Tired of the Feeling You're Herding Cats? Problem Solved!

Have you ever heard the saying "it's like herding cats"? When you did, or if this was the first time you've heard it, did it resonate with you? Did you smile and nod your head? Well then at some point in your life, maybe even currently, you are a leader. 

Project managers aren't just admins. They aren't just coordinators. They aren't just planners or schedulers. Project managers are leaders. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes in complete denial but they are leaders. They see the forest and the trees. 

But leaders can't lead if they don't communicate. The people that you lead may be very skilled at what they do but it's your job to ensure that none of their talent is wasted on frivolous things because you did not communicate a direction to them. Having a team of the best football players on earth is pointless without a coach. Mediocre teams with coaches will beat all-stars with no coach. 

But it's like herding cats!! Yes it is. We are all busy with competing priorities daily.  That won't change. So how do I gets the cats to herd so we can get things done on schedule, with the level of quality we need and on budget ?  

Cats may be very independent minded, divas who don't really put much stock in others. The sun don't shine till they wake!  But no matter how high the pedestal they're perched on, cats still need to eat. They've got to come down to feed. 

The independent minded, divas on your team, and all of the other team members for that matter, desire more than just showing up for a paycheck each week. We all do. Spend the time as a PM formulating your plan, coordinating resources, and scheduling WEEKLY progress tracking meetings with your team. Then feed them with communication / direction for the upcoming week. Give them specifics (their favorite dish) and deadlines (or the food will get cold). Here's a translation of the metaphor for the non-metaphor types ;)

Herding Cats	Translation	Practical Application
Get the Cats to come prepared to eat	Prepare the team to provide the right updates on the right tasks at the right time	Detailed Tracking Meeting Agendas
Show them what they ate and whats on the next menu	Motivate the team to continue to perform by advertising their progress (good or not so good)	Detailed Progress Reports
Tell the top Cats only what they need to know to help keep the other cats in line	Remove blockers by synthesizing them and providing clear decisions for the Execs / Sponsor to make to unblock progress	Executive Briefing Decks
Keep them from straying too far	Manage scope by focusing only on those actions that will help the project, whittling out those that do not, and focusing the action item owners only on those action items that are current (right actions, at right time, for right deliverables)	Action Item Logs

The challenge is that producing the 'meal' to maximize your results take time. Lots of time and analysis. This is the reason why most project managers DON'T do it. They either don't understand the value / benefit, don't know how to do it or they simply just don't have enough hours in the week to do it. Even with all of the software tools we have at our disposal today, this is still a highly manual, labor intensive administrative effort that most PM's  avoid. 

'There are too many other things that need my attention and I just don't have the time'. 

At www.exorion.net we've solved this problem! 

Just like the microwave oven turned hours of meal preparation into minutes (or in some cases just seconds) we have turned the analysis and prep time of communication to project team members into one that is done automatically in seconds! 

So now you're asking yourself 'how is that even possible?' Go to www.exorion.net and click on the BETA test tab and watch the product presentation video for more information.

This is the most powerful way for project managers to herd the cats. You have to be consistent. If you communicate frequently; providing the information they need in a highly digestible and consistent format, at the right time to the right people, your team will understand what needs to be done, how when and why. 

If your project was floundering, it will turn around and sail. If you were doing well, you will supercharge it towards success! Using our solution consistently on all of your projects will 'train the cats' to adopt successful behavior that will carry over from project to project for success on a consistent basis. 

Need to herd the cats to get your project done? Feed them good food. They'll show up on time and leave happy. 

The next time you catch yourself thinking "my project feels like it's rudderless at sea" or its "out of my control and I'm always playing catch up instead of leading it", you'll know that today you heard of a solution that will put you back in the drivers seat and steered towards success. www.exorion.net 

7 Steps for Project Managing Difficult Clients

Sometimes as a project professional you get assigned to a project with a very difficult, demanding and high profile client. Rather than bail as many PM’s will, view this as your opportunity to stand above the rest! But how??

A PM with vision knows that the most difficult clients are the most likely to become your greatest promoters / supporters IF their needs are well managed. In fact if you inherit the client after a failure (perceived or otherwise) the expectation ‘bar’ is low and your opportunities are high!

First thing to do is to assess and understand the client and the reasons why they are difficult. It could be that the business that they are in, is also high profile and pressure on them internally is significant. It could be that they had a prior experience with your organization and it wasn’t pleasant.  There could be bad blood (politics) between your company and theirs. It may be a combination of all of these scenarios.

Regardless, the situation is that you are now in the PM seat, which in this case often times means that you are quite possibly the ‘insurance policy’, i.e., if the project goes bad, you end up being the sacrificial lamb so that both parties can start anew. This is the risk that scares most project professionals away from these opportunities.

