The Importance of Effective Communication and Reinventing Communication

PMI Government Community of Practice

A Reference Guide to Material from

Reinventing Communication for Successful Projects

based on workshops conducted for PMI UK and APM at

Barclays in Glasgow, Intel in Swindon & ETC Venues in London

25 November - 2 December 2014

by Mark Phillips

© 2014 Mark Phillips | ReinventingCommunication.com

2

Source: ReinventingCommunication.com

3Source: ReinventingCommunication.com

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Communication is 90% of our time.

• Communication is not part of the work we do.

• Communication IS the work we do.

Source: Reinventing Communication

5

Communication Determines Project Outcomes

Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014

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Does the Communication Environment of Your Organization Impact Project

Performance?

YES

Source: ReinventingCommunication.com | Survey of over 200 participants in a project management webinar, November 2014

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Does Your Organization Have a Good Communication Environment?

NO

Source: ReinventingCommunication.com | Survey of over 200 participants in a project management webinar, November 2014

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– SCOPE: Organizations that are highly effective

communicators meet original project goals 80% of the

time. Minimally effective communicators meet original

project goals 52% of the time.

– SCHEDULE: Organizations that are highly effective

communicators are more likely to deliver projects on time:

71% of the time versus 37%.

– BUDGET: Organizations that are highly effective

communicators are more likely to deliver projects on

budget: 76% of the time versus 48%.

Source: PMI, Pulse of the Profession™ In-Depth Report: The Essential Role of Communications, PMI, 2013

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– FAILURE: 1 out of 5 projects are unsuccessful due to

ineffective communication.

– RISK: Of the US$135 million at risk on every US$1 billion

spent on projects, US$75 million, over 50%, is on the line

because of poor communication.

• A bad communication environment creates mistrust among

people and an unproductive work environment.

• A bad communication reduces an organization’s solution

delivery capabilities.

Sources: PMI “Communication: The Message is Clear”, PMI White Paper, December 2013 | Johnson and Johnson, “Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills, 7th

Edition”, Allyn and Bacon, 2000 | Phillips, “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects”, Gower Publishing, 2014

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The communication

environment determines how

people react when bumps

happen in the project.


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The communication environment

determines what has been

surfaced beforehand and what

will be surfaced now.


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A Bad Communication Environment Leads to

Miscommunication on Framing Assumptions

a leading cause of Nunn-McCurdy Breaches

Source: US DOD, PARCA “2013 Report on the Performance of the US Defense Acquisition System”

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A Bad Communication Environment Leads to

Conflict and Mistrust

Source: Reinventing Communication | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation

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Conflict and Mistrust Cost Money and Time

Source: Reinventing Communication | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation

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Conflict arising during construction projects costs approximately

$11,000 per incident and 161 (20 days) hours of work time.

Managers spend 30% - 42% of their work time dealing with conflict.

For every hour spent resolving conflict, the average project is set

back 3 hours.

If 30% of the time is spent resolving conflict, that’s roughly 700

hours per year. If every hour sets back a project by 3 hours, that

translates into more than 2,100 hours of schedule delay and cost

per year.

And that increases the more sub-contractors and sub systems you

have in the program.

Sources: "The Cost of Interpersonal Conflict in Construction" Julie L. Brockman, Ph.D., Michigan State University, The Center for Construction Research and Training, December

2012 | Construction Management and Resolution by Peter Fenn and Rod Gamesone | “The Cost of Conflict” Mark Phillips, EVM Europe 2013 Symposium Presentation

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Redefinition of Communication on Projects


17Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects” Gower 2014

18Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication: How to Design, Lead and Manage High Performing Projects” Gower 2014

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An effective budget spend moves the project forward, not simply

making sure the money reached the recipient’s bank account.

The same is true of communication.

Effective communication moves the project forward. It is not simply

that the communication was understood by the receiver.


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As leaders

it is our job to be aware of the

communication environment

as a constraint, work within it and

seek to create

more effective communication

and a

more effective communication environment.


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Communication impacts

scope, schedule, budget and risk.


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How can we improve communication?

Communication Objects and

Communication Object Elements.


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Communication Objects

Communication Objects are the artifacts generated by the

process of communication. A communication object is more than

the information it is meant to contain; it is made up of numerous

elements, including descriptors of the container itself. This is

much like how an in-person conversation between two people is

made up of non-verbal elements as well as the words in the

conversation. Communication Objects encompass the “non-

verbal” elements of communication and are a reflection of the

design of the communication environment.

Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014 & ReinventingCommunication.com/glossary

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Measurable

Communication Actions (MCA)

A Measurable Communication Action (MCA) is a single unit of measurement

of communication in an environment. It provides a means to measure and

integrate multiple communication methods, communication elements and

design decisions into a single unit of measurement. It can be made up of a

single method of communication or multiple methods of communication.

