop playing games!

Abstract

In this paper, the author identifies and discusses the day to day world of a project manager. Project managers have the unique ability to find shortcuts when dealing with projects, sponsors, and stakeholders. This paper will try to help project managers avoid the playing of games and help them get stronger, more process oriented, and gain more respect for the work they do. The paper will offer real-world advice, and show proper techniques that you can immediately use to impact your projects, learn how to influence without authority, stop getting lulled into poor project management practices projects, and get back to the basics that will help create a project manager who will do the right things, the right way.

Introduction

Welcome to the new world of project management! For the last 30 years, project management has been struggling to find an identity. Many readers are searching for the answers to many questions, such as:

• What is project management?
• What value does project management provide?
• How do I perform project management in organizations that do not believe in the principles of project management?
• Why am I a project manager?

If you have asked any of these questions, are looking for new project management techniques, or are just sick and tired of the games that are forced on project managers, then this is the perfect paper for you! Project management is one of the most sought after, yet misunderstood, professions in existence. It seems that every organization is searching for a strong project manager and is convinced it needs one, until it gets one! Project management is the only profession in which bending time and space for a living is expected! Today is the dawning of a new era and it is the era of reality! It is the era that forces organizations to face decisions that have been glossed over for too long. Welcome to the new era of project management!

To understand where this profession is going, we must first look at the current status of the profession. How did we get here? Why is this profession so misunderstood? The answer lies with two key items: The first item is for you to answer the question: how did you get into project management? This is called the halo effect.…gone wild!

The Halo Effect‥…Gone Wild!

Literally, the halo effect means a perceptual bias in which we assume that a person has many positive qualities if he or she has one positive quality; in essence, because you are good at one thing, you must be good at others. Figuratively, the halo effect means that because the person is a great developer, he or she would also make a great manager of developers. The greatest example of the halo effect is asking project managers if they started their careers wanting to be project managers; the result is a very small percentage. Of course, project management is hardly offered as a career path in many universities, so it may be a bit unfair to rate this phenomenon as a halo effect. Yet, many organizations and companies select project managers based on their other skills.

During the research for this speech, 200 project managers were polled from various industries and were asked how they became project managers. Of those polled, 161 of them (80.5%) stated that they were selected to run a project while they were employed in another role and decided to stay in the field of project management. Only 8 of those who answered the survey stated that they asked to become or started their careers as project managers.

Where do you fit in? Project management can be one of the most rewarding careers in the marketplace but it requires a tremendous balance of management techniques and political savvy because it is not simply a job anyone can do, contrary to popular opinions. And this brings us to the second item: not everyone can be a project manager. To rephrase this, anybody can be called a project manager, but not everyone will succeed as a project manager!

Not Everybody Can Be A Project Manager!

Although most project managers did not start their careers in project management, the belief that anyone can do project management is hindering the growth of the profession. For some reason, even though there are many parallels to other professions, project management is not given the same rank.

For instance, do you think a chief financial officer of an organization would walk up to a second-year employee and ask him or her, “Did you finish high school math? Great! We are short handed in the accounting department and I need someone to help close the books!” Isn’t accounting just math? It’s just debit and credits, right? All you need to know how to do is add and subtract, which is obviously not the case. Accounting is a specialized profession that requires education, practice, and a thoroughness to do the job correctly. There are also certifications offered in accounting, which require constant reinforcement and education about new laws and regulations. Accounting is not something that you would trust to just anybody. However, in the above situation, the same chief financial officer would pick that person to be the project manager of a project.

In the insurance industry, there is a profession called actuary, which is a highly skilled position requiring a tremendous amount of research and analysis. Essentially, actuaries determine the classes and rates insurance companies use to price their products. To oversimplify the profession, we can refer to them as “legalized gamblers”; of course, this is just in jest. Actuaries determine risk and perform an intensive amount of analysis. For life insurance products, actuaries assess health histories, morbidity tables, and a tremendous amount of data to statistically group people into categories. The hope is that the premium paid for insurance will be more than the insurance company has to pay out to ensure solvency. Do you think a chief executive officer would walk up to an actuary and say, “I need to get a budgetary figure; just throw me a number, because I won’t hold you to it!” Yet, this is what happens to project managers on a daily basis.

It can be frustrating to work in a profession that is so often devalued. As stated in the opening paragraphs, it is time for a new era. It is time for project managers to start being recognized for the jobs they perform. If having the knowledge to add and subtract does not make you an accountant and guessing when someone is going to die does not make you an actuary, then creating a task list and holding a status meeting do not make you a project manager!

