How to Get Projects Back on Track Fast
People are the main reason projects fail. Getting projects back on track is first about people, then about circumstances.
5 people-reasons projects fail:
- Confusion regarding purpose. Why is this project important?
- Lack of clarity concerning current state and future direction. Where are we now? Where are we going?
- Conflicting priorities, personal agendas, and sideways energy. How can we pull together?
- Unwillingness to adapt when conditions change. Where are we banging our heads against the wall?
- Skill gaps and inept teams. Who needs training and development?
Items one through four follow each other like dominoes. Confusion regarding purpose leads to lack of clarity regarding direction, and so on. Ineptitude, number five, applies to failure at every stage.
Success is about people.
But, when projects fail we blame circumstances.
5 Questions to get back on track:
You say it’s all about people, but, when projects get off track, you ask, “What’s going wrong?” That’s important. But, “Who,” in the end, is more important than, “What.”
- Who is in over their head?
- Who is pulling sideways?
- Who is unwilling to adapt?
- Who is the bottleneck?
- How can we help each other?
When projects stall, ask, “What do we need to change about us?” The goal isn’t blame. It’s clarity, alignment, development, ownership, teamwork, and real progress.
Lack of urgency:
The common denominator in all successful projects is urgency. Lack of clarity, conflicting priorities, and unwillingness to adapt all drain urgency.
Three questions to urgency:
- What have you completed? Smoke-blowers talk about what they plan to do, when they should talk about what they completed.
- What can you do next? Specifically.
- When can you have the next step done?
Urgency tip: Set the next meeting on the day that next steps are slated to be completed.
Momentum is the result of a series of completions not beginnings. Energy grows when you get stuff done.
Why do projects fail?
How can leaders get failing projects back on track?
Thanks Dan!
This is really relevant and timely for me right now.
Truly appreciate all the insight you share!
Stay safe Always Care
Paul Moxness Vice President Safety & Security Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group Tel: +32 478 253 965
Sent from my iPhone
Thanks Paul. A good word is a thing of beauty. Best wishes for the projects you’re working on.
Well it is all really very simple.
The mind wanders! One is either a directed specific or a wandering generality, PERIOD! No inbetweeners!
Of course projects veer off track because the minds of the folks working on them wander.
Want that to change? Really? Really?
Ok easiest way is to dual code project into one’s minds.
Why? Listen retain 10%
Read, retain 25%.
Dual code that stuff into your grey matter retain up to 68%.
So imagine a rooting tooting project accomplishing team, all dual coded to the max pulling the rope in the same direction.
OR a bunch of people with minds wandering all over the place.
Your call, stick with the reading or listening……..so 80’s……
Or get jiggy with the technological advances and understanding of how the human mind works AND USE IT TO YOUR GREATEST ADVANATGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Goodness how ineffective to you have to be to wake up and find BETTER????
It is all very simple, the brain retains information at an accelerated rate when two senses are involved in the learning process instead of one! two heads are better than one, RIGHT? Two senses are better than one!
Good Day,
SP back to using two senses when I learn instead of one!
EA
Thanks Scott. Retention is essential for sure.
Well it is a little more than retention Dan. Think about a torpedo. When it begins its journey as it veers off course the technology gets it back on track.
The mind works the same way if the information fed into it is fed in correctly.
A person gets this right, they are more effective. Then a team gets it right, they are more effective in spades. Law of synergy kicks in.
Or go about it all backwards and try to get results from behavior changes. Just backwards as all get out.
Everything starts with the mind. Condition it, train it amazing results emerge.
Napolean Hill wrote THINK and grow Rich, not Behave and Grow Rich……right? Lots of folks did what he said and what happened? Success beyond comprehension for most folks!! Duh!!!
SP
EA
Hey ain’t it great I got a thumbs down!!!! Lordy who thinks less retention and everybody’s minds going in different directions rocks??? Whew, people some need lots more help than others!!!
Dan, surely we “know” this by now? We certainly pay lip service to it.
Yet many teams unwittingly still aim for installation instead of realization, i.e. muscling the new systems or processes (or people) in place and assuming that the ROI will flow in.
