The subject of today’s article is loaded with so many potential metaphors or sayings that it was hard to know which one to use, so that being the case, I’ll be sprinkling different ones in relevant spots.
But if there’s one quote or adage that captures the overall essence of today’s subject, it’s the Rule of the 6-Ps, or Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.
This rule essentially says that taking the time to plan creates the necessary conditions for successfully completing a project on time, within scope, and on budget.
Sounds easy enough, but this is clearly a challenge for many organizations when you consider that almost 50% of projects fail outright and almost 80% go over budget and/or run late according to research from the Project Management Institute.
Why does something that seems so simple end up being so challenging?
While the specifics will vary from one company to the next, the answer really boils down to companies ignoring The Rule of the 6-Ps.
It’s really an interesting intersection between strategy and risk that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
Every project, regardless of its size, is going to have scope, budget and timeline, like a 3-legged stool.
Changing any one of these three components of the project will make that particular leg longer (or shorter) in relation to the other legs and throw the entire stool, or project, off balance.
Let’s say a project starts off strong, but it soon becomes clear that the company doesn’t have the internal resources to see it to completion, so a third-party has to be brought in. This particular scenario represents an unplanned expense of both money and time. By lengthening these two legs, but keeping the scope the same, the project becomes off-balance.
Another issue that frequently rears its head is scope, or more specifically, an improper alignment between the goal and project(s) defined scope. Many goals are multi-year, but if you take on a really big project without recognizing it’s going to stretch out for multiple years, you could be taking on way more risk.
In these and other all-too-common situations, scope, budget, and timeline become moving targets that introduce new risks or exacerbate existing ones to the organization.
While there will always be things outside of your control that could affect a project’s scope, budget, or timeline, these typically become moving targets because business leaders didn’t take the time to fully understand these requirements before starting the project.
Similar to a checklist for decisions, some questions for ensuring scope, budget, and timeline are accurate and complete from the onset include:
- What are we trying to accomplish with this project?
- What are the implications to our stakeholders?
- What needs to be in place before we can complete this work?
- Is there anything that needs to be happening concurrently to make sure everything is in place when we need it?
- Do we have people with knowledge and skillsets available to support this work? Are those resources internal or will we need to hire outside expertise?
- Does this work require specific technology? If so, do we need to procure and implement it? Cost?
- How will we know we are successful?
By not discussing these and similar topics or not discussing them in enough depth, you fail to get an adequate understanding of (1) the potential risk(s) associated with the projects, and (2) the interconnections within the company.
The primary reason companies get in trouble with their projects over and over is because of the common, yet mistaken view, that faster is better. This brings us to our second quote of the day, one that I’m borrowing from the action-thriller Shooter, but the quote itself is a term the Navy Seals train with, and that’s:
“Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”
You read that right…
Taking things a little slower in the beginning can mean you can reach your ultimate destination faster. Any sharpshooter will attest that taking time to relax, breathe, and hone in on the target will results in a much more accurate shot. As author George Morris explains here:
“In a society that often equates speed with success, embracing the philosophy of ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ may seem counterintuitive. However, it’s clear that slowing down to ensure smooth execution can lead to increased speed and success in the long run.”
Being more intentional and proactive represents a great way to mitigate risk(s) to both the project and the company without having to say you’re managing risks. Instead of having to put out fires later during the project execution phase, slowing down to address risks proactively means you can ultimately move faster when work commences with fewer issues.
This ‘proactive’ attribute is one of the key distinctions between traditional and enterprise risk management, which brings us to our last quote of the day, this time from Benjamin Franklin, who famously once said:
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
Much like planning goals for the future, not taking steps to plan the projects for achieving said goals can end up creating more risks and chaos for the company in the end.
Taking time to ask questions around dependencies, cost, and scope, or otherwise running ideas for initiatives/projects through a screening process may seem like a nuisance or delay in making progress toward company goals.
Slowing down and taking the time now could mean the difference between success and failure.
This is a fantastic example where ERM can help the business understand interconnections, dependencies, and risks to ensure as smooth of an experience and successful outcome as possible.
Does your company rush headlong into projects, or is there a willingness to slow down to plan ahead?
Join the conversation on LinkedIn to share your thoughts and experiences on project planning and execution.
And if your company is finding it difficult to complete projects without changing one of those three stool legs and thus making everything unbalanced, please complete our contact form to begin discussing potential causes, and cures, for this challenging problem.
