The simplest path between any two points is a straight line.  The logic of geometry cannot be argued, however, geometry does not necessarily mirror the journey required to deliver a project on time and within budget.  Why?  Because the simplest path is not always the most reliable path.  There can be one or more obstacles.  Unless you have thought through the contingencies available, you may be missing the point (no pun intended).

A contingency plan, a.k.a. plan “B”, is a necessity.  In fact, there may be circumstances which really require more than one contingency plan in order to mitigate project risks.  You may need a plan “C” or perhaps even a plan “D” in order to achieve the milestones or deliverables you’ve defined.  There are generally two options available to you:

1.  Find one or more alternate routes.
2.  Return back to a known, secure state until the obstacle is removed.

Each option may have disadvantages.  Finding one or more alternate routes in order to reach your objective could result in compromising promised completion dates, promised functionality or some combination of both.  Returning back to a known, secure state can obviously compromise your time line, but may be appropriate in order to minimize the risk to existing systems or processes. 

Making the decision between these two choices requires a candid assessment of the lesser of two evils.  The important point to remember is to never put the project or client in jeopardy based upon wishful thinking or the desire to simply move forward.  Doing “whatever it takes” to get the job done within a fixed time frame can exhaust resources while escalating uncertainty.  Leave yourself some options, which should be exercised as early as possible.  The sooner you identify the problem and take corrective action, the less likely you are to miss deliverable dates.  And when considering options, it is worth your time to apply a little math to the analysis.  Each option should be judged based upon probability of risk multiplied by the severity associated with that risk.  The options with the lowest scores will point you in the right direction.

The value of contingency planning was demonstrated during one of my first consulting jobs as a project manager almost 20 years ago.  A very large bank had acquired another very large bank and needed to merge 401(k) retirement systems.  The director in charge of the IT department invited me to his office on the first day.  He offered to provide whatever resources I needed in order to complete the mission, which would last approximately 12 months.  But that offer came with one stipulation.  I remember his exact words:

“Craig, just tell me which you need as early as possible and I will make sure that you get it.  Just don’t come to me four weeks before the completion date and tell me that you’re going to be late in delivering.” 

 That initial heart to heart talk was my motivation for taking contingency planning seriously from the very beginning.  And that mindset continued right down to the final implementation script, which was critiqued in a meeting by approximately 40 people. During that review, the IT Director pointed to me and proclaimed to his staff:  ”This was a good hire!” 

Why? 

Because I never bet the farm.  There was always the plan “B” ready and waiting.

Goldplating. Say that word out loud. It sounds really great rolling off the tongue. But wait! As rich and wonderful as it sounds, it is a dangerous trend when it starts to become the norm on your project.

As conscientious project managers, we all want our customers to be happy. So what’s wrong with making them ecstatic? What’s wrong with giving them more than they need?

Although goldplating is typically a product-related term used to indicate that the technical team is overeager or trying to find an opportunity to use new technology, features or other “bells and whistles” on your project, the tendency to over-deliver may not be confined to the technical staff.

Maybe you can rein in your developers and impress on them that goldplating is not a bargain. You can give the speech on goldplating and how it can increase operation and maintenance costs and reduce quality. But what do you do when it’s your managers and you that start to over-deliver? How can you keep perfectionists and over-achievers from going that extra mile?

The prospect of delighting, not just satisfying, your customers is appealing. But if you and your managers spend precious resources on the extras, your budget and your project are going to be out of control.

Some critical keys to project success are managing expectations, managing scope, monitoring and controlling the project execution. And, after all, it’s an accepted tenet of project management that success is delivering to the customer’s requirements, not their wish list. This is a bitter pill for us baby-boomer over-achievers to swallow. We feel guilty, as if we’re shirking a duty. But, swallow it we must. Maybe it’s enough to know that by doing so we can deliver projects on budget, on time and within quality standards.

