Welcome
Welcome to the Foresight Newsletter, a free monthly publication of Prevoyance Group Inc. This newsletter shares project management tips and observations that I hope will prove informative and enjoyable.
Contents
Foresight is a monthly newsletter published by the Prevoyance Group, and this month contains four sections:
Project: Recruit the Lieutenants
Life
Heard in the Hallways: Karaoke
Travels with Patrick: The Joy of Maps
Project
A common complaint among people on a project team is their inability to influence and expedite decision making. Whether you are the new person on a team trying to exert influence on a higher level manager, or the CIO appealing to the CEO or board of directors, even the most effective presentation of the facts always seems subject to some hidden process before a conclusion is reached. One key element of that hidden process is the "lieutenant factor."
Nearly everyone with some power in an organization has one or more trusted underlings, whose opinion holds great weight with that particular person. Sometimes it's cronyism, other times it could be a respected adversary, but for every General there is most certainly a lieutenant or two who by word alone can derail or cast doubt on nearly any business decision. This lieutenant also has direct access to the decision maker, bypassing the normal chain of command that most of us are forced to respect.
At best, an unknown lieutenant can make your life difficult, clouding the mind of the decision maker with doubt with a single offhand remark, even after you have spent countless hours presenting painstakingly researched facts. At worst, if a lieutenant becomes your enemy, he or she will have priority access to the decision maker, and if particularly vindictive, will see that you fight tooth and nail for every tiny concession; the kind of stuff that breeds premature grey hair.
The best strategy for mitigating the lieutenant factor is to befriend the lieutenant. How does one know who this person is? Observe the decision maker. If you present your case to a decision maker and she mentions "Oh, let me just run this by Sam," Sam is your lieutenant. If previously unknown parties mysteriously start appearing in the "CC:" field of emails, or show up to meetings hanging on the decision makers' coattails, they are your lieutenants.
Subtlety can be your best weapon in disarming the lieutenant. Rather than attempting to circumvent their influence, focus your attention on convincing the lieutenant to support your cause. While they may irrelevant to the decision from an organizational perspective, making an ally of a key lieutenant will open up access to the decision maker, and save you countless hours when it comes time to push them for a decision. If you win over the lieutenant, you can win the decision making war.
Life
- Create an "@Waiting" folder in your email inbox and file cabinet (the "@" will ensure it appears at the top of your folder list). File items that are dependant on someone else's action in this folder, and cc: yourself on actions your delegate to others. A quick weekly review of @Waiting will determine who you need to follow up with, and what loose ends need closing.
- An advertisement once admonished: "Life is too short to drink cheap beer." Enjoy higher quality indulgences in smaller quantities to bring equal parts joy and moderation to your life.
- Take some time out to thank people. Whether it's a teacher who made a difference in your life, or a friend who made the time to invite you to dinner. Thanks are one of those rare things in life that bring pleasure to both the giver and receiver.
Heard in the Hallways
Many people dread public speaking. While it sounds slightly insane, a great way to alleviate fear of public speaking is karaoke. You are in front of a crowd, likely not 100% familiar with your material and all eyes are focused on you. While it is stressful like public speaking, there are no career implications (unless you are out with your team and have had a few too many glasses of "liquid confidence") yet many of the feelings of nervousness.
Travels with Patrick
One of the best recent investments my wife and I have made is a large laminated map of the world. We have it hanging near our kitchen table, and over something as mundane as a bowl of oatmeal a simple glance at the map ignites a firestorm of mental imagery. Memories of past visits to distant places and dreams of travels to come combine with questions and curiosity of who lives in an unfamiliar spot on the map, and what they hope and dream.
A dry erase marker strategically placed in the center of the kitchen table adds permanence to our mental travels, as after a wistful stare one of us will jump up and circle a spot on the map to denote a new addition to our list of "places to see before we die."