A new decade means it's time to reflect

By Michael Lisagor

  Hard to believe it's already December and almost the start of a new decade. A great time to reflect on your past challenges, victories and hard-earned lessons learned. One thing is for sure -- the world as you know it will be drastically different in 2020. That means the need to adopt different approaches to take advantage of technology advances beyond your imagination and to accommodate a younger workforce with radically different expectations.

  Whether you're a commercial, government or non-profit manager, a key question for 2010 is whether the business strategy that has worked for you for the last ten years will cut it in 2010 and beyond. Add to that your personal new year's determinations and you can make a compelling argument for doing some serious self-reflection about how effective you were as a leader in 2009. And, keep in mind that past successes don't guarantee future results.

  This is a great time of year to do some serious soul searching. Are there communication habits that are holding you back? Problem employees you have been reluctant to deal with? Priority actions you lost sight of? Pet projects everyone else knows are losers that you are reluctant to give up? Differing opinions or feedback you don't want to hear? Activities outside your comfort zone you should be doing but continue to avoid?

  If you're willing to listen, your staff can be an excellent source of feedback (except perhaps that troublemaker you're planning on letting go in January). Business peers can also help you map out innovative plans. Be open to different perspectives and avoid the "emperor has no clothes" syndrome.

  Perhaps never in our history has the ability to adapt and innovate been more important. Not to be perfect. Just to embrace the need for change and keep your eyes (and hearts) open to new possibilities. And, remember to give the next generation the opportunity to help you map out a successful strategy.

  These can be exciting times. It's all up to us.

  Wishing you and your families a safe and enjoyable holiday!

  Mike

  Copyright 'almost' 2010 Michael Lisagor

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Manage client relations and project success

   Some useful techniques to set, monitor, manage and reset client expectations and increase the probability of successful project implementation are:

o   Identify your stakeholders. Who has a vested interest in your project? Who has resources you need or will ultimately approve your project? Make sure you build a good rapport with these people.

o   Establish success criteria. You and your client should agree on what constitutes project completion. If you don't achieve this understanding, you may never finish the project. Criteria are especially important on fixed-price deliverable tasks.

o   Get a solid start. Conduct thorough kickoff meetings and carefully document objectives, milestones and client responsibilities.

o   Review project status. Maintain a project plan. Review it weekly or biweekly with your team and the client.

o   Know your contract. Refer back to it before agreeing to additional tasks. You are responsible for controlling the scope of work and changes to it. Ignore the contract at your peril.

o   Be careful what you promise. Be willing to say no - nicely, at first, and more strongly when necessary - either when something your client wants is not in the baseline requirements or statement of work or when a request is unreasonable or unethical. Furthermore, you want to say no when it is something that would not be in the client's best interest. In such a case, you can say, "Our experience tells us that...." But when you must say no, try to offer a more attractive alternative that solves the client's problem.

o   Actively seek feedback. Be willing to listen to your team members and client regarding what is and isn't going well. You can't fix a problem if you don't know about it. The issue you ignore or refuse to hear about could surface at a later date to torpedo your project.

o   Avoid surprises. When you discover potential problems with the project - such as risks and limitations - that may affect the outcome, develop contingency plans.

o   Communicate regularly. Recognize the major client relation danger signs such as a lack of regular communication between you and your client, fear of talking to your client about something specific or, even worse, about anything at all, or uncertainty about your client's approval of what you are going to deliver.

o   Be proactive. Get your project out of trouble by listening to clients and understanding their concerns. You can bring an executive when you need to demonstrate commitment or when you have bad news. Finally, be honest: It's easier to remember the truth you told a month ago than the lie you told yesterday.

Copyright 2009 Michael Lisagor

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