Project Managers are notorious for it. On top of business jargon we add our own unique language and terms. Writers on Star Trek call it technobabble, we can call ours PM-speak. We have our own language and acronyms, just as every organization has their favorite sayings and acronyms. Wouldn’t it be nice if we were all issued a universal translator or babble fish when we walk into an organization? But we aren’t, and we have to figure it out as we go along. We have to make an effort to be clear when we speak to others while also making sure that we understand those using lingo on us.

Why are they using that lingo? Does everyone understand the message the same way? Often, the answer is no, even when we are trying. But everyone does not always try, which makes it worse.

I am sure we can all think of a person who is notorious difficult to understand. Some people do this to demonstrate membership in a special club, like some inside joke or story. Some people do it to purposely remain vague and keep people guessing. They like the control and/or think it gives them flexibility. Some do it to show their knowledge without realizing that others aren’t impressed because they are too occupied in their minds trying to figure out what is being said. Others are vague and speak in jargon without realizing they are doing it and without realizing the impact of their strange language. Speaking in terms that not everyone understands clearly allows for different interpretations at best and confusion, frustration and rework at worst. This often leads to decreased morale and late deliverables.

How can we avoid falling into this trap? Here are some tricks I have used:

1. Cliches and acronyms: I have found that when teaching classes, I make more of an effort when I know I have an audience new to the topic or when the audience is made up of non-native English speakers. This helps me catch clichés and acronyms. I didn’t realize how often I used clichés until making this effort. At first, I would struggle to make my point without using a favored cliché. With practice, it gets better.
2. Local terminology: Make an effort to watch local or geographic terminology as well as proper names. To catch other technical or project management-specific terms, watch for glimpses of confusion or too-quick agreement from the other party. Also, think back to when you were just out of school and beginning your first professional job. How did it feel to listen to those around you discuss things that you did not fully understand? Make yourself aware of industry-specific or company-specific terms that you may be using. You have probably been using them for so long you don’t even think about it anymore. If your audience consists of people outside your organization or new to your organization, they will not be familiar with your organization’s culture, pet phrases, stories, history, and possibly organization chart. They may not know very simple things like division or document names. Something as simple as that can confuse people. When a term or name is thrown out that the other person is not familiar with, they will switch their focus from listening to you to internally trying to figure out what you meant. They will then fall further behind in comprehending the conversation, creating a spiral that may be difficult to break without some (or much) back-tracking.
3. Organize and rehearse: Carefully think through your message and how you will convey it before you speak. Mentally rehearse key or tricky discussion points ahead of time where necessary. It will make a difference.
4. Watch the body language: Most of the message received during communications is non-verbal, which includes your body language. When you are speaking to someone in person or using video conferencing, remember that body language will override your words if the two are not aligned. Don’t let the rolling of your eyes or sarcastic tone discourage the other party from speaking up if communications are not clear. Try to be empathetic and remain open-minded.

What techniques have you used to avoid misunderstandings? If we all share a tip, together we can get better.

Recently, we have seen some good and bad examples in the news regarding reacting to making mistakes. Professionally, what can we learn from these?

First, let’s discuss different reactions to mistakes. There are three approaches to handle a mistake: apologize right away, apologize to save face and don’t apologize at all.

There was the recent baseball game involving the Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga. Up until the end of the game, he had pitched the elusive perfect game, retiring 26 straight batters. It appeared that batter #27 was easily out but the umpire called the runner safe, causing the game not to go down in the record books as a perfect game. Later that evening, when umpire Jim Joyce saw replays, he realized he made a bad call which cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game.

Joyce had the presence of mind to know and admit when he made a mistake. The next day, Joyce admitted his mistake and expressed real remorse in his apology to Galarraga, saying that he hasn’t forgiven himself. To his credit, Galarraga graciously accepted the apology, recognizing that there are times when mistakes are made.

A second example of a recent mistake we have heard plenty about in the news is the BP oil spill. Here, as with Toyota earlier this year, BP refused to admit wrongdoing on their part, finding many other items and people to blame. Finally, when BP’s CEO Tony Hayward did issue an apology in a TV commercial, it was largely seen as insincere, inauthentic. They appeared more sorry to have gotten caught than for the tragedy caused.

A third approach is to ignore the mistake entirely as demonstrated by FIFA and Malian referee Koman Coulibaly. After countless hours of watching video tape no one seems to be able to explain the mysterious foul that caused the final goal scored by the U.S. to be disallowed. This led to a draw between Slovenia and the U.S. and could have ramifications later in the tournament. So far, even though the game report claims a foul on Edu of the U.S. team, FIFA has not responded to the criticisms levied by the international media.

Why do I mention these situations? Because as leaders, managers or employees in the business world, we can learn from the actions of others. Is your project going to be late? Are you starting to run over budget? Did an unexpected event occur that you don’t have a plan for? Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes if they are real. If there is a real mistake made, admit it and discuss what is being done to fix it. This doesn’t mean you go around admitting every little thing. Focus on the ones that matter, those with repercussions. Not admitting a mistake or trying to shift the blame to someone or something else doesn’t fool anyone, except maybe yourself. And in the process, you will lose credibility. We would do well to remember this when working with our customers, bosses or team members.

Patrick Lencioni does a good job of describing this in his new book Getting Naked. He discusses how being open, transparent, even vulnerable with clients allows for trust and honest, true relationships to build. His consulting firm has operated on that premise for years and has grown.

There are even consultants now who advise firms on how to make amends, understanding that admitting a mistake could include accepting a possible legal liability. According to the June 13, 2010 Dallas Morning News, Lee Taft of Taft Solutions says that a true apology can have a positive legal effect. For example, in 2004, the Dallas Police Department was involved in a fake drug scandal. Rather than pretend nothing happened or try to blame someone else, the Dallas City Council apologized to victims and announced that new measures would be put in place to make sure this could not happen again. There was a legal risk in admitting this so openly and there were legal awards paid out because of this scandal, but the conclusion by some is that the city paid less than they might have because they removed the “outrage factor” and inflated awards.

Just as there are risks when admitting mistakes, there are risks in not admitting a mistake. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that doctors who make mistakes and stay silent increase their suffering, putting them at higher risk for addiction, burnout or suicide.

What can we learn from all this? Remember that you are not fooling anyone by pretending an error or bad situation didn’t happen. The important thing is that you step up and do your best to fix it. Keep honest and open lines of communication. That can overcome many legitimate mistakes. In summary:

1. Apologize quickly and with feeling, showing that you understand the impact of your actions
2. Offer a solution or remedy if one is available
3. Show how you plan to work this into your process to prevent it from happening again

I have always prided myself on my ability to manage and motivate my team as well as to get many of my employees promoted. I took the time to get to know their business and personal goals, to clear roadblocks, and to coach and develop them. However, it is a little different story when your team is completely virtual.

When I moved to the role of managing virtual team members, some aspects of my old management approach still worked well while others fell woefully short. Even the aspects that worked, though, had to be modified. For example, I couldn’t walk around and casually talk to everyone to see what they were working on, where they were concerned, and understand the daily nuances of the work at hand. This made a difference when communicating with my new virtual team. I found that much as I tried, I couldn’t relate to everyone as well as I used to. I started to be taken by surprise by things that happened (or more often, what didn’t happen), to hear of obstacles that I didn’t know were presenting themselves, etc.

What did I learn from this?

1)      Extra touch. My general management style was still good, but needed to be modified to include good use of technology and more conscious effort to keep in touch with everyone. It takes extra time to talk to people and get to know them. It also means making an effort to schedule a few more and focused meetings. When working remotely, the team default is to stay separate and not schedule any meetings. Also, it is not enough for me to talk to each person individually; I also have to make sure they are talking to each other. Surprisingly, often they aren’t.

2)      Increase feedback provided. In an office it was easy for me to provide ongoing, informal feedback to individuals to let them know how they were doing and to help develop them. Remotely, that is more difficult. I have to make an effort to let people know what has been done well or what was not done as I expected and encourage interaction with that person. I have to create a feeling of trust and openness so the dialogue can occur even when I do not initiate the conversation.

