Negotiating for Resources

Project resources are always critical to your success.  Acquiring and keeping the appropriate resources requires negotiation skills. Negotiation skills and tactics is a large topic, but boiling it down to the basics for project leaders leads to the following few tips to help you better negotiate with stakeholders (particularly upper management):

1.     Remember that negotiation is a PROCESS, not an EVENT.  Don't be afraid to revisit previous "No's".

   2.     Always begin with a detailed Project Charter.  This will become the foundation for all of your negotiations.

3.     Know how your project aligns with key business strategies.  Only by aligning with key strategies will you have the power to win negotiations.

4.     Agree with Sponsor on the overall priority of your project.  You won't want to ask for resources needed on higher priority projects.  Knowing the priority of your project will allow you to avoid potentially unsuccessful negotiations.

5.     Always reconcile the Charter with the Project Sponsor and the Customer (or Customer advocate).  Get both to sign the charter to document agreement.  This initial agreement will form the foundation for all future negotiations.

6.     Begin every negotiation with common ground.  You and the party with which you negotiate both want project success.  Start there.  Then demonstrate how what you are requesting supports and is necessary for project success.

7.     Never make a concession without the other party making one as well.  Remember to demonstrate the consequences of each concession and do so using the "Language of Management" ($$$$).  Ask for the moon, then give minor concessions.

8.     Always be sure you are negotiating with the right person.  Sometimes this requires that you go directly to the top, not work up through the various levels.  This is dangerous if the previous seven tips have not been followed.

Managing Meetings

Sorry for the break - I've been traveling.  And during those travels, I've had several questions regarding meetings.  So, I think I'll address that topic in this update.

Meetings are a common source of irritation.   The reasons vary from "too many", "no clear purpose", to "poorly managed".  They are frequently seen as a waste of time because many produce no tangible outcomes.  So, within these complaints lay the principles that can make meetings powerful.  They need to be short, focused, with clearly stated outcomes (measurable wherever possible) that are then provided to participants.

Most meetings suffer because we try to accomplish too much in a single sitting.  I've discovered that in the project world, rather than having a one-size-fits-all "Core Team" meeting, where progress is reported and problems are resolved, it is better to break these into separate meetings.  Progress should be reported regularly, so my Status Update Meetings (SUM) are held regularly, calendared at the beginning of the project for the entire project.  Problems should be resolved as quickly as possible, so my Project Adjustment Meetings (PAM) are scheduled as problems are uncovered.

Status Update Meetings:  The format for my SUMs is constant.  Each of these regularly scheduled meetings is 35 minutes in duration.  I apply the following agenda:

1. Items currently on Critical Path (those tasks on the critical path that are currently in progress - 15 Minutes 
   1. Did each task begin on or before the Earliest Possible Start Date (EPSD)? Associated risks / issues and learning - Reported by the task "Responsible For" 
   2. Is each task expected to end on or before the Earliest Possible Completion Date (EPCD)? (Is projected duration still accurate?) Associated risks / issues and learning - Reported by the task "Responsible For"
2. Items coming up on Critical Path (those not yet in progress but expected to begin before next meeting) - 15 Minutes
   1. Is there communication between predecessor task Responsible For and subsequent task Responsible For? Is subsequent task ready to launch at EPSD? Associated risks / issues and learning.
   2. Is each task expected to end on or before the Earliest Possible Completion Date (EPCD)? (Is projected duration still accurate?) Associated risks / issues and learning.
3. Recent mistakes and associated learning. Award of “Dogs” - 5 Minutes

Project Adjustment Meetings:  Project Adjustment Meetings (PAM) are held in response to problems and result in adjustments to project plans.  They are thus held as necessary, as problems are identified in the SUMs.  These are meetings in which creativity and innovation are expected, so I limit them to 2 hours duration.  They are tightly focused on brainstorming solutions to problems with which all core team members can align.  An Alignment Discussion process is used throughout the meeting to ensure both forward momentum and commitment are maintained among all core team members as solutions are generated.