The methods can be added together, giving all methods equal weight, or

different methods can be weighted when combining them into an MCA. The

weighting can reflect variables such as the relative value management places

on each form of communication or the strictness with which communication

design decisions are enforced for each method of communication. It can

reflect the phase of the project or the expected activities for that period of

time. It can be tweaked to increase sensitivity towards one method of

communication over another to facilitate management awareness of

unpredicted behavior.


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Communication Evaluation Exercise

© 2014 Mark Phillips

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Where do you spend your

communication time?

Write Down the Top 10

Communication Objects/

Measurable Communication Actions

You Generate


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(Specific MCA’s)


Communication Effectiveness Assessment

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Why Do You Generate It?


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You Generate (MCA’s)




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Is it moving the project forward?

Are these the most important places to

spend your communication time?


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Communication

Objects You

Generate (MCA’s)

Why Do You

Generate It?

Project Goal

How Important is the

communication to

advancing the

project goals?

(A,B,C,D,E)

[A is most important]

How effective is the

communication in

advancing the

project goals?

(1,3,5,11,21)

[1 is most effective]



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Make all A’s into A1’s.

Focus your time on A1’s.


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We can improve the effectiveness of our

communication by understanding

Communication Object Elements

and how they impact our communication.

Change the Elements to Improve Communication


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Communication Object Elements

Communication Object elements are the full range

of measurable aspects of a communication object and

are descriptors of a communication object.

They play an important role in how communication

object are used, telling us about the communication

environment and the people in the environment. They

are generated by applying an analytic tool or method to

communication objects.


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Elements of Communication Objects

Time of Day

Day of the Week

How Much You Broadcast to an Audience

Is it a Boundary Object?

And more…


36Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin..

37Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin..

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Slide on amount broadcast

to audience.

Source: Mark Phillips “Reinventing Communication” Gower 2014, Image used with kind permission of Seth Godin.

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Communication

Objects You

Generate (MCA’s)

Time of Day Sent Day of the Week

Sent

How often is this

communication

sent?



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Make Changes to Specific Elements

and Log Effectiveness as of specific

status dates.

Log what works to generate

communication best practices.


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Communication

Objects You

Generate (MCA’s)

How Important is

the communication

to advancing the

project goals?

(A,B,C,D,E)


communication in

advancing the project

goals?

(1,3,5,11,21)

STATUS DATE

XXXXXX

Change in

Object

Element to

MCA?


communication in

advancing the

project goals?

(1,3,5,11,21)

STATUS DATE

XXXXXX


Communication Effectiveness Improvement Log

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Create a time phased plan of expected

communication by specific MCA’s.

This is Planned Communication (P COM).

Track Planned Communication (P COM) against

Actual Communication (A COM).

Interpret Communication Variances (COM V).

See reinventingcommunication.com/glossary for definitions.


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10

14

18

22

1 2 3 4

Am

ou

nt o

f C

om

mu

nic

ation

(Nu

mb

er

of E

ma

ils)

Planned

Actual

Weeks

At Week 4, Actual is less

than Planned

Communication by 5

emails


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From “Reinventing Communication” by Mark Phillips, Gower 2014


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Boundary

Objects

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Boundary Object Assessment Exercise

List the different boundary groups on your projects.

Work in groups to discuss their effectiveness and

ways to improve their effectiveness.

What characteristics should they have?

Are they the same objects for each group?

See reinventingcommunication.com/glossary for definitions.


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Communication Determines Project Outcomes


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We talked about impact on

scope, schedule, budget and risk.

Communication impacts

competitive advantage and

long term survivability.


50

Improve Communication.

Improve Project Outcomes.

Improve Long Term Survivability.



Companion Material

Related Book Sample on SlideShare http://www.slideshare.net/mpmobile/reinventing-communication-by-

mark-phillips-book-sample-download-34496231

Glossary of Terms http://reinventingcommunication.com/glossary/

Interview Discussing the Conceptshttp://www.project-management-podcast.com/index.php/podcast-

episodes/episode-details/574-episode-282-reinventing-project-

communication

Twitter: #reinventcomms

© 2014 Mark Phillips | ReinventingCommunication.com

http://www.slideshare.net/mpmobile/reinventing-communication-by-mark-phillips-book-sample-download-34496231

http://reinventingcommunication.com/glossary/

http://www.project-management-podcast.com/index.php/podcast-episodes/episode-details/574-episode-282-reinventing-project-communication


reinventingcommunication.com

Questions?

Let’s Connect@markphillipspm

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markphillipspm

Leadership & Management

The Importance of Effective Communication and Reinventing Communication