3)      Additional planning. I have to perform additional planning when communicating work to be done. This may include putting instructions in writing or creating more checklists than before. It may also mean creating processes for task management and completion, problem solving or conflict management.  Sometimes, processes need to be created for things taken for granted in a co-located office. Processes for version control, hand-offs, checklists of the common errors in completing work may have to be created to produce a consistent, quality product among scattered team members. 

4)      Use technology, but don’t let team members hide behind it. I had to adapt to relying a little more on lack of touch, such as using email, but not too much, because so much of the message is lost with this method of communicating. In today’s society, the bigger problem is getting people away from email and IM and getting them to actually call and talk to another team member. Yes, more communications are conducted using email and IM, and much of it is fine and has served us well. However, more misunderstandings do arise when using this medium and I have to be ready to step in when necessary to coordinate a call or a meeting to ensure people actually talk to each other to work things out. Other tools such as shared sites or collaborative software are essential.

5)      Meet in person. Make an effort to bring people together in person where possible. Have you ever noticed that you can build a pretty good working relationship with someone over the phone or over email, but once you meet, that relationship has moved to a whole new level? It’s different. That’s the power of face-to-face. Try to get everyone to meet each other at least once. Then the interactions are a little more personal and (hopefully) even better.

Working with virtual teams and PMOs has enough challenges when they are all contained in the USA; however when these teams are global with different time zones and languages, it has a certain dimension that adds “interest” to life!

My first experience with a virtual team was when I based in the UK and was asked to manage a Pan-European project to implement a support service for Hewlett Packard throughout Europe. The application was developed in the US and was being implemented throughout eight European Countries as well as Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

OK so you get the idea – it was certainly a large virtual project. The things that made it interesting to manage were the different cultures, time zones, and languages. Take for example the European cultures – they ranged from those who conducted projects with total precision and accuracy, to those who agreed a course of action then went off and did “their own thing”, to those that tried hard, were great fun to work with, but didn’t always take life too seriously.

In Europe there are only two time zones – UK and European, so this was not a great problem, but we also had regular communications with HQ in Palo Alto on the West Coast – an 8 hour time shift. As for the language issue, I did not adopt the general English approach to languages, “Shout louder in English and they will understand”. I made an attempt to at least show willingness by using my schoolboy French and German which often caused much merriment from my colleagues, leading to everyone resorting to English as the common language – thank goodness.

What were the important lessons I learnt from this experience?

The first one was that for a virtual team, in my opinion it is imperative that the team meets face to face at least once, preferably on a regular basis. I held a kick-off meeting in the UK, then in addition to regular phone conferences we had status meetings every month rotating around the other Countries. When I say “we” I mean just the Project Manager from each Country, not all of the team members. This did of course add to the expense, but in my view the cost was easily justified by the smoother communication and running of the project. There was quite a lot of interdependence between the various Country teams, and trying to negotiate and get another Country to cooperate was so much easier when you had met the person concerned, had a meal and a drink together, and knew something about their family, hobbies, etc.

This leads to communication on a virtual team. This is even more important than with a local team where you can just go and visit a colleague to ask a question and catch up on progress. Communication has to be well thought out and planned taking into account time differences, language issues, project complexities, and cultural differences.

As for the different cultures, I just had to embrace that – I wasn’t going to change their culture, I just had to incorporate it into the plan. Some Countries needed more management or direction, others – once we had agreed a course of action, just went away and did it.

Languages did cause me a problem initially, but it seemed I was the only one who had a problem  – everyone seemed to speak English at least as well as I did, some were even better! There was one Swiss guy who could carry on multiple conversations at dinner in multiple languages, at the same time – I was impressed! In this project I was lucky we all spoke English – had I been dealing with non-European language speakers who could not speak English, it would have been very difficult if not impossible to manage.

I did meet and liaise with the US central developers and the PMs from Asia Pacific and the Americas to discuss any issues and cry on each other shoulders as necessary.