Reminds me of many a golf game with Type A personalities: hammering the golf ball to gain a couple of extra yards here and there instead planning the round, using follow through to optimize distance and using insight to adjust the plan along the way.
In hammering that ball on each tee there is actually an ironic lack of follow through. Each conversation, each step, only focuses on the next and as we even accomplish those we take our head up and wonder ‘how did I get in the trees?’. It’s not about physical ability – every golfer has a better game in them – it’s about the mental game.
We “know” these things yet we behave differently. Why is this?
In our work, and I think I see the same in yours, we believe that the change starts inside the leader, with mindsets about this change – that can begin to produce better results than ever before.
Only leaders who have failed before and are now open to considering different ways of doing things can cross this chasm. Getting there may require something the pros value – an experienced caddy.
I don’t even particularly like golf but this a great analogy with a lead up to those last three words.
Great follow-up thoughts Gail!!
Thanks Gail. All I can say is I don’t like you hammering away at people who hammer away at things. It feels personal. 🙂 … Seriously, great add.
Some days I am the club some days I am the ball. Big fan, Dan. You always get me thinking.
I like how you followed the first 5 steps with some context of how they relate. Linked lists are always easier to internalize.
I think your focus for root cause of project failure is spot on. In going beyond the 300 words I would add personally that I’m most motivated to drive in high gear towards success of the project when the decision making process for STARTING the project has crystal clear transparency and makes good sense to me. Most projects are going to do some amount of good but only a project that been preceded by a quality proven process (w/ transparency) to find the BEST opportunity to improve or innovate are going to instill the utmost confidence and buy-in with all stakeholders in the long run.
Thanks James. I hear you saying, engage people early in the process if you expect them to be engaged later. There’s a huge difference between having a project dropped on your desk and helping to design one from the get-go. Always a pleasure!
This post is One of the best…
“Success is about people. But, when projects fail we blame circumstances.”
This certainly is at the crux, I hate sitting in those lessons learnt meeting where the whole activity is a ritual with the ‘real’ issues goes un-addressed.
Certainly the idea is not to crucify or blame the failure on any individual(s), unless the behaviour is changed the the cycle repeats.
Thanks ajitbhimesh. Thanks for re-emphasizing that the “who” question isn’t about blame. If we aren’t careful we create environments where no one dares move.
“What have you completed? Smoke-blowers talk about what they plan to do, when they should talk about what they completed.” Ouch! Guilty of this one…at times!!…but getting better!
“Momentum is the result of a series of completions not beginnings. Energy grows when you get stuff done.” Very helpful. I often think of momentum as the beginning and the in progress stages. But, you’re right. What helps momentum grow is stuff getting done! People feel good…they want to celebrate…they want to keep going…they want to accomplish more!
Dan, can you say more about what’s in your head regarding “sideways energy.” Thanks!
Thanks Steve. You’re hitting on some of my favorite points in this post. We’ve all talked plans when we should have confronted the fact that nothing really got done. I’ve seen some people make careers of blowing smoke. (Not thinking you’re one)
I think enthusiasm and excitement happen when we start stuff. But, that often wains. Momentum on the other had grows with time. The more stuff you finish the more momentum you enjoy. The more stuff we start, without finishing, the draining our environment becomes.
Sideways energy is when people on the team pull in their own direction rather than aligning with the direction of the team. Think of a team pulling on a rope in the same direction. What happens when one of the team members starts pulling in their own direction? The impact is devastating.
We have a tendency to tolerate people with personal agenda’s on teams because they help in other areas. But, in the end, their sideways energy does more damage than good.
(I can’t remember where the idea sideways energy came from. It’s not original with me)
Your comments on “sideways energy” are very helpful and, holy cow, that can be a momentum thwarter or killer. Reminds me a little of Pat Lencioni’s challenge in his book “Silos, Politics and Turf Wars.” Even organizations that aren’t in a battle (the politics & turf wars part) can lose momentum when departments “silo” rather than work toward alignment. Thanks Dan!
thank you so much for the post. i really learn a lot, specially that now i am facing this kind of problems. hopefully can do what you put there.
Thanks Ryan. Best wishes for success.
Good tips – thank you Dan!
Diana
Thanks Diana.
