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.