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| NEW CONSTRUCTION
STRATEGIES ARTICLES |
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| Southeast
Construction Magazine: July 2004 Issue |
Innovation: The Path to Greater
Profits - Part 1
By Ted Garrison |
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The
terms “project management” and “project
manager”both do a poor job of conveying the responsibilities
inherent in the role of running a project. Instead,
the terms “project leadership” and “project
leader” would better describe the responsibilities
necessary to deliver a project on time, on budget, with
high performance and with a delighted client.
While
titles are often meaningless, in this case I believe
they indicate a difference in thinking. For example,
most books and programs on project management focus
on how to run projects. In contrast, leadership focuses
on what needs to be done. The most important question
for success is “what must be done?”
I often
ask my audiences, “What is more important—
to do the ‘right thing’ or do ‘things
right’?” This may seem logical because we
have been taught in school that the students that do
things rightare rewarded. Unfortunately, if the task
doesn’t need to be performed does it really matter
how well it was done?
Therefore,
it’s critical to first identify the tasks that
must be performed—the “what;” then
learn how to master the what, or in essence learn how
to do the what correctly. Unfortunately, most project
management books and programs focus on the how and
not on the what. This is due in part to the
fact that too many of these programs or books are designed
by technocrats who believe the process is what is important.
In contrast,
a leader focuses on results. The leader understands
people are only paid for results. No one cares how hard
you work if you don’t get the desired results,
no one cares how smart you are if you don’t get
the results. Get the results and you are the hero.
This
doesn’t mean that we can sacrifice safety, legality,
morality, or ethics in order to achieve the results.
What’s being discussed is the ability to adapt
or change business practices and process in order to
improve results.
If there
is any doubt in your mind about the importance of leadership,
consider the following situation. Imagine you have two
projects. The first has a great schedule, great budget,
a great set of plans and specs—and a complete
jerk running the project. The second has a terrible
schedule, a terrible budget, a messed-up set of plans
and specs, but a true leader running it. Which project
do you think will turn out better? I have asked that
question many times and so far everyone has picked the
second project. Yes, leadership makes a difference.
I’m
not suggesting that project management tools aren’t
valuable. They can certainly make the job easier. However,
the tools don’t build the project, people build
them, therefore people skills are the most important
project management tool.
Despite
this reality, more and more organizations seem to focus
on increasing technical competence by adding additional
controls and complexity. For example, project schedules
have continued to grow in complexity until they are
virtually useless for the intended purpose. The schedules
are so complicated they are difficult to understand;
they take too many hours to create and cause a constant
drain on management’s time to update them. Despite
the extra work and complexity there has been no improvement
in project scheduling performance.
The
leader understands that his or her role is not to tell
everyone how to do his or her job. Instead,
it’s the leader responsibility to insure the person
assigned to the task is qualified, the person understand
the problem and the desired results, has the necessary
resources and is committed. With this accomplished they
get out of the way.
The
leader’s approach results in a work force that
is highly motivated and high performing. In essence,
results are number one, not control or the process. |
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THE END *
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Ted
Garrison, the author ofStrategic Planning
for Contractors, works with businesses
in the construction industry. He can be reached
at
Growing@TedGarrison.com
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