So the key lessons from this and subsequent large virtual teams were to:

1. Meet face to face at least once not just to discuss work but also to socialize and get to know the other team members a little, even though it added cost
2. Allow for and even embrace the different cultures
3. Consider and plan communications very carefully
4. Hope everyone speaks English!! Seriously, this could be a major issue on a global project and it can’t be ignored – a solution to communication and language must be found

We don’t find the concept of trust on most traditional lists of project critical success factors. Yet it may be the number one consideration in establishing and maintaining a high-performing virtual team. While it can be argued that trusting relationships are needed by all teams, they are even more important to virtual teams because of a lack of face-to-face time.

Let’s face it – we wonder what those people are REALLY doing? We email them; maybe call them, but have we ever met face-to-face? Do we share anything of ourselves beyond work issues?  Do we actually see them operate on a daily basis? Are THEY working as hard as WE are?

While multiple media are the channels by which members make the “physical” connection, there is little to no face-face communication in a virtual team. Yet it is only through meaningful interactions that people develop trusting relationships. More importantly, informal encounters (walking through the hallway, meeting in the kitchen), something that virtual team members cannot do even with the most advanced technology, have been shown to provide a common perspective that leads to enhanced collaborations.  

This is yet another challenge for the Virtual Team Project Manager to address. Building and then maintaining trust, which can easily be fractured given time and spatial differences, requires genuinely engaging the team toward that end. If trust can be achieved, more open communication, cooperation, a higher quality of decision-making, and more satisfaction in the decision-making process follows.

Many organizations are struggling today with the concept of incorporating social networks into the workplace. I don’t blame them. There are plenty of issues that immediately come to mind:

• How do you secure the information?
• How do you keep conversations appropriate for the workplace?
• How do you keep people productive?

There is plenty of information out there on this topic. A friend of mine sent me “a stack” of blogs and white papers that he uncovered to help me with some work I’m doing. The more I read, the more impressed I become with the usefulness of the technology and the speed it brings to organizations that embrace it.

As energizing as the technology is, there are those who worry that work will come to a screeching halt while employees tweet, blog, and update their status. Here’s the thing: they already are, whether you have a network or not.

Most organizations probably have a break room with the standard microwave, water cooler and coffee machine. Yours might be more high tech with a vending machine or two, maybe a TV running cable news or company announcements. You might have comfy chairs or even a video game machine. Of course if you are Google you have snacks, food service and even games. At some point in the day, people will gather there and chances are they will: 

• Talk about the business and what they are working on (which you probably don’t want just anyone to hear).
• Talk about something inappropriate (but hey, you weren’t there so it’s not like you’re responsible right?).
• Be unproductive.

To the best of my knowledge, and I admit I haven’t done any research on this, I don’t think anyone is trying to ban break rooms. In fact, more companies are focused on what goes on in the break room as a way to reinforce culture: team message boards, specialized services, recognition walls, fun artwork, etc. (See Google). To make matters worse, many of the people who “pop down” to the break room aren’t being social or engaging in your culture because they are on their Smartphone tweeting about how lame your organization is for not doing more to engage in social media.

So why not encourage dialogue and interaction in a controlled setting? There are some good tools out there that organizations are using to create conversations and accelerate productivity. Tools like Yammer (yammer.com) and even Microsoft Sharepoint encourage the kind of sharing that you desire. These tools have built in search functionality. With some training, your employees can quickly find the information they need. Learning often takes place on the job, with information shared between peers or handed down from supervisor to employee. With unlimited access to a monitored knowledge base, your employees can get immediate answers to performance questions and more importantly can get the right answer rather than the best shortcut.

Finally, in this increasingly virtual age, gathering around the water cooler is hardly feasible. With teams spread out across the globe, tools that shorten the distance between teams and improve working relationships aren’t just nice to have. Tools like these are a competitive advantage.

With the right tools and some cultural motivation, your teams can spend time in virtual space talking about the business, sharing best practices, adding productivity and providing real-time feedback on the state of the business. If that isn’t a strategic advantage, I don’t know what is.

