3 states of work: scheduled, waiting, assigned to me

There are three "states" of work: scheduled, waiting, and  assigned to me.

'Scheduled' (GREEN) is stuff that has an almost 100% probability of occurring like meetings and scheduled appointments.  You SHOULDN'T have to act unless things don't go as planned.

'Waiting' (YELLOW) is stuff for which you are waiting for a response or answer from someone on something; you have requested something but there is no commitment or response yet.  You MIGHT need to follow up to make sure that action is taken.

'Assigned to me' (RED) are the tasks that you own, that you need to do, where you are/might be blocking; they are your queue or backlog.  You WILL need to act to make things go.

4 key things a project manager must do

According to my way of thinking, there are four key things that a good project manager must do:

1. Clearly define work.  Defining what is owed by when.
2. Assign work.  Defining who owes what.
3. Manage risk in the supply chain.  Knowing what you'll do if you do/don't get what you're waiting for. 
4. Lead.  Using your own time efficiently and effectively to unblock and dis-impede the project (lead).  

Clearly defining work is a key element of being a project manager.  What this means is that you are crystal clear on what needs to be done by when.  The project manager must know the "Definition of Done" and what is good enough from a quality perspective.  In order to do this, the project manager must speak with both the customers and the suppliers of any given work item and very clearly define what's needed.  Before the work is produced, there should be a commitment for each item on the statement of work.

Assigning work is a very important part of being a good manager as well.  Assigning the work is all about getting good commitments and trusting that the resources you have doing the things are quality and committed and for real.

Managing risk in the supply chain is a hard part of the project manager's job.  The project manager has to have mitigation plans for what they will / won't do if they do / don't get what they're expecting.  In this way, a big part of the job is to wait for things to happen but when they do or don't happen be very prepared to act upon the failure.

Leading is of course an overall critical skill that the PM must have.  This takes many forms but in this context I'm using it primarily to mean that you are a good professional and know how to use your time and others effectively.  You are efficient and effective at getting the things done that you have to do (the steps mentioned above) and making sure that the whole thing is tracking.

There's a lot to being a project manager, but maybe thinking about it in these four simple "competency areas" will help you figure out where you should focus your efforts at the moment!!

Wishing for a real consulting firm

Hey, what's going on in there?!

Change is afoot.  I started a six-month contract at Microsoft in August as a Sr. Program Manager in Xbox LIVE business PMO.  It has been a ton of fun.  But now that the holiday season is upon us and our group is re-organizing, I'm starting to feel a bit uneasy.

Influence and delivery happens at very deep layers.  I'd like to distinguish between two things: project success and product / company / group / team success.  I *wish* that I could be responsible for team success and I feel that in a way that I am: if I don't have it then I won't have more work.  As far as project success goes, I feel like I am have definitely created that; but there has to be next steps!  I'm trying *my hardest* to help that team succeed but in many ways it is out of my control because there are so many players and stakeholders and such a big internal culture that is hard to tackly / comprehend on my own; it's complex!  If, on the other hand, I had more people on *my* team (from an outside perspective looking in as sales people, consultants, and business development people), I feel like I could have a much better impact and ability to influence sales and long-term strategies.  Someone (and for now it is me!) has to be making these relationships, looking in, and kicking tires.

Getting cut out as the consultant/outsider.  What's happening now that I have delivered the v1 product, is that the group internally is "getting organized" and many plans are happening, some without me.  I'd love to be involved in these discussions but I am frequently cut out and the conversations, which can be kept to the internal folks while they figure out what to do and how to spend their resources.  In the meanwhile, I hang in limbo and try to figure out to the best of my ability what I can do to have an impact, make a difference, make a change, and support this team / group for the long term ie make more money from this opportunity.

Contemplating strategies.  What I need / want is for sustainable income and I see this group as a place to get that but I have to figure out how to better sell and influence; I feel like I need more resources (and probably do).  So I think about it and I wonder: I try to surround myself with other sales people and Sr. Project Manager consultant people who can help me figure out what does *my* strategy need to be to infiltrate this complicated group / company and sell business / win influence.

Wishing I had a team with whom I could strategize / deliver.

On the outside looking in, wondering.  I think that I've been very influential thus far in this project/program and now--based on a lot of my input and contribution--the company is trying to figure out how to use its resources and me, if I'm necessary or not.  It's really interesting to be on the outside looking in but it makes me nervous and makes me want a larger personal team that can help me sell and influence.  I think if I worked for a *real* consulting firm this would come for free...

The stuff of technology consulting

As a technical PM, you need to produce several things: the business rules (policies), the communication and sales pitch to the dev team, and the delivery schedule.  Bridging the gap between the business and technology folks is a constant battle.  They don't speak the same languages and they need to.  As the Tech PM or Business Analyst, you have to bridge this gap.  Your tools are Test-Driven Development, Risk Based Testing, Business Process Engineering, Process Modeling, Data Development, and Model Driven Architecture.

Bridge the gap and get paid doing it!

Entrepreneurs, don't forget to have a job

The two things.  There's two things required to be an entrepreneur.  One is to acquire an ability to survive and keep food and jobs on the table (to be practical and focused on the long-term and short-term and your basic needs).  This is probably the fundamental "skill" that is hard for the typical entrepreneur (that they have to cover their bases and can't just go 100% crazy on their ideas).  Beyond skill one is the fun part of skill two, where the sky is the absolute limit for an entrepreneur.  This is the second skill: focus.

The basics.  Survival, as we obviously know, is absolutely key for us all.  Not everyone gets out of here alive!  We can't spend all of our time focusing on our passions, dreams, and ideas if we aren't caring for ourselves, putting food on the table, and doing the basic things that matter to survive, like having a job and some sustainable income source.  Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs tells us that we can't self-actualize if our basic needs (food, cash) aren't met.  This means that the entrepreneur must first be self-aware and focus on meeting these basic needs: get a job, pay the bills, be responsible, etc.  Don't be a bum and don't overly focus on just your passions if you haven't done these basic things.  Learn how to keep jobs, report up to bosses and be a true professional.  Without this you'll never get anywhere and rolling the dice in entrepreneurship is a huge and crazy risk!

The passion.  The second part is the fun and interesting part of entrepreneurship: doing it.  The second part is everything else that has to to with being an entrepreneur: coming up with ideas, sharing with people, building teams, building things, companies, products, plans, etc.  This is seriously the fun and exciting part.  It's all about passion.

So remember entrepreneurs, as my dad always told me, "Don't quit your day job".  Do the basics of having sustainable income and cash and figure out how to integrate total creativity and passion into your life.