I was asked to potentially fill in as a substitute runner for my husband's Colorado Relay team a few weeks ago. What this really means is that my husband said "you might want to start training honey, we many need you to jump in and run". Soooo -now I am "training". How does one train for a 24 hour relay with 10 people running a combined total of 195 miles over the Colorado Rockies? I have been running (jogging) for the past few years to get and stay in shape. My longest run up until I started training was 5 kilometers (about 3 miles). Geek that I am, I started Googling about running training. The best thing I could come up with for this plan was to train for a 1/2 marathon so that's what I'm doing. I'm 3 weeks into it and my longest run now has been 4 miles. When you are running on average 3 miles every time you run you find that you have lots of time to think. I think about -wait for it -projects (a good chunk of the time anyway)!
While I was running up a particularly difficult (and not fun at all) hill I started thinking about how projects are a lot like running hills; and maybe even just running in general. Sometimes your hill is steep and long while other times your hill may be gradual and rolling. Every PM that has been working projects for a few years has most likely encountered both long, tough projects and those that seem to be quite smooth. I have found that good planning, stamina and resiliency are all necessary in both running and in projects.
With every project I spend a lot of time planning. Most of my planning is upfront, but I plan throughout the entire project. With a good, solid plan you have a roadmap for your project -you know where you are going and have a plan to get there. On a project you are working with a team and it is of the utmost importance that you share your plan with the team, stakeholders and sponsors. You need to get everyone on-board with the plan or you are going to find that all of your careful planning is now "out the window". As a runner I only need to make sure I am on board with my own plan. I still need a plan, though. If I did not map out my route or at least know where I'm starting, finishing and how long I will be going for I could end up lost or in some other trouble. I even go so far in my planning as to make sure there is one person that knows that I'm going for a run, the approximate route and if I'm not in contact with them by a certain time to start looking for me. Overkill? Maybe...
My CEO likes to use the marathon and projects analogy during long and difficult projects:" we are running a marathon, not a sprint". Which brings us to my second point: stamina. With projects I, as the PM, need to be able to keep going all the way from start to finish. I need to understand when to slow down, speed up and/or take a break, as well as, push others or back off at times. There are many players involved, but most of those players only see a smaller picture of everything going on. As a runner I need to rely on stamina as well. That's pretty self explanitory and if you need to understand it further I'm not sure I can explain it to you.
Lastly, resiliency is key. It can take one minor problem or issue to completely derail a project. As a Project Manager I need to think on my feet and come up with creative solutions to problems that are encountered along the way. I need to look at each problem and come up with a way to work with it or around it. Sometimes that means deferring the issue until a later time, sometimes it means adding scope to the project or changing existing scope. No matter what the project will continue and I have to be able to work through things and keep looking forward. I have found over the years that I can more easily let things go and not take everything to heart. That's not to say don't document or use the issue(s) as a learning tool, though. I see every problem or mistake as something to learn from and will try everything in my power to not have the same thing happen more than once. I'll admit it right here -I make mistakes! Oh my goodness, is there some unwritten rule that everyone is suppose to be perfect?? Oh well -the cat is out of the bag now. As a runner I encounter different kinds of problems during my runs. Uh oh -there is a snake on the road! Jump over! Sometimes I need to alter my course to account for the geese on the sidewalk, this may mean running across the road to avoid them, but in the end I still end up finishing my run. I don't turn around and go back the way I came or just stand there waiting for something else to move the obstacle out of my way. I think creatively and work around my problem.
In the end, whether I am running or finishing up a project it's always good to go back over everything and think about/document lessons learned. You can also reward yourself and your team for a job well done. Celebrating an accomplishment is always a bright spot at the end of a long tunnel! Cheers!
While I was running up a particularly difficult (and not fun at all) hill I started thinking about how projects are a lot like running hills; and maybe even just running in general. Sometimes your hill is steep and long while other times your hill may be gradual and rolling. Every PM that has been working projects for a few years has most likely encountered both long, tough projects and those that seem to be quite smooth. I have found that good planning, stamina and resiliency are all necessary in both running and in projects.
With every project I spend a lot of time planning. Most of my planning is upfront, but I plan throughout the entire project. With a good, solid plan you have a roadmap for your project -you know where you are going and have a plan to get there. On a project you are working with a team and it is of the utmost importance that you share your plan with the team, stakeholders and sponsors. You need to get everyone on-board with the plan or you are going to find that all of your careful planning is now "out the window". As a runner I only need to make sure I am on board with my own plan. I still need a plan, though. If I did not map out my route or at least know where I'm starting, finishing and how long I will be going for I could end up lost or in some other trouble. I even go so far in my planning as to make sure there is one person that knows that I'm going for a run, the approximate route and if I'm not in contact with them by a certain time to start looking for me. Overkill? Maybe...
My CEO likes to use the marathon and projects analogy during long and difficult projects:" we are running a marathon, not a sprint". Which brings us to my second point: stamina. With projects I, as the PM, need to be able to keep going all the way from start to finish. I need to understand when to slow down, speed up and/or take a break, as well as, push others or back off at times. There are many players involved, but most of those players only see a smaller picture of everything going on. As a runner I need to rely on stamina as well. That's pretty self explanitory and if you need to understand it further I'm not sure I can explain it to you.
Lastly, resiliency is key. It can take one minor problem or issue to completely derail a project. As a Project Manager I need to think on my feet and come up with creative solutions to problems that are encountered along the way. I need to look at each problem and come up with a way to work with it or around it. Sometimes that means deferring the issue until a later time, sometimes it means adding scope to the project or changing existing scope. No matter what the project will continue and I have to be able to work through things and keep looking forward. I have found over the years that I can more easily let things go and not take everything to heart. That's not to say don't document or use the issue(s) as a learning tool, though. I see every problem or mistake as something to learn from and will try everything in my power to not have the same thing happen more than once. I'll admit it right here -I make mistakes! Oh my goodness, is there some unwritten rule that everyone is suppose to be perfect?? Oh well -the cat is out of the bag now. As a runner I encounter different kinds of problems during my runs. Uh oh -there is a snake on the road! Jump over! Sometimes I need to alter my course to account for the geese on the sidewalk, this may mean running across the road to avoid them, but in the end I still end up finishing my run. I don't turn around and go back the way I came or just stand there waiting for something else to move the obstacle out of my way. I think creatively and work around my problem.
In the end, whether I am running or finishing up a project it's always good to go back over everything and think about/document lessons learned. You can also reward yourself and your team for a job well done. Celebrating an accomplishment is always a bright spot at the end of a long tunnel! Cheers!