There are many things that motivate. To a point, pay is a motivator. However, that is not the only motivator, and often not the greatest one. What other things are motivating? Well, there are several. Let’s explore them.

For many years, pay and status were the main motivators used to encourage a workforce. For many baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), this is the measurement stick they use to gauge their success and accomplishments. Hard work and sacrificing family time meant earning the corner office and the right position. But toward the end of the boomer generation and as Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) entered the workforce, you started to hear people talk about work-life balance and balancing family needs with those of the organization. Previously, this was not discussed or pursued, at least publicly. However, the next generation questioned this obedience and put a much higher value on balancing the needs of the organization with those of the family. This started a change and success included balance.

As more Gen Xers entered the workforce and as Gen Y (born between 1980 and 1997) now enter the workforce, they have continued this trend by taking for granted the need for work-life balance and adding other dimensions to it. For them, they are motivated by learning, growth, development and by having some autonomy and flexibility at work. They want to be able to choose how they work, and often when. Often, younger workers in IT will show up to work later in the day but work long into the night. If they need some time off in the afternoon to go to their child’s event, they are motivated when they are able to take a few hours in the afternoon to attend the event and then go back and finish the day’s work.

They also want a sense of contributing to a greater good. Rather than just contribute to the organization’s profit margin, they want to improve society or the world. For these people, knowing that a portion of all sales or profits are going to charity can be motivating.

Another motivator is to allow those who grew up with video games, often called gamers, to be a chance to be a hero, just as they are in their video games. Give them a problem and let them find the solution. Gamers believe there is a solution, it just has to be found. To do that, they are willing to take more risks and to try multiple approaches. (see Failure – A Stigma or a Chance to Try Again?)

Yes, these are generalities, and you and I know people who fall in one category but act according to another. Even if you don’t believe the different labels by age, you have to admit that there are different ways of looking at work and of being motivated by it.

When it comes to motivation, the short answer is to tailor your motivation to the person. Accept that there are different preferences, whether it is driven by generational differences or personal preferences. You don’t want to give chocolate to a diabetic or publicly embarrass the very shy exceptional team member. Blanket gifts or awards designed to motivate may actually demotivate when done insensitively. On the other hand, giving a little thought to the award, such as providing a gift certificate for a family portrait to someone who is a family person or a spa treatment to an overworked, overstressed employee, can go a long way. And remember that not all motivation needs to cost money, as earlier examples showed. Job assignments and inclusion also work.

What have you done to motivate different valued team members?

Is failure really failure? To many people, it is an embarrassment and something we are not willing to admit. But for those who grew up in the era of video games, it is truly a chance to try again, to attempt something new or different because the first (or second or third) attempt didn’t work.

The one thing video games has done for us is gotten us used to the idea of failure, known in the video world as dying or falling or being rolled over and flattened or being boo-d off the stage or whatever demise our particular game has thrown at us. Sometimes the failure is even funny. What a gift that is. It removes the stigma of “F A I L U R E” (deep announcer voice here) and allows us to try. If we are too afraid of failing, we are likely not going to be willing to try anything but the most sure approach or solution. That very conservative attitude often does not provide the best solutions, or even lasting solutions. It certainly doesn’t provide new ways of thinking, and often won’t move the team or the project forward enough. If the team is fueled by fear, we won’t get optimum results. This applies to any team, whether it is project or organizational unit or family or sorority / fraternity.

I understand that there are some areas on a project that may not be able to handle the risk of rework if the first approach didn’t work. But we should still foster an environment and culture of reaching for new and better solutions to ensure we are choosing the best path. In those areas where we need to be conservative, we still can be, but there are certainly other areas that need more creative thinking and actions.

Do you have a personal attitude of stretching and exploring or one that only follows the familiar? Have you created a culture of stretching among your team (within the limits of your authority)? Have you created a safe environment where team members are willing to toss out new ideas or approaches and know that they will be considered based on the facts and their merit rather than immediately shot down? What small steps can we each take to begin to foster more of this kind of environment?