Knowing WHY the client is unhappy and HOW to turn that around is the critical piece of your strategy. My experience with very challenging clients is that their primary concern is that they feel that they have a lack of control. They want more control than they currently have. The problem here is how do you give them more control without losing your control over the project?

Control is a matter of perception. If you can increase their perception of control by giving them increased control over certain aspects of the project (the ones that make sense) you will see a significant change in the interactive dynamic with your client.

Now how do you give them increased control?  

1.        Over Communicate – access to information increases perceived control. In this instance you may even want to build a communication plan and share it with them. Show them where they fit into the communication plan.
2.       Be as Open & Honest as you can BUT be diplomatic - Do not finger point or get drawn into the blame game. This is a slippery slope and the reality of it, is that your goal is to LEAD the team beyond that. Leaders lead.  Keep the focus on solving issues, NOT finding someone to blame, even if your execs are. They are execs but they are human first and susceptible to the same human emotions we all are.
3.       Make the client a part of your team - Involve them in the solutioning phase. The instinct to go ‘black box’ on them tends to be stronger in challenging situations. This will have the exact opposite effect as your client will immediately sense that they are being blocked out, and this will raise red flags with them.  Build a RACI matrix and share it with them and your whole team including your execs. Incorporate their feedback. You need to be an advocate for the client in your organization.
4.       Document, Document, Document – You will need to do a little more documentation than you may be accustomed to. More than is normally needed. Leaving critical items like business requirements (BRs) or functional requirements (FRs) to verbal communication only leaves room for the blame game to start again. He said / she said never works in your favor. As the potential insurance policy, you DO NOT want to leave that to chance.  Create a document with the client’s business requirements (preferably verbatim from their own documentation), align each individual business requirement with the corresponding functional requirement(s). Schedule walk-throughs, internally first, then with all parties including the client. Where possible use a screen sharing tool so that the client can SEE what changes are being made in real time and can correct you. Seek their approval / feedback throughout the session. Send a copy of the revised document to everyone immediately after the meeting. Setting the stage for the Ask and the Solution with everyone in the same room increases their sense of control, and increases accountability for those on your team who must deliver. Everyone is on the hook. You are in control.
5.       Keep all team members honest, regardless of their title – if the reputation of the client is that they are difficult, the tendency for your team members will be to minimize or avoid interaction altogether. Fear can even create a sense of paralysis within your team. As a leader your job is to alleviate this paralysis before it destroys your project. Joint walk throughs of the BRs and FRs not only allows you to hold your team accountable for their deliverables and the quality, it allows you to hold the client accountable to the quality of their BR’s. If they are vague, ask them to clarify what they want the end product to look like. You can’t deliver a specific solution to a vague BR. If needed, draw out a simple set of use cases or a logical flow on a white board. Another opportunity to demonstrate leadership. Know the land mines before holding these sessions, and decide on your game plan, with your internal team, to address them if any are stepped on in the joint sessions.
6.       Plan ahead. - Even if it is a workback schedule with key milestones. If you don’t have a clearly documented and shared plan (with the client as well) you’ll find yourself fighting a never ending uphill battle. Others will control the narrative that is your project, unless you have a plan documented and widely distributed. As the insurance policy, you MUST control the narrative in these situations. In the absence of a detailed project plan, you still need a solid general direction to move in. As the BRs and FRs become clearer, you can create a more comprehensive plan. Put the onus back on the team to provide their solutions before committing to a plan based on guesses and sheer luck. Remember a plan is not a work of art, it’s a compass. You will have to course correct throughout. If not, they wouldn't need you ;)
7.       Stress release – you will absorb a lot of negative energy. You will hear a lot of complaints and have to withstand a lot of venting. That is the role of a leader BUT you are human. Take up long walks, running, weight lifting, martial arts (this is my favorite ;) or whatever interests you and allows you to release all of the negativity you’ll be absorbing. It has to go somewhere so that you can keep your sanity, refocus the negative energy into productivity and weather the storming phase while you move your team through the norming and performing phases.

Most won’t understand what you are doing or why. But then you are leading they aren’t. This is one of those soft skills that great PMs have but most don’t realize. It’s the intangible asset.

What they will understand are the results. Stay focused and committed to your project, your client and your internal team (in that order) and your results will follow.

The most difficult clients can become your greatest promoters. By complaining, they are giving you an opportunity to win them over. They want someone who will look out for their needs. The client that has a complaint but doesn't complain to you, is your greatest risk.

Listen, learn and be flexible. Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. 

Agree? Disagree? Please send your feedback to sbest@exorion.net

For more information on tools & techniques that you can use to improve your project performance and increase the value of your brand:

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by Sean Best, PMP. Owner of exOrion LLC. His 20+ years of project management experience includes work in the banking, payment processing, telecommunications and software development industries in Canada and the US. He can be reached at sbest@exorion.net