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Most companies introduce change through a project or a programme comprised of multiple projects. The need for good project management is obvious but I come across many companies experiencing difficulties in delivery. This is often because their project managers lack experience and simply do not know how to properly manage risks or are short on techniques to keep things on track.
Too often cost reduction means human resources are shared over-optimistically, assigned to achieve too much and, with tight scheduling, this invariably leads to over-utilisation. Such poorly managed people become resentful, stop delivering and become disenchanted usually resulting in them leaving the organisation.
Think about the costs such poor leadership incurs – this does not reduce costs, but creates more cost such as hiring a new employee to replace the one that is leaving, along with all the disruption to the teams and to any projects they are involved in plus the need to spend extra time on handover. How much is the loss of company related knowledge as it walks out of the door accounted for? In addition, there is the impact of their departure on all the established relationships which were built during their service with the company.
What a waste and all because somebody in senior management wanted to save a few dollars!
Cost reduction decisions need to consider the strategic goals of the company and any current and future planned projects. The whole management team should be involved, to identify potential threats to their teams and working processes and to design risk contingencies enabling the company to continue forward in its planned change programme with as little disruption as possible.
One of my specialities is coaching teams around risk and contingency.
Such coaching around risk and contingency is well worth the investment just from the benefit of having managers come together and discuss some of their issues thereby providing greater appreciations and understanding of all the challenges. Risk contingency design and development provides greater alignment and gives managers planned and already agreed actions.
Such basic practice gives everybody confidence in the rest of the team and creates a higher performing organisation.
Coached Training
Much of my work is based around the provision of coached training designed to help individuals and companies develop towards a higher performing organisation and too keep their many change projects on track. Last week I met with a client and we discussed some of my training modules and he responded … “Training … oh we have stopped all training this year except health and safety mandated training, we are in a cost reduction phase!”
It is common knowledge that sports stars and world class athletes use coaches to motivate them to step up to challenges and to work towards higher standards and I do the same with business teams, managers and corporate executives by developing new knowledge and coaching habits that enable better performance. Can you imagine a young athletics superstar having a spell of bad results saying – oh I am going to stop training because it costs too much?
When you ask yourself, what do we need to do be even better, the answer is … ‘Employ a Projects Coach’.
A Project Coach
What’s a project coach?.
An experienced projects coach will parachute into your company and help your project leadership find the necessary options and solutions to their current project challenges and issues.
I can be retained to provide ongoing coaching to establish good habits or I can simply be deployed as a consultant for a specified period.
Your choice – Let’s talk!
Thank you and have a great day!
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