It Takes More Than Task Lists‥…

Project management is much more that creating and reporting the status of a list of tasks. The application of project management and the personality style it requires seem to be changing as well. It requires an even temper, phenomenal communication skills, and the ability to influence in all directions. What does it mean to influence in all directions? This means that a project manager may be reporting to the janitor on one project and then to the chief executive officer of an organization on the next project. It means that a project manager must understand the needs of his or her sponsor, understand the constraints of the project, and deliver options back to the sponsor. In essence, it means the project manager is the processing unit of information for multiple inputs and outputs. This is not an easy task!

Most projects fail within the first five minutes of existence, and the reason for this is because most project managers accept the executive’s direction at face value. When a project is assigned to the project manager, with the command that it must be done by June 15th at a cost of $100,000, the project manager likely just accepts the instruction and moves on. He or she feels that because the executive said it, the budget is fixed and the date is fixed. Although there are times this may be true, it should be the exception, not the rule. Most of these misperceptions can be corrected with a simple statement, which is: “Let me know as soon as possible whether you think this can be done by June 15th for $100,000 and, if not, tell me what our options are.” This statement will communicate that the deliverables are what are desired, but the organization is open to flexibility for the right reason. If this statement is not made, then oftentimes, the organization is doomed to fail. Let me share the following example.

A large bank was implementing a new platform solution for all of their employees. When the project was assigned, the chief executive officer stated that the project needed to be completed by the end of the year. Everybody nodded their heads, did not say another word, and then started working on the project. This client had immature planning processes and felt they did not have time to plan the project and should just get going. The project manager selected was one of the CEO’s favorite managers and felt that she would be fantastic at leading the effort. Fast forward nine months: the project was not going well. The project manager was afraid to tell the CEO about the current progress because she felt she could turn the project around in time. The project team was disjointed and demoralized, because team members felt they were working twice as hard but did not seem to be making any progress. Almost every person on the project team knew that the project would fail; however, this information was not making it back to the CEO. Because the CEO had heard that the project was going well, he went before the stockholders and announced the plans for the new platform at the end of September and stated it would be live at the end of December. Now, the company was committed. In order to make the date, the team all agreed that they would roll out the new platform on December 31, with the instruction, “Please do not use this software yet.” By doing this, they could say to the CEO that the project went live at the timeframe promised. When the project team was surveyed, they were asked if they thought that this result is really what the CEO wanted. Astoundingly, almost all of them said that it was. A couple team members said that they were pretty sure the CEO wanted it to work, but that if he said December 31, then he meant December 31. Obviously, this is not what the CEO wanted. There was a crucial moment in which this project needed to hit a timeframe to save face, and this moment was at the stockholder meeting in September. The team knew the project was doomed to fail long before then, but the CEO was left in the dark.

This story illustrates the many misconceptions that occur in project management. First, the selection for the project manager was not the right decision. Although, she was a fantastic department manager, she did not have the skills to manage people outside of her direct influence. Second, the dates were mandated to a point, but at no time were any options given to the CEO for decisions. Third, the project manager and team failed to give the proper status to the CEO; finally, the team was hoping for the best during each step hoping to score when they needed to have a more methodical game plan. The unfortunate part of this story is that it happens in almost every major company.

The story continues with the value of project management. Often, we do not see this value, because all we are asking project managers to do is execute poor decisions! Project managers do not have the ability to select or influence the date, budget, or requirements of the project, and many times a project manager doesn’t have the skill set to understand what is missing from the project because he or she is the wrong person for the job. Then, the company looks at the project manager and the missed result and states that there is no value in project management. This practice is one that must change in order for businesses to realize the results that are realistically attainable.

An Alternative to Apathy or Acceptance of the Mediocre

Many project managers are frustrated. They have been trained in a process, which we know works, but the constraints of the organization prevent them from using the process. This paper will teach much more than the theories on how to become successful in project management. It will discuss how to determine the value of project management and give direct answers on how to stop playing the games that continue to devalue the profession of project management. Some may view these suggestions as the project manager playing games themselves, which is not the case. The tips and techniques offered in this paper are used to level the playing field and get companies and organizations that do not value the process of project management to begin to understand why the process is what it is. The reasons projects fail have not changed since we started tracking the causes, nor have the ways to prevent common failures. Companies just seem to refuse the common principles of project management. The goal of the systems described in this paper is to expose the flawed thinking in a constructive manner that allows the education and implementation of the proper processes. For example, let’s look at the process of risk management. A simplistic view of the process, as we are taught is (Exhibit 1):

Exhibit 1: What we are taught

However, in most companies the process is (Exhibit 2):

Exhibit 2: Process in most companies

This graphic is an oversimplification of the issues but is used as an example of what happens in thousands of organizations. Here are some actual quotes from sponsors and stakeholders on projects:

• “This project has no risk, because it must be done on time.”
• “We don't believe in work breakdown structures here.”
• “Our organization does not allow you to use PERT.”