These are terrific points, and all dead on. I love the wording so I will add these ideas (attributed, of course) to my success factors binder. Unfortunately, I have been in situations where, even as the project leader, and even after asking these kinds of questions, executive leadership has not had the will (or the desire) to make change. Those are the challenging situations where, without real influence, success is nearly impossible. How does one effect influence where one has none?
Thanks Steven. It’s a pleasure to be useful.
You are nailing one of the big reasons project fail, the “will” to make change or even get things done.
Your “3 Questions to Urgency” are great! Thanks!
Thanks Ken. I appreciate your kind words..
There are some fundamentals to project management that go beyond the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), including:
1. Projects need to have a purpose that people buy into. That purpose needs to be clear and tug at the heart. We are not “expanding the hospital emergency room”, but “building an expansion so sick and hurting people won’t have to wait hours or drive miles to get help”. We are not “installing an ERP system” but “installing an ERP system so we can serve our customers better than our competition and lower our transaction costs by at least 20%”. Common purpose drives urgency. The project leader needs to repeat, repeat, repeat the purpose. If there is not common agreement that the project is worthwhile, it should not be undertaken.
2. Projects need to have people with the right skills to get the project done. Good project managers attract the best talent, and would rather work with fewer good people than have more people with less talent and engagement.
3. If people have never worked together, the project will go through a predictable cycle of “forming, storming, norming, and performing”. The project manager needs to recognize this, plan for it, and get through the storming by a) bringing people back to the mission, so they make it happen rather than fight with each other b) getting people to work out their own means of norming, rather than imposing his/her own system c) getting disruptive people off the team d) celebrating early successes.
4. Getting things done efficiently is a matter of breaking up the project into many short-term steps. Studies show that people generally start projects with good intentions, but use up nearly 50% of the project time between milestones doing very little to advance it, as other priorities are more pressing. When someone realizes this, there is a flurry of activity with a few people doing most of the work, and a final crunch towards the end with a few more people involved, and some either bewildered or doing social loafing. The way to avoid this is to plan in some detail so that there are targets to meet weekly, then manage to that timetable with urgency right from the start.
5. Project resources are usually scarce. Things of value are hard to do, or everyone would be doing them, and they would drop in value. The good project manager works to acquire as many resources as possible, shares the pain of the hard work and lack of resources by digging in with the team, asks the team how to improve the end product, while making do with less than hoped for resources, recognizes effort as much as results, and gives all credit to his team.
For a quick study of one of the greatest project managers of all time, read the first 3 chapters of the book of Nehemiah. He inspired a group of refugees to build a defensive wall around their city in the face of fierce opposition with nothing but their hands, and with no coercion. His singular focus, planning, and the way he engaged people to work on each section of wall, together with his personal humility resulted in a project of only 53 days with spectacular results.
In recent times, the project management of Kelly Johnson at Lockheed Martin is legendary. His 14 rules for project management are worthwhile reading. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Johnson_(engineer)#Kelly_Johnson.27s_14_Rules_of_Management
Thanks Marc. You really took the ball and ran with it. Much appreciated!
People fight change for many reasons , many as listed above, but also because many see it as a disruption to their normal routine.
Change initiatives are sometimes rushed into action, perhaps driven by executive mandate, before employees accept and commit to supporting the initiative. Employees do protest but play along never really committing.
Too much focus around the change outcome, as opposed to, the detailed implementation plan execution, the what needs to happen next, can stall and disrupt.
Finally the cementing of the change into the “way we do things” can often be thought to be complete long before prior methods are forgotten or abandoned. A poorly executed change can often taint the change as bad. I offer as an example Obama care.
One final observation is more of a question. Does your company’s culture support the pursuit of a well understood vision, where change in support of key initiatives is constant and engrained into the actions of your employees? Is failure to support change seen as treason or tolerated?
Thanks Stephen. It looks like you have plenty of experience in the project management world. thanks for sharing your insights.
Your comments about too much focus on the outcome and not enough on the process is powerful. Once you establish the outcome, keep it in mind but focus on daily execution. It’s so easy to forget this powerful idea. Thanks again.
Another wonderful post, Dan.
The is and always be membes of a team who talk about making things happen……………..BUT never bring them to fruition.
