Once upon a time, a project began. The engineers exuded excitement, and the project managers delighted in Gantt charts! Part selection came with a flurry. Resources seemed plenty. Plans came together. Meetings delighted with all together. After a week went by smoothly, reality set in for all. Have you seen this? Rubber hits the road, and few prepare well for predicting when this happens.
Many directions split off from this framing. However, this post focuses on one problem. What do you do when indecision arrives? This takes the form of selecting a design path, a tool chain, method of installation, and many others. How do you deal with this? The word is responsibility, and this allows for scaling at any level.
If you have a management role, this may include corralling overly exuberant engineers. Although, this may as easily be breaking through the roadblock of those not willing to commit to a design. First, the front-end work of building a competent team remains the critical method. Early days in a project is better than later for a shake-up if needed. Second, commit with a plan that you have researched. Nobody will follow a boss/manager/leader that does not do their own research. Be in a place to give a realistic, competent approach to follow. Even those that may not be the final provides the team with a jump-start to review with advanced information. Third, invest in your coworkers, and they will lookout for you. Fourth, be honest with your leadership with methods for alternatives when you shake-up this plans.
How do you deal with this problem when you are not in a leadership role? Hard work always help, but insight is better. Act with ownership even when you do not own the leadership. Your work owns the path that leads to success. Develop your strategies, and show the merits. One word of warning in this is to know the difference between being sure of the necessary path and that which is about ego. When the company is worth you while, the long-term payoff cannot help but pay you dividends in position, compensation, and fulfillment.
What do both have in common? PEOPLE! See where these fall. Your personal investment in those around you yield rewards. Be authentic, and be willing to give yourself over to making relationships work. Projects are executed by people.
- Start working before the rubber hits the road. Be ready to live with the effort you put into everything.
- Surround yourself by people that do what you need better than you can do the job. How can you delegate effectively if you cannot trust the work?
- Work hard. People know the difference this and the alternative.
- Stand up for what is the best. Quality always shows.
- Know the difference between ego and the best approach. No relationship worth having is advanced by ego growth.
- Be ready to provide a plan when things go off the rails. Problem happen, but be ready to recover with a realistic plan.
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