Unfortunately, you have probably heard some of these quotes as well. Before we begin to explore some of the techniques presented in this paper, we assume the following:

• You understand the process of project management or, if you have not learned the proper process, you will.
• You believe in the process of project management and understand what it takes to create a proper and true project plan.
• You will not accept status quo or failure as a norm.
• You truly believe that, with the right techniques, one person (namely, you) can make a difference in your organization!

To be clear, the intent of this paper is not to shortcut or bypass any of the standard project processes. The paper offers defined and tested techniques to allow individuals to teach their organizations to stop playing games and start reaping the rewards that proper project management can bring.

Game #1 - The Pricing Game

In the popular television game show, “The Price is Right,” the final game is called the “Showcase Showdown.” Contestants must look at a showcase and estimate the price. The contestant closest to the actual price without going over, wins the prize. If the contestant gets within $200 of the actual retail price, he or she wins both! The contestant generally has roughly ten seconds to come up with an answer, which is much like a sponsor passing a project manager in the hallway and asking him or her for a quick budgetary figure for a project.

How to stop this game:

•     Utilize PERT - PERT (program evaluation and review technique) is a formula that assists project managers in estimating the unknown. The actual formula is (best case + (4 x most likely) + worst case)/6. To assist in estimating and thwarting hallway conversations, utilize PERT. Present three to four numbers to the person asking the question to establish context and create a range versus a single number for estimates.
•     Use risk and risk information - It is difficult to fend off a hallway conversation. A key tip is to memorize the last two projects that went over budget. When asked to give an estimate in the hallway, try to use the past projects as reasons you feel uncomfortable throwing a random number out.
•     Coming under budget can be just as bad! - People tend to pad their estimates, which goes against the principles of true project management. Padding is a dangerous technique because it can cause an inflated budget, which in turn causes some projects to be rejected. This game is played during every budgeting cycle and there are countless negative aspects to the practice.

Game #2 - Guess the Truth!

Most studies of failing projects point to the inexperience of the project manager, which I believe is true, but not for the same reasons. My definition of experience is how much information the project manager will share. New project managers engage in the game of covering up information or only revealing portions of the truth in fear that it will reflect poorly on them. In reality, they often engage executives by making them guess which one on the panel is truly giving them the right information. This game can damage the reputation of the project manager and do irreparable harm to the relationship with the executive.

How to stop this game:

• It is what it is! Do not sugar coat any status, and do not fear telling the true status of the project. Eventually, the truth will come out and which side do you want to be on when it does?
• Force the decision, ask for what you need - Many times project managers feel the need to make a decision on a project. In reality, many of the decisions should be made at the executive level. The role of the project manager is to facilitate the project and keep it on track. However, when tough decisions are needed, it is the role of the project manager to present options to the sponsor, not make the decision themselves.
• Make assumptive statements - Stop asking yes or no questions. They should be phrased as either/or questions. For instance, do not ask if you can have three resources; instead, ask the question with the consequence stated. The question is, “I need three resources or the date will slide four weeks. What would you like to do?”
• Don't throw it if you don't know it - If you do not know the answer to the question, it is perfectly acceptable to tell the person you will get back to him or her. Answering quickly with incorrect information can be detrimental to the project.

Game #3 - Password

Project managers become creatures of habit. In doing so, we often teach our teams to only think or communicate about the project once a week. This is because project managers fall into a rut and only communicate during status meetings. If you have the “Password,” you can achieve the project results you desire.

How to stop this game:

• Communicate often - Make sure you are communicating with the team more than once a week during the status meeting. Make sure you follow up on a regular basis, which will encourage the team to be more productive on the project.
• Change your methods of communication - So many project managers only communicate with the team during the status meeting, which trains the team to only think and discuss the project once a week. By performing personal visits, regular telephone calls, impromptu meetings, and other forms of communication, the team will be more focused on the project tasks.

