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BUILDING STRONG
PROJECT BACKBONESIF ONE LINK IS BROKEN, THE ENTIRE CHAIN IS
BROKEN
FAST REVIEW
WE LEARNED THAT THE SIX POINTS PRESENTED LAST CLASS AND ON P. 16-17 OF YOUR TEXT WERE KEY TO HYPOTHESES FINDING – NECESSARY BEFORE ANY COMPLEX PROJECT IS PLANNED OR UNDERTAKEN.
NOW THAT WE KNOW HOW TO UNCOVER HYPOTHESES, WE WILL UNDERTAKE THE NEXT STEPS OF THE JOURNEY TO COMPLEX PROJECT COMPETENCY.
4 CRITICAL STRATEGIC QUESTIONS
1. WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND WHY?--THE MOTIVATING OBJECTIVES ARE OFTEN ILL-DEFINED, POORLY COMMUNICATED, TOO CONSENSUS DRIVEN (AS OPPOSED TO SUPPORTED)
--CATCH PHRASES AND BUZZWORDS TOO OFTEN REPLACE CONSIDERATION AND VALIDATION OF INTENT
RX: LEADERS ASK WHAT AND WHY FIRST, THEN HOW, WHO AND WHEN
2. HOW WILL WE MEASURE SUCCESS?
• METRICS AND MEASURES FLESH OUT AND ANCHOR WHAT THE OBJECTIVES REALLY MEAN
• OVERLOOKING THIS QUESTION IS COMMON – LETS REVIEW OUR CASE STUDY AS PROOF BY EXAMPLE
• TENDENCY TO THINK WE ALREADY KNOW, OR THE PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AUTHORIZED
• “IS DELIVERING CUSTOMER VALUE” A GOAL AS STATED? OR “ATTRACTING VENTURE CAPITAL”?
RX: OBJECTIVES ARE NOT NECESSARILY GOALS AT ALL; WE NEED TO ADD IN OUR MEASURES
3. WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS MUST EXIST?• THIS CARRIES US INTO THE LARGER STRATEGIC CONTEXT IN WHICH WE DWELL
• IT EXPANDS OUR ANALYSIS TO INCLUDE SOME OUTSIDE FACTORS THAT MAY DISRUPT OUR PROJECT OR CREATE MISALIGNMENTS
• AWARENESS OF FACTORS BEYOND OUR CONTROL IS ESSENTIAL – THIS WISDOM ENABLES US TO DO A “PROJECT PRE-MORTEM” AND DEVISE WORK-AROUNDS AND PREVENTION TACTICS
RX – THIS INTELLIGENCE SUPPORTS STRONGER ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HOW THE PROJECT WILL BE ABLE TO SUCCEED - SO WORK AT THIS ASSESSMENT!
4. NOW, HOW DO WE GET THERE?• FIGURING THIS OUT PREMATURELY RESULTS IN A HALF-BAKED, UNSATISFYING AND
OFTEN FRUSTRATING IF NOT NEVER-ENDING PROJECT
• ALTHOUGH THE 4 QUESTIONS ARE ITERATIVE AND INTERCONNECTED, AND MAY NEED TO BE CYCLED THROUGH A FEW DISCUSSIONS, DON’T GIVE THEM SHORT SHRIFT
• NEVER, EVER LEAP TO 4 WITHOUT 1, 2, AND 3 DEALT WITH FIRST
RX – DO NOT RUSH THROUGH THESE ASPECTS OF PROJECT PLANNING, EVEN IF THE PROJECT HAS BEEN DONE BEFORE, UNLESS YOU WANT EXACTLY THE SAME RESULTS AS BEFORE.