Meetings are more effective when they are focused and short.  Try it . . . . I think you'll like the results!

Managing Difficult Stakeholders

You’ve all had them . .  stakeholders that for one reason or another are difficult to satisfy / manage.  They can make project work difficult, unsatisfying and even dangerous.  I’ve seen them complicate, slow and even derail perfectly healthy projects.  They are the bane of project leaders and seem to be ever present.  Avoiding them is NOT an option; so let’s consider how to improve our ability to manage the difficult stakeholder.

Why So Difficult?  What makes a stakeholder “difficult”?  We’ll address the three most common reasons; 1) They don’t Understand, 2) They don’t Agree With, or 3) They don’t Value / Support  the project.  All three of these reasons lead to pain, and most avoid the pain associated with change by avoiding or confronting the change.  As a change agent, the project leader usually is at the “point” of or driving change initiatives and thus must effectively deal with the resulting resistance.  So having a handful of tactics may be helpful.  Ready?

Understand:  Paramount among reasons for “difficult” stakeholders is fear resulting from lack of or misunderstanding about projects.  It is not uncommon to have stakeholders become resistant when their “comfort zones” are invaded by the ripple effect resulting from your project.  Frequently this happens late in the project as a result of poor stakeholder identification at the beginning of the project or ineffective communication throughout the project.  This will result in delay and potential scope creep, creating huge problems for the unsuspecting project leader.  Communication is the solution to this problem, and preemptive is always better than reactive.   You need to first understand the stakeholder’s perspective and then provide information to alleviate the underlying fear or pain.  This frequently requires creativity, so allow your core team to assist.

Agree With:  We all have beliefs about the way things should be (paradigms) and it is not uncommon to have those beliefs clash.  This accounts for much of the tension with which project leaders must deal.  We are normally threatened when someone disagrees with our view of things, and our first reaction is usually to “dig in” and defend our view or belief.  When we undertake this tactic it only serves to solidify the opposing view and intensify the difference.  Negotiation and Idea Generation are the solutions to this problem.  When project leaders learn to view disagreements as opportunities for creativity and use the energy that normally accompanies such differences to generate alternative ideas / paths / solutions or negotiate trade offs they cease to exacerbate differences and begin to construct bridges to resolution.

Value / Support:  Each of us has values / priorities (personal or work imposed) that address the question “what’s in it for me?”.  Things that we value highly get our attention and effort, and things that don’t, don’t.  Imposing my values or priorities on others does not win their support nor garner much of their energy.  With everything that is going on in busy organizations today, many things don’t earn my interest or attention until they impact me personally (until I am within the ripple or begin to feel the pain).  The solution to this type of difficult stakeholder is education.  They must be convinced of the benefit to themselves to recognize value and behave in supportive ways.  The wise project leader ascertains stakeholder values / priorities as part of their situation analysis at the beginning of the project and uses that information to anticipate potential problems and “educate them away” early in the project.  But even when they spring up during the project, education about benefits is the solution.

Resolving Conflict

Based on your input during the last poll, Resolving Conflict is the topic I'll address in this update. 

Projects are about creating something new.  That requires creativity and innovation.  Most creativity derives from forcing conflicting or opposing ideas together into a new idea, concept, product or service.  It is key to remember that CONFLICT is NOT your ENEMY; unresolved conflict is.  So let’s consider strategies to resolve / manage conflict, and let's begin by recognizing that RESOLVING conflict does NOT mean that one wins at the expense of another.  Most resolution results from the creation of NEW ideas / methods / strategies with which differing parties can align.
 

