LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"No matter how good the team or how efficient the methodology, if we're not solving the right problem, the project fails." Woody Williams

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

The is the last thought on the topic of PROJECT MANAGEMENT. It was interesting to explore this a little bit and hopefully something bubbled up for you around this theme over the past month. You can read the past quotes and posts from this month HERE.

In August, we're going to look at the idea of MOTIVATION. Motivation can be described as the WHY behind any action, and it often separates having a goal from actually pursuing one. More on that next week.

Have you ever put a bunch of time and energy into something to then realize that the thing you were working on wasn't the "right thing"?

Have you ever finished a project to have that sense of satisfaction fade away quickly because you realized that what you accomplished wasn't the most important thing?

I'm in the middle of a situation where I find myself questioning if I'm focused on the right thing or not. I'm not going to share the details with you, but I want to share a little bit of my process as I work to figure this out in real time.

Sometimes I come up with a "great idea" (at least in my mind it's a great idea) and I then work to implement it and put it into action. Usually I can determine fairly quickly if the idea was an "inspired idea" or if it is just a "random fleeting idea" or not, but sometimes it takes some work and energy to figure this out.

Right now, I'm deep into a project that I'm trying to determine the answer to, and it's a place I don't like to be for long because I feel STUCK: not sure if I should double down and charge forward or if I should pause to make sure I'm heading in the right direction.

When I'm faced with this kind of dilemma, I often make a quick decision without completely evaluating things. I pull the plug quickly, I pivot before I need to or I hesitate and stall out, and continue in that STUCK place.

This time, this is what I'm doing:

• I created some "space" to search my heart and determine my motivation and my fear.

• I shared the dilemma with a few people to get their counsel, advice, insight and perspective, and I'm listening to that.

• I'm waiting a few days before making a decision, asking God for clarity, confirmation and peace.

That's where I'm at.... TODAY! Right in the middle of an issue, trying to write about leadership, but instead wanted to share with you the journey I'm on.

The quote above has had me thinking and contemplating over the past 5 days, and I just couldn't let it go, so I'm paying attention to what I'm in the middle of.

I don't know what you do to ensure you're focused on the right thing, but I invite you to share your wisdom with me.... not so I can share it with others, but so I can learn from you. What else would you do if you were me?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." Bruce Lee

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some ideas around PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Pretty exciting theme for a summer month, but I'm finding myself looking for some tools to help me get some things done over the next few months.

I've watched quite a bit of the World Cup over the past weeks. Some incredible moments of victory and some really hard moments of defeat, but 2 things just stand out to me as I watch these teams play.

First, THE POWER OF TEAM. The idea that everyone has a role to play, and they play together, often working specifically to get the ball to a point on the pitch where a specific player has the best chance of scoring. The entire team working together to make that happen, focused and in sync with each other. There was some beautiful fútbol being played!

Second, THE ABILITY TO ADAPT, which is what triggered the quote above from Bruce Lee.

These teams and coaches had to continually adapt their plan and their style of play to each of the teams they faced, changing pre-game and then during the game. Every team showed up with a strategy, with surprises, with the goal to win, and that competition forced everyone to be constantly changing.

I read an article yesterday about Lionel Messi, and it sparked my attention. They were commenting on the fact that Messi often appears to be standing and watching, or walking and not engaged in everything that's happening on the field, but the argument was that Messi was studying. He was evaluating the opposing team, he was watching for what they were doing and he was constantly finding ways to address their play and adapt their play in response. As the captain of the Argentina team, he was paying attention to everything that was happening on the field, and bringing his years and years of experience onto the field to help his team adapt and have the best chance of winning.

Unfortunately for Messi and his team, Spain was able to do this better in the final and they won a well deserved championship.

Coming back to our conversation around Project Management, this idea from Bruce Lee is critical in our ability to define a project, work towards completing a project and manage the outcomes.

On a scale of 1 - 10, how comfortable are you with adapting your plan based on what's going on around you, with 10 being "highly adaptable" and 1 being "resistant to adaptation"?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Goals convert vision into ENERGY." Dave Ramsey

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some ideas around PROJECT MANAGEMENT. Pretty exciting theme for a summer month, but I'm finding myself looking for some tools to help me get some things done over the next few months.

Thank you for your comments. I asked you to share some thoughts, and I received some great notes that I'll share below.

My friend Alan shared an article he had written on "The Big Rock Theory" and I'm sharing it HERE because he makes some really good points about the idea. Check it out and check out all of the content on his website. Thanks for sharing Alan.

The quote above from Ramsey isn't the quote I was looking for, but it's connected.

I attended one of Ramsey's EntreLeadership Conferences years ago, and really appreciated his approach to leadership.

At the conference, Ramsay made this statement (or it's what I heard him say)... something like:

"Goals are your vision in bite-sized chunks"

When he said that, something clicked in me.

I've always been a proponent of GOALS, of S.M.A.R.T. GOALS, but connecting them directly to the vision I was working towards was a new concept.

The quote above really goes in line with that idea, in that goals bring ENERGY to your vision, and that's so true.

How does this relate to project management?

I think we (or ME) often do great defining a project, a task, a goal, but it doesn't connect to the big picture. It's a task, and sometimes it's not connected at all to where I'm trying to get to.

One of the most important aspects of Project Management is actually determining what you're going to focus on and why. If you don't, then you waste time, energy & resources and you don't get closer to your ultimate goal.

Years ago, before email and internet were created, I had an idea to create a leadership network. I was 22 years old, I hadn't really thought through why I wanted to do this, but I woke up one day and just decided to give it a go. I spent about a week finding mailing addresses, writing letters, inviting people to join this emerging network of leaders in Los Angeles, but I failed to answer this really important question: WHY?

This became really apparent as the response was dismal. People couldn't understand what I was trying to do, they wouldn't commit to anything, and while I waited patiently for some of the 350 responses to pour into my newly rented mail box address, by the time I received my first (of 3) responses, I had grown bored of the idea and was moving onto something else. The 3 responses were all asking questions about WHY this was important. The reality is that this idea didn't connect with anything I was working on at the time in my life, it was simply an idea that I acted on, invested some money and lot's of time into, only to have it fade quickly away, while all I was left with was a bunch of stationary for a now defunct networking group.

Funny story... a few years later another group launched a similar network, and I joined it because their marketing was compelling, and they articulated the purpose much clearer than I did. I participated with them for years in this network of leaders.

Lesson learned: Know how the project, the idea, the task connects to your bigger purpose, your goal or your organizations goals.

How do you create ENERGY through the projects and tasks you're working on?