Guiding Principles

Items to revisit before starting any project.  Revisit the list throughout the project’s lifecycle.

• As much as possible, get status and updates from everybody every day. Everyone is important. Everyone has been doing more than you know.
• Listen intently. Use deliberate eye contact. Give attention.
• Give a heart-felt effort to understand.
• As much as possible, make your communications a gift to others.
• Create order out of disorder.
• Give and give and give without needing to receive back.
• Try not to block the words of others. You don’t want to miss the good things that others have to share.
• Project Managers are leaders. Take the lead. Have a plan. Prioritize. Have an agenda. Anticipate. Be an example. Lead the way.
• Adapt to local terminology when you can. Create terminology and definitions when you must.
• Be curious within your need to know.
• Stimulate imagination and adherence to purpose to ignite and sustain vision.
• Re-frame and re-frame information and concepts until people “get it”. Aim to explain with new phrases, new diagrams, and whatever it takes.
• Keep team and end user involvement high to generate more buy-in and to keep progress moving.
• When there’s too much to do and you don’t know which step is best, just do the next thing that you see in front of you.
• Respect everyone’s time by being prepared.
• Remember that it’s the business processes that count. Technology provides the tools.
• Hi-tech is great but sometimes lo-tech, high-touch (as in touchy-feely solutions are a better fit).
• Sometimes it helps to plan backwards. Keep the end purpose in mind.
• Use simple tools when you can.
• Use posters, wall charts, white boards and projectors at times rather than email and file attachments.
• Applaud strengths and excellence. Applaud the overcoming of obstacles.
• Email is a great tool for communication but don’t forget that the phone and face-to-face will sometimes work better.
• When you reach important milestones, celebrate!!
• Celebrate the small wins too (even if you’re a party of one).
• Use all of the sincere confidence that you can muster.
• Be discreet.
• Be a cheerleader. Encourage. Avoid scorning and scoffing.
• Keep secrets and maintain your trustworthiness.
• Give honor where honor is due.
• Give gratefulness where gratefulness is due.
• Build relationships ahead of your need to ask for a favor. In some relationships, you will give more than you receive. In other relationships, you will receive much more than you give.
• Collaborative teamwork and working together is beautiful to behold and something to celebrate.
• As basketball Coach John Wooden said: “There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile things come from hard work and careful planning.”
• There exists science and there exists art. Both have their place.
• Pursue excellence. Pursue Kaizen (continuous improvement). Keep pursuing when the project is complete.