How To Succeed With Many Endeavors
Second – After being recently approached, I’m now in partnership to have my other wine related blog site—Vino Voices—internationally syndicated with a New York based company that syndicates content for, among others, The International Monetary Fund, The Economist‘s blogs, The Business Insider and The Huffington Post. I’ll let you know whether that will impact this site (probably not).
Third – Here is some brief, sage and free advice on how to successfully manage any project.
I spent 25 years managing projects and performing overseas consultancies while living in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, the U.S. and Europe. I worked for a massive U.S. engineering corporation, for environmental consulting companies and for multiple international development organizations and agencies.
In my last two positions I managed portfolios worth approximately a quarter-billion dollars apiece.
Each project I have worked on has been completed ahead of schedule, on (or under) budget, and to the client’s satisfaction.
Perhaps it was just luck or fortune, or the vagaries of time.
However, if asked, I would suggest a few simple steps.
Just a few.
The steps are simple.
You can apply them to any project you are involved with in life—whether fixing a garage door or writing a book or running a multimillion dollar project.
The first step is seeing the end first.
Simple visualization techniques are summarized in many books, including my own book Visual Magic. Just three to five powerful seconds can lead to successful months, or years, of project management.
Here are a few other key steps that can help lead to successful project outcomes.
- Stay two steps ahead.
Staying one step ahead is good. But not good enough. Strive for two steps, so that when questions roll in (they will) you will answer them with confidence. In fact, you’ll knock them out of the ballpark with such vigor that only the brave and intelligence will dare risk asking you another question, leaving you free to get on with your work. See where you are going, and anticipate what is around the corner. Make a weekly plan. Also a three month plan. Remember—effective project management is just the intersection of a specific goal, a specific date, and a specific person (or team) responsible for accomplishing that work.
The practice of staying two steps ahead has a secondary beneficial effect: it helps moderate communications and reduces emotional outbreaks. Many times when a client and donor held a meeting and emotions flew and communications frayed, they inevitably came to our technical group with questions. Once we provided rock solid, objective input—based on staying two steps ahead with our work—tempers almost immediately deflated. More importantly, our projects stayed on course, and on schedule.
Work calmly, methodically and sequentially when possible. You don’t need to thrash with energy and constantly try to control reality. That’s going over the top. That’s the birth of a micro-manager, or the genesis of a person in need of eventual therapy.
Don’t overdo it. Just do it.
- Use a systems approach.
Systems are for the intelligently lazy. Imagine heating a room. It takes time and effort before the room is heated. But once it is, it requires only a small shot of heat now and then to maintain equilibrium. Same as with your project. Work hard at the beginning to set up systems—procedures, routines and methodologies that you can replicate again and again for success.
A poor leader calls ad hoc meetings in an emotional frenzy and yells at staff. A good leader sets regular and consistent times for meetings, knocks off a standard agenda cooly and in sequence, then takes Friday afternoon off to go skiing. When you implement effective systems, staff will arrive on Monday clear about their tasks for the week, and aware of what they can realistically accomplish. Why? Because they met for a half hour the previous Friday to plan out their next week. (Remember? Stay two steps ahead.)
When you have no systems in place you will constantly tackle short-term problems as they flare up, your staff will work late and with little direction and will appear tired and unhealthy. They will eat poorly and stress out because they don’t know what tomorrow will bring. They will complain that their family lives are becoming harried and disjointed.
Put intelligent and replicable systems into place, and staff will happily work reasonable hours to accomplish challenging goals ahead of schedule, and with relative ease.
- Decide that you will begin and end a project.
This may sound like simple drivel. But it’s important.
Years ago I read of a popular ‘Dear Abby’ letter in which the writer said that they wanted to study medicine, but if they did they would not be finished until they were 40 years old. And Abby wrote back, asking them how old they would be at that time if they did not go to med school. The same.
Beginning a project that you believe in, or have been hired to implement, is important. But it’s a waste of time beginning an endeavor if you are not committed—via making a conscious and clear decision—that you will complete the effort, and successfully so. If you are going to make the effort, what benefits do you eventually expect? And if you don’t undertake the project, what will you do instead?
- Make a tentative plan before you take action.
Make a plan and stick with it. It’s like computer programming. If you spend more time planning out the original overall route, or algorithm, then you will have less delays once you begin writing code. Neglect to do that, and you will be completely bogged down in the details of writing code when you realize that you are headed in a completely wrong direction. You will need to begin again. Suddenly, you’ve doubled the time necessary to complete the project. Same as with any project. Plan intelligently, then execute.
Identify the staff and resources and funds you need. If you don’t know, solicit intelligent input from those with ample experience and a track record for success. Ask questions. Ask more questions. Scrutinize for details and see if you can discern the hidden hinges on which the power of the situation swings.
Sometimes, a back of an envelope general plan is better than a detailed, but incomplete plan. What did General Patton say? ‘A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.’
That notion helped win the Second World War.
- Stay clear of crowds when possible.
Keep your mind clear and sharp, your vigor untainted by negativities. Focus on the final project. See the goal, not the obstacles. When you are successful, others may clamor to take credit, to discredit you, or to usurp your power. One of the most astounding truths about reality is that most people are more interested in keeping their secure position than in actually accomplishing anything. I mean ANYTHING. It’s bizarre, but true. If you are one of those people? Get a life. If you are not, then create and nurture the mental and physical pathways leading to your objective, and move on despite the howls of any madding crowds who are intimidated by someone who takes bold action.
- Read the situation before you even begin.
The first phone call you have with a prospective client, the first email you receive, the way you are sent a plane ticket and every detail of your early communications with an organization reverberate with the professionalism of how the eventual situation will likely pan out. My father used to tell me, if you want to gauge the quality of a restaurant, visit their toilets. If the toilets are unkempt and dirty, so too will be the kitchen. It’s the same with managing a project. If your clients can’t organize themselves to get to a conference call on time, can’t send you clear instructions or book your flight and hotel with utter competence, then that lack of professional organization will likely be reflected in the situation to which you arrive.
I once watched a documentary about a famous horse rider who had won multiple world class championships. He told how, when he sat on a new horse, he was able to sense the feelings of the horse, its mood and state of being, within five to ten seconds of being in the saddle. So too it is with life and work and consulting. If the people hiring you don’t coordinate themselves and communications professionally—the situation you are being sent to will likely be the same, and likely worse. Get the vibe of that horse as soon as you get in the saddle in order to read the creature. That will help you better anticipate future needs.
- Focus on a major goal, and lesser goals will fall into place.
If you spend too much time mired in day to day problems, then you will likely continue to swim in an ocean of irrelevant minutiae.
See the Big Picture—the major goal, and make strategic moves necessary to achieve it. Bizarre serendipity accompanies this. When I am galvanized to achieve a large goal—in work and in life—unexpected situations and scenarios help deliver lesser goals, often when unexpected. [I mentioned this in the introduction to my fictional book River of Tuscany as one of the ‘Twelve Lessons of Rivers that Apply to Life.’ It is also lesson two in my book Leadership Lessons from an Irish Chieftain.]
Finally, don’t forget to laugh now and then.
It’s life, so live it!
Don’t be afraid to go out and learn for yourself.
Thanks again for tuning in.
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