365QOD- Day1105

Channels of Communication

"Who needs to know?"- my question to myself

While managing projects it is very easy to overlook a critical stakeholder.  A stakeholder is someone that can positively or negatively affect the projects.  So not communication with stakeholders could be disastrous.

Let us consider the number of communications between people.  Suppose two people are talking between each other.  There exists only one channel of communication.  This channel has both back and forth direction but it is still only one channel.

By definition, there exist

                          n*(n-1)/2 

channels between people.  For two people, n=2, it is 2*(2-1)/2=1.  If we consider three people, n=3, then 3*(3-1)/2=3*2/2=3.

Most teams that I work with have ten people or more that are stakeholders.  For n=10, then the number of channels is 10*9/2=45.  I have to be aware that there are 45 potential channels that are taking place that I might not be informing, managing, or controlling.  This is very critical to a team's success and needs to be carefully managed.

Today's question is:
"How many people are stakeholders on your project?"

365QOD- Day1052

People Pusher

"The project manager first has to be tough, second place has to be flexible. A motto I consider important is “Never uncertain; always open.” I saw that in Latin (Numquam incertus; semper apertus) on the ceiling of a German fraternity in Heidelberg. It's important to always have a direction and be going there. You can't steer a ship that's not underway. But it's also important to be open to changes in circumstance and direction and not just to be completely bullheaded. A project manager also has to be a people person. Project management is a people function and most of the problems are people problems."-      Fred Brooks author of the Mythical Man Month

I manage people and projects for a living.  My goal is to always to get the project done ahead of schedule and under budget.  There is science and art to getting this done.

The science part consists of having the knowledge of the project management framework that your organization follows.  This is very different from one organization to another.  Sometimes it is well spelled out in manuals and training.  Other organizations do not follow a formal system and simply respond to the flow.

What Fred is talking about is the art piece.  As he wisely tells us, most problems are people problems.  You have to be tough to protect your organization's goal for the project but flexible enough with people to allow for reasonable changes.  It is a fine line.  The line, never uncertain, always open is the secret sauce.

Many project mangers tend to fall into one or the other camp.   I love both equally because I see them as complimentary and not as excluding the other.  Just because I know the flow does not can be effective on getting people to follow me.  One without the other makes one a very incomplete project manager.

Today's question is:

"On your path are you certain but open?"