Avoiding Stone Age Practices in the Age of the Internet
Naturally, my suggestions to explore using commonly available tools like Google Sites (Google’s version of a wiki), Skype (free videoconferencing), and cloud file storage tools are met with the standard retort: “Our IT group won’t let us use that due to security issues.” Point well taken. Security is certainly a valid consideration. But so is getting our work done, eh? And if email were invented today, I am quite sure it would be forbidden by IT departments worldwide due to similar concerns, as would credit cards (they track everything we do!) and cell phones (and they know where we are!).
Any one of these 21st century super-cool tools won’t necessarily work for a particular environment, but it’s up to the project leader and the IT people to work together to figure out what will work. The question we should be asking is “What WILL make it possible to efficiently, effectively, and securely share files, documents, and other critical information in today’s global business environment?” I’m truly stymied by encountering the brick wall of “It’s not possible.” year after year with various clients. No worries: I’m not tired, and I’m not giving up. I’m just puzzled. Perhaps I’ll be deluged by responses full of cautionary notes, but I personally would prefer an onslaught of email answering the question, “What would make it possible?”
Tortured by the Demons of Excessive Workload and Aversion to Planning
As I write, it’s starting to dawn on me that stupidity can’t possibly be the explanation for the bewildering examples of worst practices above. But what is at the root of all of this, or at least the largest of the many tendrils?
Last time I checked everyone I know who had a job was more overworked than ever, with at least a half-dozen important tasks or projects on their plate at once, all of which were prioritized either HOT, VERY HOT, RED HOT, or DO IT NOW! The necessity of taking the time to plan — not just what we do, but how we do it — has been understandably put on the backburner. If you haven’t read Chapter 5 of my Scrappy Project Management book recently, you might want to check out this chapter, available free on ProjectConnections.com, for more insights into this “tyranny of the urgent.”
Working faster, “doing more with less,” and the all-too-common firefighting, heroics, and diving catches can feel like an enlivening experience, even as you’re digging your own grave. An aversion to planning is characteristic of many human beings (especially engineers), and it never feels like there’s enough time to plan. In a way it’s actually quite a relief not to have the time to do any long-term strategic thinking, especially when the world sometimes seems to be changing so rapidly that any such plans will be obsolete long before they’re implemented. We can just come in to work every day, sort through what’s piled up in our email inbox, and respond to the crisis de jour, adrenaline coursing through our veins the whole time. Wahoo!
Corporate Culture Trumps All, and Yet is Neglected
Peter Drucker is credited with saying, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” meaning that if you can’t get the company culture right it won’t much matter what kind of bug-tracking software you implement, or whether you have a wiki or a place to share files. In spite of a wide array of research, books, and articles on exactly what works with millions of people worldwide, I still find that most work environments fail to implement even the most basic elements required of healthy, vibrant, work environments: corporate cultures capable of fostering and enhancing business results. (See my previous article on this topic if you want more on this rant.) The leader is the source of culture in the immediate work environment, so we’re responsible for what Mr. Drucker claims is even more high leverage than business strategy. What an awesome opportunity and responsibility! Most of the changes required to create a best-in-class culture cost absolutely nothing, except the time to plan and implement practices such as:
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