I love when you talk about a sense of urgency.
It’s incredibly important but most of the people I deal with are deaf to this.
It’s one of ;your best essays in quite some time.
Thanks.
Thanks David. It’s true. We can talk without doing. But, we cannot do without talking. Sometimes we confuse talking WITH doing.
A vital question for the project team is, “What do we NOT know?” and then, “What do we need to do to find out the absent information?” Turning unknowns into knowns is challenging and important for project success. It’s also a great way to get the whole team on board.
Thanks Paul. Wonderful insights. I’ll jump in and say, turning unknowns into knows requires leaders to look like they don’t know. Some leaders would rather live in ignorance than let anyone else know they don’t know.
I agree, Dan. Humility is such a powerful leadership trait!
Hey Paul, great question!!
How do you feel about these:
1) who in the world does what we are setting out to do better than anyone else in the world? they already figured it out, copy them instead of making the mistakes they already made for you and your team.
2) What is the most actionable thing we can do tomorrow that gets us closer to functioning like them? Start there.
Just cut to the chase with the most vital questions. Anything else just wasting time.
That is what activating effectiveness is all about. No wasted time, just get to the great stuff in the shortest amount of time.
SP
EA
#2 definitely resonates with me! If the team can accomplish just 1 thing right now, what would that 1 thing be? Produce it! My intention as project manager is to keep the project moving forward through clarification & alignment.
Paul. Great answer!!!!
Your Teams have a Great Leader!!
Remember success leaves clues. If other folks already figured something out easier to copy their plan than stumbling in the dark trying to figure out your own.
Making copies…….
Promise too, if you have the goal and the plan dual coded for each member of the team effectiveness is enhanced. Can’t help but!!!!
SP
EA
Dan,
OK, I might be the only person in the world that doesn’t get this but “What is the connection between the picture and the article ?” I have starred at the stupid thing and I just don’t get it. Maybe its a mechanical thing … I have no mechanical abilty at all … don’t know where I was when guys learned such stuff but I definately was not present. Turn the key … doesn’t start … call AAA !
Larry
*Larry Coppenrath* Cell 206-883-6700 lcoppenrath@gmail.com http://www.lfcjr.com It is easy to make a buck; it’s a lot tougher to make a difference. – Tom Brokaw
Hey Larry. You aren’t the first to wonder… Here’s what was going through my mind…. “on track” Steam Engine wheels on a track. Picking up steam on a track. Brilliant!! 🙂
Great post Dan. Another tip for increasing urgency and action is to stop asking questions about progress and say “Show me!” As ever, Martin
Thanks Martin. “show me” … two powerful words.
Another word which comes to mind when speaking about urgency and momentum is persistence.
Good morning Dan;
I can’t tell you how useful and timely this is. Imagine the benefit of reviewing these concepts periodically, especially as your building a team or teams for a new project. One vision, one goal, one purpose, one team. “BRILLIANT” ! ! ! Steve
Set the next meeting on the day that tasks should have been completed will certainly get people focussing. Reminds me of cramming college work the night before the deadline! 🙂
Thank you for this – I rewrote a project update based on these questions and have had a more positive and engaged response than previously. I will also be making use of the tip to set the meeting time against the deadline!
Sponsorship can also help. If there is an executive leader that is championing the project, this can eliminate most of the issues identified above.
1. Confusion regarding purpose. Why is this project important? – A sponsor will keep the purpose out in front of the organization. Communications is a large part of a sponsor’s role.
2. Lack of clarity concerning current state and future direction. Where are we now? Where are we going? – A leaders sets vision; a sponsor will keep the team focused on the vision and the work required to achieve it.
3. Conflicting priorities, personal agendas, and sideways energy. How can we pull together? – A sponsor holds people accountable.
4. Unwillingness to adapt when conditions change. Where are we banging our heads against the wall? – A sponsor may not be able to keep you from banging your head, but she will help clearly articulate the change. By holding people accountable, adaptation becomes easier.
5. Skill gaps and inept teams. Who needs training and development? – A sponsor will act on this with the right information. Put together the case for building skills, and a sponsor will help make sure funding comes available.
Sponsorship is not a silver bullet, but a good sponsor should mitigate most of these issues.