The Need for Conflict:  In project work we are responding to change.  Solutions that once worked, no longer satisfy needs, so we must depart from what is known.  Rules that previously predicted no longer apply.  Risk is required.  New ideas / perspectives are necessary.  We enter a phase where everything should be challenged and nothing should be assumed.  Some level of conflict with existing processes, policies, standards, etc. is not only desirable but necessary.  However, most of us have worked in the more predictable hierarchal organization and risk and unpredictability in that environment are undesirable and extremely uncomfortable.  Challenging ideas / assumptions that belong to others or are well established is not acceptable behavior in the ongoing operations portion of any organization.  Thus it is important to recognize that your first challenge is to make conflict acceptable and as risk-free as possible for each of your core team members.

 

Managing Conflict:  Frequently perceived to be the enemy, our first instincts are usually to quell conflict and the associated discomfort.  Core team members and stakeholders alike dislike it.  To manage conflict we recommend the following 8-Step process:

1. Recognize it as necessary – ensure all team members recognize its importance to creativity and innovation
2. Point it out when invisible – many times conflict is allowed to boil under the surface.  When you see it, point it out and make it OK
3. Keep it in the open – conflict likes to go underground.  Don’t allow this.  Make it a healthy part of each core team meeting
4. Generate options / alternatives – brainstorm new options that consolidate opposing views / opinions / ideas
5. Hold critique / analysis until generation is complete – Remember, Prescription before Diagnosis is Malpractice!
6. Identify / List assumptions – challenging assumptions rather than positions allows barriers to stay down and consensus to be achieved / maintained
7. Consider consequences – once option generation is complete, then consider consequences of each option.  Challenge assumptions again!
8. Check for consensus – once viable options have been listed, check for consensus.  Consensus exists when everyone on the team agrees that:
• Their ideas / opinions have been HEARD,
• Their ideas / opinions have been CONSIDERED, and
• Everyone agrees to SUPPORT the selected option. 

Leveraging Conflict:  Encouraging / creating conflict early in the creative phases (Initiation and Planning Phases of the project) will do much to establish a healthy project environment.  Conflict is a necessary element of team formation (Storming Phase) and the absence of it will retard team development.  The project leader can do much to encourage healthy conflict by selecting team members with diverse interpersonal styles and perspectives.

Managing Expectation - Part 2

Last week, we started introduced the concept of managing expectations.  This week, let's continue . . .

Meaningful:  We’ve placed information in a context, which will help make it meaningful.  But perhaps paramount in persuasive efforts is to know your audience sufficiently well to target the information against their individual needs.  This requires that you understand and respect their point of view or current expectations.  I’ve found that the first step in the “conversion” process (moving someone from one set of expectations to a different or modified set) is to state and give credence to their current expectations.  Confrontation only solidifies their views by forcing them to defend them.  Hearing my position accurately articulated back to me without bias is very disarming and is the first step in the modification process.  Then providing information that aligns with my individual needs or provides solutions to my problems completes the process.

Convincing:  Something that is meaningful is not always convincing.  Something that improves my situation usually is.  Managing expectations is a process of convincing someone that their current expectations are unrealistic or flawed (incomplete or contain unconsidered costs) and that moving to new or improved expectations is to their advantage.  Convincing requires that you first establish some form of common ground and then demonstrate a compelling case for change.  Uncovering and challenging underlying assumptions is a better means of encouraging change than to challenge information or facts.

Most communication is not as simple as we would like it to be, and communication focused on expectation modification can be very difficult and time consuming.  The difficulty frequently causes us to avoid it (in hopes that things will change without our effort) or hurry through important communications, and the overwhelming amount that is necessary to manage expectations can cause even the most seasoned of us to wince.  When you consider the fact that your job is to build support for the project and leverage that support to successful completion, the importance of this critical function becomes clear and the time seems worth it.

In the next post, I'll review the model used to identify where stakeholder expectations are not aligned.  This model can be quickly employed to develop your alignment strategy and identify specific stakeholders where this type of focused communication is needed.   Until next time . . . .

