List-Man Versus The Forces Of Chaos

Every Monday, Sam had his staff meeting. I say "staff meeting" only in the loosest context: it was more like an IRS audit than anything else. Each of us project managers was supposed to have a working project plan (excellent idea). Only Sam made sure that we didn't have just a serviceable project plan. Each of us had a plan with something like 300 items. All for a 3 month project.

If that wasn't taxing enough (try updating a plan everyday that is THAT detailed) Sam then collated all of the plans together for one big, mother of the universe list of stuff we had to do. Must have been five thousand items on there. Talk about impressive! It was a plan to end all plans.

So Monday comes, and we all gather around the room, eagerly pumping up the caffeine and doughnuts in a valiant effort to look interested. At times, I would play solitaire on my notebook computer, but only if I sat in the corner of the room, away from everybody else (the big conference table was always full). Sam would come in with about a dozen pages, packed with all of our current "to-do" items.

We go around the room, person-by-person. Sam reads the item, and then asks what the status is. For those items that are late (or have an issue), Sam jots a little note off to the side. He then asks for a commitment from the PM on when the issue will be resolved. After a few weeks of this, the old items start backing up: Sam crosses off old promised dates and adds new ones in. The project slips. Sam is not happy.

Interestingly enough, when I talk to Sam offline about how things are going, he expresses his frustration with the "corporate culture" as he sees it at the company. "People around here aren't honest with you," he confides, "they will say one thing, but there's really no way what they're saying can be accurate. They talk a good game, but behind the scenes it's just business as usual around here. Nothing will change."

Sam was a micro-manager. He desperately wanted the project to succeed and was prepared to bore the heck out of anybody who got in his way. Sometimes the meetings got quite contentious -- which as a contractor I always looked forward to. Secretly I think I was hoping somebody would draw pistols and challenge the other to duel, but alas, nothing like that ever happened.

WTF: A simple phrase, "risk-based project management" Sam's mistake wasn't even the detail of his plans (but they were a hindrance) Sam's mistake was that he was focused on the plan at the expense of the project. Sam was asking the managers how the plan was going, instead of being worried about how the program was going, which was his real concern. In Sam's mind they were one and the same thing, which is NEVER true. A plan (or schedule) is always just a best guess at strategies and tactics to reach a mission. I've never seen a plan that stood any chance against reality. So as a manager, you're always looking for risks to address, and you need your best people (you need everyone) to help you find risks and keep them foremost. Fix the biggest risks, and then update the plan accordingly.