Tag: Project Management

Case Study: Project in Flames

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Returned to a old client to complete a Big Data conversion project.  The architecture was bleeding edge technology and not working as expected, the team was drowning in nine different integration and testing environments, and the entire project lacked focused attention. Using only email for tracking per management: coordinated the releases into each environment, tracked the constantly changing purposes for each environment, and handled inconsistent management attention along with an aggressive timeline. All new deadlines were met without any further delays and the client was very happy.

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Case Study: B2C Troubles

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I started with a retail supply company shortly after they had lost their good standing with Amazon for 5 days, costing them approximately $80,000. B2B had been their bread and butter and was operating normally through their warehouse. Their B2C dropship channel was in dire straits. Their core physical problem was their order process required a manual interface between the vendor and the warehouse. For B2B orders that are one order for thousands, this was manageable. But dropships are thousands of orders for one item and that became too cumbersome. Automation was attempted but was unsuccessful. Their core strategic problem was there was no strategic thinking.

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What is team work anyway?

brainstorm imageGetting a project out the door is easy – each person does their part ensuring they aren’t called out as a problem and everyone looks good.  Isn’t project management about team work? NO.

Let’s look at a family and their camping vacation.  Wife packed the food and clothes; Husband packed the gear; Kids packed the games. Overall goal – have fun.  But, everyone has their own agenda and their job matched it – Wife wanted their needs met, Husband wanted to have fun, and the Kids didn’t want to be bored.  That’s a great project and the goal was most likely met…easy, peasy and NOT what teamwork is. Each person worked individually toward a common goal.

Same family, same vacation – tragedy strikes.  On the drive, lightning starts a fire and the highway is blocked.  People are stuck with construction ‘jersey walls’ on both sides.  The winds shift suddenly and the fire heads towards the cars.   300 cars: all kinds of people – old, young, babies, disabled, and pets. Everyone must get out and get to the nearby lake to be safe.  Tweens work together to get the pets.  Women get the mobile elderly, talking calmly to ease their fears – they work with the moms to get the little ones and their critical stuff gathered.  Men work together to carry the disabled and the very slow. Everyone contributes where their strengths lie, and agendas are woven together.   THIS is teamwork.

Brainstorming events are fabulous team work events when individuals speak to their strengths.  If people shared their ideas/their strengths in every endeavor and if they were heard with openness, then our agendas would be woven together, and a better solution would be created.

This is possible.  I’ve seen it and I’ve created it.

karenwiley@appliedteamdynamics.com

Making the Impossible Feasible, then Successful

 

(forgive all gender generalizations in this narrative)

Bullies In the Office

I have had three true bullies in my career – all women. Each situation was different, and each woman was a bully for different reasons and in different ways.  Only one of them was my direct manager.  All made my life miserable and difficult despite my attempts at trying to make things better – part of my job as Project Manager and part of my personality.  Despite every Lifetime movie showing that bullies can be ‘turned around’ – that’s not true for the office where you have no insight into their personal world where the damage is being created.  Forgive me my HR friends, there’s nothing you have done in any of these situations – for the same reason.

Bullying is one of those toxic situations with no way out – like narcissism.  So, what DO you do?  The internet is filled with tactics to help you survive.  But, I think the real answer lies in looking in the mirror and deciding what you want to do with your life. Forget the bully – What is in your best interest?  Do you like what you’re doing? My guess, what you want to do is hard to do.  There are kids, spouses, money, or knowledge in the way.   Most likely there’s fear too.  Change is scary, but change is our only option.

Twins looked at each other in the womb and say “It’s so scary out there.  It doesn’t matter that I can barely move – it’s safe here.”

karenwiley@appliedteamdynamics.com

Making the Impossible Feasible, then Successful

 

An Honest Conversation about Trust

Trust – it means relying on your teammate to do what they said they were going to do.  Well, there wouldn’t be a huge project management industry if everyone did what they said they were going to do.  Sports teams wouldn’t practice for 1000’s of hours if it was easy to create trust.

Trust is crucial in a marriage, required (but repairable) in a friendship, but it’s really non-existent in the office.  Look over at your team mate – do you trust them with your job? Would they trust you with their job?  At best, we trust but verify – that really means we don’t trust at all.  Quite frankly, there’s too much riding on the task/project/effort – your next performance review, your raise, your promotion.  Everyone has their own agenda and without clear communication, each person creates their own priorities out of the tasks in front of them. Don’t even get me started on the trust fall….

Let’s focus instead on how we interact with each other.  Let’s focus on improving our communication skills – upward, downward and lateral.  Let’s focus on asking for what we need out of our systems instead of being stuck with ‘it’s what we always do’.  Let’s focus on expectations and processes – are they appropriate? Speak up if they’re not so you can figure out solutions collaboratively.

Trust is created slowly and only through intention.  Truly great teams have earned the trust between them – be that team! Or ask how you can become one!

karenwiley@appliedteamdynamics.com

Making the Impossible Feasible, then Successful