Three Circles Consulting Ltd

The Outstanding Project 3.3 PDF Print E-mail

Hello,

Perhaps I spoke too soon, last issue?  After a period of glorious weather, it seems that the cold weather has returned for many.

The spirit of cooperation is alive and indeed thriving in many projects, especially those involving multiple partners.  Some teams describe the relationship between supplier and customer as special, or even essential.  This issue, we continue our exploration of involving people outside the project team, building the sense of cooperation.


Let me know what you're thinking about after reading this issue.  What would you like to read about next time?

In this issue

Waving, not drowning

Professional networks, revisited 


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Waving, not drowning

Last time, we looked at what you should be thinking about when you're getting ready to involve people, in a way that gets much closer to "no surprises" (if you missed it, or would like to review the content, click here). It may feel like there's so much to remember, so many people to consider, so many ways they want to be kept informed.

To help calm this overwhelm, why not create, and review, your surprise map. This can be particularly useful when combined with a no-surprises plan. It can be as simple or complex as you wish. Your no-surprises plan will likely be useful both when you're planning who to involve and how, and for review throughout the project's life.

Your no-surprises plan could look like this;

Key Stakeholder

Maintain

Inform

Satisfy

Actively Manage

Action Plan

Fred Smith

 

X

 

 

Communicate goals, stress impact on Fred, show data if necessary.
 

At the other end of the spectrum, plans can have many columns of data for each person.  You may prefer something that sits in between the two. Something that helps keep track of the answers to the questions you'll have asked, during the previous two steps in the journey. People I've worked with have found something like this to be workable, striking a useful balance;

 

Stakeholder

Surprise map

Current perception

What information

What's in it for me?

When to inform

By what means

Who do they listen to

Actions

Fred Smith

M

-ve

Upcoming activities and resource needs

resource planning up front

Monthly

phone

I. Jones

Share initial plan....

Fay Probert

S

+ve

Heads up on finance involvement

Controlling planning info when needed

Monthly

Email/meeting as needed

W Rigg

Define budgetary requirements...

Which ever approach you decide upon, you'll produce a living, evolving plan, that should support communication and delivery of your project activities with the minimum of surprises.

 

Action Point

What steps will you take over the next month to build and use a no-surprises plan?

How would it feel to be involved in a project that used this approach?

As you read this article, what thoughts come up, what questions do you have?


Back to the top

Professional networks, revisited

Last issue's article about LinkedIn Maps looks to have been interesting to many readers, if the comments I've received are anything to go by.  If you went on to discover what the map told you about your network, I'd love to hear from you.  An example LinkedIn Map

I'm curious to learn what difference this visual representation of your network made to your activities on LinkedIn. What did it tell you about the people and organisations in your network?

Do you use other visual tools that might be of interest to colleagues or peers?

Back to the top

 
 
As usual, your comments are welcomed and appreciated, particularly with regard to what you'd like to hear about in future bulletins.


Matthew Theobald