Managing Expectations - Part 1

Over the next few days, I'm going to address expectations: creating, managing and aligning them.  Most of us are pretty fast to develop them and very slow to want to modify them.   In fact, experience suggests that more than twice the energy needed to create expectations is required to modify them once they are set.  And what does it take to establish or modify them?  Information communicated in a way that is understood, meaningful and convincing.  OK, let’s break that down and see what it takes to apply it in your project environment.

Information:  There is a big difference between information and data.  Data are facts, numbers or details without judgment or conclusions.  Information is analysis that paints a picture or encourages / facilitates / provides conclusions.  Today we are bombarded by both information and data.  Pop-ups, SPAM, advertisements, telemarketers, etc. all competing for your attention.  We are in the information age.  Information is power.  You’ve heard them all.  However, if your experience mirrors mine, very little of it is provided in a way that I find valuable.  And because so much of it fails to meet or align with our needs, we spend a great deal of time avoiding and destroying it.  On the other hand, information that is tied to a specific need very quickly filters to the top of our priority lists and can even promote action. So let’s consider some ways of improving information delivery to stimulate expectation modification.

Understood:  To move me to action, inforamtion must be understood and be affiliated with something that has value to me.  Thus, information must be delivered with a clear context.  It is best prefaced with a clear statement of the need with which it is aligned, and followed by a specific benefit summary.  Good information is also presented in a format that recognizes and meets individual needs.  (For specific information on Profiling Key Stakeholders, refer to the Managing Stakeholders section of your participant materials from the PLE program.  But as an example, if you are expecting a short, concise, to-the-point communication, and get pages . . .  well, need I say more?)  As you might suspect, it needs to be communicated differently to various people, adding complexity and time to your communication efforts. . .  but understanding is key to getting buy-in, commitment, and alignment. 

Creating Ownership

About Ownership: The most commonly identified reason for project failure is lack of individual / team motivation. Motivation derives from an ultimate sense of control over one’s environment, control over what one does, an ability to make choices, and the freedom to express ourselves through, and own what we create. Ownership is “to have control over, independence of outside help or control”. It is plain to see that ownership is tightly linked with motivation, and thus with project success.

Creating Ownership: Perhaps the most challenging task for any leaders is to guide without usurping ownership. Much of what we learn of leadership in the hierarchal organization ultimately limits and often robs groups of ownership. Following are some tips for the project leader on how to use work breakdown structure (WBS) to establish ownership:
û Clearly define “what” needs to be done and ensure the team understands it is owned by the customer / project sponsor
û Share info from project requirements documents AFTER the WBS – sooner robs ownership and minimizes creativity
û Ensure every team member is present, engages and participates in the WBS process
û Answering questions may provide information or limit creativity / steal ownership – THINK before responding!
û Don’t solve problems, encourage the team to continue identifying options until they discover one that all can support
û Ensure consensus; each team member feels heard, considered, and will support ultimate decision
û Hold your opinions / ideas – there will be time after WBS to reconcile them with what the team owns

Maintaining Ownership: Management frustration from lack of visible progress is the most common reason for intervention, and when management intervenes, team ownership is threatened and project success is in jeopardy. Maintaining ownership requires the project leader to create a barrier around the team and protect them from well-intended management “help”. Following are some tips on how to create that barrier and protect ownership by your core team:
û Ensure stakeholder maps are kept current – add new stakeholders as they emerge
û Communicate task and milestone completion regularly to stakeholders – be proactive about communication
û Take communication to stakeholders - if they come to the team they may inadvertently be perceived as a team member
û Report solutions for every problem – demonstrating initiative preserves ownership and prevents potential intrusion
û Keep team and stakeholders focused on project goals and success measures – power / autonomy comes from alignment
û Identify early in the process how the team will handle requests for change – maintaining scope preserves ownership

If you keep your leadership focused on the creation and maintenance of ownership, the probability of project success increases geometrically. Once the team clearly understands the mission, ownership will drives project success!