Game #4 - The Right Price

Project managers often face the need to engage the services of other groups or are called upon to manage vendor contracts. There can be many awkward conversations about the value the vendor brings for the amount of money the organization is willing to pay. The conversation is generally, “How much will this cost?” The reply is, “Why? How much do you have?” There is an innovative new technique used to define the two biggest project variables: scope and cost.

How to stop this game:

• Pricing estimator - A pricing estimator is a variation of a WBS and PERT. It breaks down activities and shows common estimates. The customer can then choose the number of each of the activities needed for the project; in doing so, they are establishing scope for the vendor. This is an innovative way to take the tension of cost off of the table and move right into scope.
• Honest conversations - The most important way to arrive at the right price is to have honest conversations. Most people in negotiations wage an inner war with themselves on how much information to reveal and what cards to hold on to. It is best to just put all the cards on the table and have an open and honest conversation. Those who do will find that the business they receive will result in a long-lasting partnership.

Game #5 - Hit The Rodent!

This game is one of the most frustrating for project managers and has to do with scheduling tools. For example, when you create a task and an assignment in Microsoft Project and then add another resource, the duration will be cut in half. The project manager will then increase the duration and the date will move. The project manager tries to move the date and then the work will decrease. Every time the project manager “hits a rodent,” another one pops up!

How to stop this game:

• Make an investment in learning the tools - For every hour a project manager spends learning and understanding the scheduling tools, he or she receives many more hours of benefit. These tools are vital to success and must be understood to truly succeed as a project manager.
• Without data, how do you know what you need? - In Game #2, assumptive statements were suggested. It is impossible to know what is really needed on the project unless the time is spent and the data are accurate within the tool.
• Forcing results in project schedules breaks the premise for the application itself - For those who become frustrated, many resort to manually typing dates in, which actually constrains the tool and removes all of the algorithms utilized in scheduling. If this is done, there is no possible way a project manager knows how long a project is going to take or what the current status is.

Game #6 - Marco! Polo!

Most project managers have heard a sponsor at some time state, “We don't have time to plan, we must get started!” Welcome to the game of “Marco! Polo!” It is absolutely impossible to run a project without a plan.

How to stop this game:

• Running a project without a project plan - This is equivalent to sailing the ocean with no map or compass. How do you really know where you are going if there is no plan? You must insist on having the time to plan. Running a project with no plan is the number one cause of project failure.

Game #7 - Armchair Quarterback

One of the most dangerous games out there is the “Armchair Quarterback.” This is a practice in which project managers challenge other project managers. I would like to believe that many of the readers would do the right thing if given the opportunity. Many of the games played are due to the circumstances one is given. Without understanding what had occurred, it is very dangerous for a project manager new to an existing project to criticize the outgoing project manager. This is a practice that must be stopped.

Rules of the Game

Here are some universal truths about project management:

• Always get to the data - Data rule all. If I have more data than you, I win. Project management is all about planning, analysis, and communication; data is the most important aspect of all of these. Make sure you are always getting to the data, and utilization of the right data will make you wildly successful in project management.
• Make sure you are following your principles - If you are in conflict with your own principles, then navigating the project is going to be just as bad. Make sure that, whatever you do, you can look at yourself in the mirror and know you did the right thing. If you follow your principles, then you will really reap the rewards.
• Take care of your team - Project management is about mobilizing teams to do things that have never been done before. Make sure that you embrace and take care of your team members, because they are the ones who are truly making you successful. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
• Trust in your training - The reasons for project failure have not changed in quite some time, nor have the ways of failure prevention changed. For some reason, we just continue to fail to utilize our training. The process of project management works! Follow the process, and you will win the game.

How to Win the Game

“You play to win the game!” -Herman Edwards, Head Coach, New York Jets

Herman Edwards said it best: “You play to win the game.” The games that have been shared in this paper are games that are consistently played across organizations. Executives, team members, and project managers have been engaged in this behavior for decades. What is amazing is the fact that we all know that these are the games, the rules of the games, and how to play them. However, we rarely talk frankly about the games and put a stop to them. It is time to start having frank conversations about statuses, completion dates, budgets, requirements, and the organization as a whole. Most employees want to see their businesses grow and thrive. If that is the case, then why do we continue to play games that are detrimental to the organization, profession, and the bottom line? The answers are: trust and communication.

If you trust in your training, communicate honestly, and follow the principles of project management, you can and will win the game. The goal is to get the sponsors, stakeholders, and team members to stop playing games so that we can start focusing on honest conversations and true project planning. When the games stop, companies win!