• Home
  • About Steve Woodruff
  • Contact
  • Let’s Talk!
  • About Impactiviti

Impactiviti blog

Best Practices in Vendor and Project Management

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« What are you delivering (via LMS)?
Try Out the Random Vendor Generator! »

Clocks, Toddlers, and Project Management

November 1, 2017 by Steve Woodruff

When you facilitate workshops (or teach, or train, or preach, or….), you have to pull illustrations from wherever you can.

Even a toddler’s bedroom. Let me explain.

People marvel when my wife or I explain how we enforced bedtimes (and wake-up times) with our kids when they were young.

When I explain the simple technique, and the principle behind it (The External Authority), any parents in my Project and Vendor Management workshop start scribbling notes furiously. It may be the most high-impact takeaway in the course!

Here’s what we did – we used THE CLOCK as the authority. When THE CLOCK says it’s 8:00 pm, then it’s bedtime. It’s objective and non-personal, and you can’t argue with Mom and Dad, because the external authority has decreed what the reality must be.

Even better – they weren’t allowed to leave their bedrooms in the morning until THE CLOCK said 7 am.

7-00-clip-art

In this way, we remove any nagging negotiation between parent and child by pointing to something “above” all of us, something that carried with it a sense of inevitability and external authority. How can you argue with the march of time??

(Have young children at home? I know you’re scribbling notes right now!!)

OK – so, what does this have to do with project and vendor management, or any other facet of corporate life?

A great deal.

When projects begin to go off the rails due to miscommunication or scope creep, it’s generally because there hasn’t been a carefully defined and articulated project plan. An agreed-upon project definition, with an agreed-upon process, a defined timeline and budget, and an agreed-upon scope of work.

That project plan is THE CLOCK.

The last thing you want to get into as a project manager is a schoolyard brawl with internal stakeholders or external vendors over what has happened to a going-south-project. The project manager(s) often end up getting the blame in these scenarios. This is prevented is by creating a detailed project plan that everyone consciously agrees to up-front. The plan, and its scope, becomes the external authority, reigning in unauthorized changes and enforcing a level of project discipline on all contributing stakeholders.

Now, it’s not you against them. It’s you and them being accountable to The Plan. Which can only be changed by high-level stakeholders (ultimately) responsible for budget and timing.

You can see how the appeal to an external authority is used all the time in corporate life. Sometimes, with very good effect; other times, as an excuse and evasion of responsibility.

For example – what sounds better: “I’m firing you because I just don’t like you,” or, “According to our manual of company behavior, we’re going to have to let you go because you violated Rule #37b on April 12th.” One of these is strictly personal and can lead to a lawsuit; the other has a whiff of objective inevitability.

Or this: “I tried to herd all the cats, but somehow the project ended up 20% over budget and 3 weeks late,” vs. “The VP of Sales signed off on a change to the original scope in order to include 2 extra videos on August 3rd, which impacted the budget by 20% and pushed back our final deliverable by three weeks.”

Are you involved in managing projects or vendors? Your best friend is detailed definition and up-front agreement. You always want to the clock on your side!

Also on the Impactiviti blog: Tossing Trainers into the Deep End of the Pool 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted in Project Management, Vendor Management | Tagged Project management, Vendor management |

  • Welcome!


    Steve Woodruff
    sw
    President, Impactiviti
  • Testimonials


    “Steve Woodruff is one of the most “networked” people I’ve found in pharmaceutical training. His communications are always smart and targeted, and I value his professional partnership.” -Jennifer Zinn, Director, Worldwide Marketing, Clinical Laboratory, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics

    Read More Testimonials
  • Subscribe to our e-newsletter

    Sign up for the Impactiviti Connection!
  • Subscribe to the blog!

    Subscribe in a reader
  • Subscribe via e-mail

    Subscribe to Impactiviti blog by Email
  • Recent Posts

    • Try Out the Random Vendor Generator!
    • Clocks, Toddlers, and Project Management
    • What are you delivering (via LMS)?
    • Today’s Pharma News 8/18/2017
    • Today’s Pharma News 8/16/17
    • Today’s Pharma News 8/15/17
    • Today’s Pharma News (8/14/17)
    • Lighting “afar” in Nashville – LTEN 2017 re-cap
    • Let’s Stop Committing Training Malpractice!
    • Getting Ready for Nashville 1-2-3-4!
  • Archives

    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • August 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • June 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Impactiviti blog
    • Join 30 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Impactiviti blog
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: