Lessons Learned: Confessions of a Project Manager - Volume 1

Lessons Learned:
Confessions of a
Project Manager -
Volume 1
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Lessons Learned: Confessions of a Project Manager
Table Of Contents
Introduction 1
Determining Business Value for Projects 3
Valuing People 6
The First Grade Lesson for the PMO Manager Search 8
Date Compliance Check - Microsoft Project Formula 9
Italian Work/Life Balance 11
Good Does Triumph! 13
Where is Andrew Shepherd? 16
Time Out! 17
Do You Want Me to be Honest? 18
Calculating Return on Investment 20
Blogging a Status? 21
Quick Tip for WBS 22
Time for a PM Revolution (The Value of Project
Management)
23
One of the top 5 PM's of all time: Santa Claus 25
Why does the team need to see the schedule? 28
Stroke the Ego of Your Stakeholders! 31
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Padding....is it really bad? 33
The Breakthough Moment 35
Pushing Back...Is It OK? 37
Creating Proper Metrics 39
To PMP or not to PMP, is that a question? 42
Beyond the ID number is a person.... 45
Payment terms......sheesh! 50
It is all in how you take it...... 53
Afraid of giving estimates 57
The Project Called......Life. 59
Anytime I get too big for my britches.. 61
A Lesson From Undercover Boss 63
You have three choices... 65
But We Still Get to Work......... 67
Metrics that Matter! 69
What about my capacity? 70
Join Us For Mentorship! 72
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Introduction
Welcome to my confessions! No, this is not another Usher song, but some
ramblings of a passionate and focused project manager. For those who do
not know me or have not heard me speak, I have been a project manager for
the last 20 years. I am a passionate evangelist for the profession that I feel is
often under-served and does not get the credit for the work that it produces!
This eBook is a collection of some of my past writings and musings as I
encountered clients, projects, and battles in my personal life. We hope that
you find it entertaining and give you insight into how we think and value
project management as a whole. My mission is to educate project managers
beyond the certification. I will often hear, "I am certified, now what?" If you
have gone through the certification or are preparing to, you understand the
amount of material that project managers must know and be able to call
upon to be successful in the industry. If this amount of knowledge is
necessary for the certification, then why do so many leaders of business
think that anyone can do the job? How often do you see a Chief Financial
Officer run around at the end of the fourth quarter asking if people know high
school math because she is short accountants? That wouldn't happen.
When a company is short of accountants, then they hire more accountants or
get temporary staffing. However, if a company has too many projects and not
enough project managers, they fill the gap with anyone who is available!
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My mission is to ﬁght for the day that all organizations recognize the value of
what a project manager can bring. To that end, all of our training, speaking,
and consulting is built with the vision of utilizing the foundation of project
management principles and enabling the value of project management to
every organization. If you would like to ﬁnd out more about some of the most
innovative products on the market that are bridging the gap between the way
project management is taught and how it is practiced for real results, visit
www.rickamorris.com.
We put this eBook together to highlight some of the most requested posts,
articles, and writings from our past. Enjoy!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Determining Business Value for Projects
The key to understanding the business value of projects is to look beyond our
standard metrics. Additionally, we will want to create measurements or
metrics that will score projects in an objective versus subjective way while
still allowing subjectivity to play a role. Sound confusing? It is! The role of any
committee is to break down the projects and create selection criteria to do
our best to ensure that we are working on the right projects at the right time.
However, the scoring and selection should be a guideline as to which projects
should be completed instead of the hard and fast rule. The first thing we need
to throw out is the generic definition of a project. It can't be as widely scoped
as "anything over 40 hours" or "2 or more departments should be involved." It
needs to be flexible enough that it encompasses many factors, but not so
simple that every initiative becomes a project.
So how do we define what the measurement criteria should be? This is an
iterative process that will take some time, but here are the first few questions
we all should answer:
Overall Value for Entire Organization - What metrics can we create that would
show the overall value to the entire organization? What is something today
that crosses the whole organization and what does it do?
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Overall Value for Department - Internally, there should be a measurement of
how it ﬁts the goals, directives, and compliance/regulatory initiatives for the
department
Overall Value for Customer - How will this affect our customer base? What
could we ask to track this?
Financial - What is the cost of the entire project? What is the cost of the
alternatives? Return on Investment? Net Present Value? Internal Rate of
Return? Payback Period?
Department Ranking - What is the rank of this project if they had to pick the
most important to the least important? This is a subjective measurement.
Overall Ranking - What is the rank of this project if they had to pick the most
important to the least important over the entire organization? This is a
subjective measurement.
Risk - What risk factors should we track?
Organizational Capacity - Do we have the capacity to do this project? When
would we be able to pick the project up?
Overall Scoring Methodology - How do we classify and score all the above
criteria to pick which projects we should do?
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Override - If we pick one project with a lower score than another, what type of
override policy should we require?
The above items should be discussed, agreed upon and scored. Then the
scoring should help determine the apples to apples business value
Valuing People
You will often hear me speak about the value of people. The fact that I hate
the term "Human Resources" is a dead giveaway. I talk quite a bit about
making sure that you are achieving the work/life balance and that people and
their families are your greatest asset.
Another great asset to remember is your network and your friends. You truly
have no idea when or if you will need someone else's help and where that
help will eminate. I hear story after story about what a small world it is and
how this person is tied to this person. Have you ever tried to play "Six
Degrees of Separation?"
Whenever I am asked for a favor or a recommendation, I try my best to lend
my help. You never know what it could lead to. I have had huge contracts
landed by simply replying to a question on a social networking site. I have
had many friends land positions at companies just because they asked
someone for assistance.
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This leads me to another conversation. Those that close themselves off
from this behavior. Around the holidays, I am always nostalgic. I have had a
great deal of fantastic people drift in and out of my life. Some relationships
ended well, some did not. However, every relationship was important to me.
I have learned something from just about everyone that I have ever met. I
overheard a conversation today about someone reaching out to a past
relationship, only to be rebuffed. The rebuttal was, "There is no need, it has
been 20 years."
I am sure there are reasons and I am sure there is much more to the story.
However, it still made me think about the value of the people in my life. Right,
wrong, or indifferent, I am thankful for each of you that have ever taught me a
lesson, shared an experience, or have given me the honor to call you a friend.
I value people, not our greatest resource, rather, our greatest asset.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

The First Grade Lesson for the PMO Manager Search
I have had several conversations over the past week and a half with clients on
the creation of a PMO. I see this happen all of the time. Companies want to
have a PMO, but they are really not sure what they want the PMO to do.
Additionally, I get asked the question of whether to promote from within or
hire externally for the PMO Manager. I generally have two responses to this
question:
1) I think it is a cultural decision whether to promote from within or hire
externally. For the most part, the expertise can be found externally, but they
have to learn the cultural and political land mines to navigate. Internally,
however, can sometimes just promote more of the same. It may not bring the
change companies are looking to make.
2) To ﬁnd a great PMO Manager, they are not necissarily your best project
manager. To breed change and to make an impact on the company culture,
you need someone who is willing to color outside of the lines. However,
project managers have been taught to color inside the lines and ask for
permission to let the color stray. It becomes the age old debate of creativity
versus functionality.
I do not think there are any right or wrong answers to this puzzle, except to
say that companies must understand what they want the PMO to accomplish
before embarking on this journey. I will post much more on this topic in the
coming weeks.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Date Compliance Check - Microsoft Project Formula
Here is a quick little formula that I developed that can help you keep an eye
on your project's status. I have some general rules for my project plans:
1) No manually typed dates
2) All tasks should have a predecessor
3) No past due start dates
4) No past due finish dates
To help with numbers 3 and 4, I have written the following formula:
IIf([% Complete]<100,Switch(([% Complete]=0 And (DateValue([Current Date])-
DateValue([Start]))>0),1,((DateValue([CurrentDate])-DateValue([Finish]))<-5),3,
(DateValue([CurrentDate])-DateValue([Finish]))>=-5 And (DateValue([Current
Date])-DateValue([Finish]))<0,2,
(DateValue([CurrentDate])DateValue([Finish]))>=0,1),3)
If you open up Microsoft Project, insert a number field, and then right click the
field and choose "Customize Fields," you will be able to select the "Formula"
button and paste the formula in. After you accept the entry, you can setup
"Graphical Indicators" to show a Red "X" for the result of a 1, and a Green Flag
for the result of a 2.
The results are as follows:
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

1 - The task has a past due start date and the task has not started or has a
past due finish date and the % complete is not marked at 100.
2 - This task will be completing within the next 5 days.
3 - Does not meet conditions 1 or 2.
Anything with a red "X" should be dealt with. Did the task start? If so, then
update the % complete. If it did not start, then move the date to the
anticipated start date. If the task is in progress then the finish date may have
been missed. Has the task finished? If so, mark the task 100% complete, if
not, then move the finish date to the anticipated finish date.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Italian Work/Life Balance
I spent 12 days in Italy with my family. It was truly an amazing time. There
was something that I witnessed while I was out there that piqued my
interest. We were walking down the street in Florence and we saw many kids
coming down the street, entering shops, and then the shops closing up. This
was odd because it was 1:30 in the afternoon. On closer inspection, we saw
two sets of times for each day in the shop windows. It read:
Aperto: 9 AM - 1:30 PM, 3:30 PM - 7:30 PM
We befriended a shopkeeper and asked about the hours. We learned from
him that in Italy, the kids generally get out of school at 1:30. The parents will
leave work and go home at 1:30 to have lunch as a family and then return
afterwards. The family unit is extremely important to Italian culture. This is
evident by watching them close their businesses to spend time with the
family and then re-opening them later. I found this very interesting.
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My first management job was managing restaurants. I remember being the
only restaurant open on Thanksgiving. Corporate thought it would be a good
idea and mandated that we be open. I had to schedule an entire staff to be
there just in case people wanted to eat out. We had two tables all day. I
looked around and saw how miserable my staff was. I thought then what we
sacrifice for profit. I saw firsthand what appears to look good on paper can
be devistating to your employees. When I speak in my seminars, I bring up
the fact that we need to take care of our people. That your staff should be
the most important thing to you and that achieving the right work/life balance
is crucial. I then saw this principle taken up a notch in Italy. I think that they
have it right.
We thanked the shopkeeper and let him get back to his family. I turned and
then looked at mine. One of the greatest things I have done is take the time
with them. Many of you know that I bring them with me as much as possible
when I travel, but this time was different. This time it was just us. There were
no schedules or meetings or things that needed to get done. Just us. Just
my family. It was the time out that I needed.
Hope you had the time with your family as well during Thanksgiving.
Remember, there is no day but today.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Good Does Triumph!
I heard some fantastic news today. I am not going to name names as to
protect the innocent, but I had to talk about it. There is someone in my
network that I consider a mentor and someone I look up to. He is absolutely
capping off an incredible year!
The story starts with me as a very young and naive consultant. I knew that I
had some knowledge and passion to do the job right, but I was very new. I
was given a very exciting assignment to help an organization create service
level agreements and standard operating procedures. I had done this before
for other organizations, but this one was a definite challenge. In fact, for
many of you that have heard me speak before, some of my favorite stories
that I tell came from this engagement. This was the first time I met this
man. He challenged me, made me laugh, but above all, he showed me how to
lead with integrity by example. At the end of the engagement, there were
some tough decisions that had to be made. There were a couple of people
on the staff that were not in the right positions to make them successful,
there were some changes that needed to be made internally, and there were
some political decisions. As the suggestions were offered, this man grilled
me from every angle to ensure that we had uncovered everything. I then
watched him make some tough decisions. Additionally, I was able to watch
him act on the decisions. What I learned was to always put people first.
Always take care of those around you and they will in turn take care of you.
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For the next several years, we kept in touch. I became a resource for him that
he would reach out to from time to time. Better yet, we became friends. I
told this man that anytime, anywhere, I would come work for him. I got the
chance not too long ago. However, the organization that I had fought for 10
years to become a part of was changing, and it was changing in a way that
didn't match the direction I was heading. I also saw the organization leaving
the values that had made it so great. My suspicions were conﬁrmed when
shortly after I left, they laid off two of the most ethical men that I had ever
known. My friend was one of those. On top of that, his wife was diagnosed
with cancer. My heart ached for him. What do you do? What do you say?
How do you help? In the greatest of trials for him, he never lost his faith. He
never lost what made him so special to everyone that knows him.
I heard today that this mentor that I think of so highly just landed a very nice
position at a company that is exactly the organization that he can thrive in. In
addition, his wife just had a scan after treatment and the cancer is in
remission. I got a chance to talk to my friend today and I can't help but think
back and smile. He has no idea the impact that he has made on my career
and how I believe that many things that we did back so many years ago
shaped me to the man that I hope I am.
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I spoke at an event today and I took my 3 year old son with me. He was an
absolute angel. At the end of the event is where I had heard the news and I
got the conﬁrmation from my friend shortly thereafter. As my son and I were
having fun together, I took a chance to reﬂect. I can't wait to teach my son
the values that I believe this man stands for. I can't wait to tell him about
someone that has shown such courage, compassion, and faith for so many
years. I can't wait to tell him that even in some of the darkest times.....good
really does triumph!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Where is Andrew Shepherd?
I am channel surﬁng in the hotel and I stopped at "The American President."
No matter what side of politics you are on, where are the men like Andrew
Shepherd? Integrity, leadership, and the ability to admit when he is wrong. If
you click on the link, you will hear one of the best 5 minutes in the movies. I
don't necessarily agree with the politics, but the way he takes a stand is
deﬁnitely worth it. It is a great speech. Especially when he says that
"America isn't easy."
Neither is running projects or large organizations. It takes guts to stand up
and say what is right. It takes integrity to report status as it should be. It
takes vision to truly be a leader and not just a manager. My favorite line in
the whole movie is when Andrew (Michael Douglas) states, "I was so busy
keeping my job....I forgot to do my job.....well that ends today!"
I think that quote is perfect for project managers to remember.
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Time Out!
Sometimes in life....I wish we could just call a time out. It works in sports, it
works (sometimes) for little ones. I wish at times that I could simply hit the
pause button and regroup.
Tonight is one of those nights that I am really missing my family. I have been
on the road quite a bit and things have been very busy which is great. We
also have a family vacation coming up in the next week that is a dream
vacation. However, I want to be there right now. I want to be with them right
now. They say behind every great man is a great woman. That is certainly
the case with me.
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I live a blesssed life. We work hard and play hard. My goal in life was to
ensure that my family would not want for anything. I can provide them the
opportunities and the lifestyle that they always wanted, but sometimes that
costs me in time and relationship capital. I am blessed to own R2 and to be
able to achieve a much greater work/life balance than I have ever had before.
However, there are still times when I have to console over the phone or hear
about issues from a distance that makes me so greatly want to be home. It
is a choice that we have made as a family and we are doing a great job of
being a family.....and by no means is this a complaint or a "wish" for a
change. Just sometimes, I want a time out. I want to invent the machine that
I can use 3 times per half that just stops everything, lets me transport home
and hug the kids, visit with my wife, and regroup. Then hit the magical pause
button again to resume.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Do You Want Me to be Honest?
"No....lie to him....he likes it!"
That is a quote that has always stuck with me from Mr. Mom. Classic movie!
I had no idea that in the real world, it is the truth! I am noticing a huge issue
and disconnect between the executives and their project teams. This was
evident even today as I worked with a client.
The project team has been told that the project must meet a certain date
which is literally one month away. The code for the project is not complete,
they are weeks behind in testing, and the product is barely standing.
However, they are still going to push untested code in production. The
deﬁnition of in production is to put it on the desktop, roll it out, but tell people
not to use it. Here is the best part.....according to the project team, this is
what the executive wants. They are under the impression that he is fully
aware of all of these facts and he would rather say that it was in production
at a certain date than it to be pushed back and properly tested.
This is all to common in many businesses today. I bet that if a frank
discussion was had with the executive, then a different decision would be
made. I have been interviewing executives for my next book and I am being
told from the executives that their teams would not do what happened at this
client.....yet it was. How do we become so disconnected? How do we allow
this to occur?
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It is time for open and frank conversation and for PM's and executives to
understand the reality of their relationship. Through education and
understanding, you can have your cake and eat it too. I just want to make
sure it is cake that I am eating (and not crow!). That is my rant for tonight!
P.S. "Jack, you're doing it wrong!" - Mr. Mom
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Calculating Return on Investment
I get many questions at seminars about ROI (return on investment)
calculations. Many people utilize this measurement for project selection.
There are several variations of the formula. Depending on the information
that you have available, the complexity of the calculation can grow. Here are
a couple that I use:
Simple: (net proﬁt / total investment) X 100 = ROI
If you are projecting a proﬁt of $25 on an investment of $160, then the
calculation is:
(25/150) X 100 = 15.625%
More complex: Net Income + (current value - original value) / original value X
100 = ROI
This formula can be used for ongoing multiple year revenues. For instance, if
you purchased $5,000 in stock which is now valued at $5,200 and you have
earned $100 in dividends, the calculation is:
((100 + (5,200-5,000) ) / 5,000) X 100 = 6%
Hope this helps!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Blogging a Status?
Interesting thought! I was reading an excerpt from Andy Wibbels titled "Blogs
and Business: What You Must Know" and he suggested utilizing a Blog for
project status.
He stated that "Blogs can provide an instant snapshot of a project's status, an
archive of past reports, and an easier way to access deliverables. You won't
be annoying your employees by clogging their inbox with an 8 gigabyte PDF."
Clearly he has worked with PM's that have a fondness for charts and graphs!
However, it does provide an interesting thought. Many companies are looking
for ways to go green and many have not invested in a Project and Portfolio
Management type of technology. Some companies utilize Sharepoint for this,
but it too can become cumbersome in navigation. Blogging can be a perfect
ﬁt for those.
I have seen many organizations still want the ill-fated printed status report.
They must have their red/yellow/green! The question is, when is the last time
a decision was made off that status report? When is the last time someone
in your company stopped a project because it was red, or put more resources
on a project when it went yellow? If the answer is "never", then maybe a
change to the way it is done is warranted.
In any case, the article did make me think!
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Quick Tip for WBS
There are many people that want to know how to get started doing a Work
Breakdown Structure. Some people have never done one and don't want the
ﬁrst one to be at their company. I have two quick tips to assist:
1) Practice with a charity or a church. These organizations desperately look
for volunteers and especially volunteers who can help organize and run
events. This will give you an awesome opportunity to practice! Call the
United Way and introduce yourself. There will always be an opportunity to
help your community!
2) Here is a quick way to get started. Send out the scope to the team prior to
the meeting and ask them to send back an Excel spreadsheet of the initial
tasks that they can think of. From there, do a mail merge onto address labels
and put those on sticky notes. Before the ﬁrst meeting, go ahead and put the
sticky notes on the wall. When the attendees come into the meeting, have
them start putting the tasks in order before the even sit down. This will cut
down the awkward silence that generally starts these types of meetings. In
very short order, you will have a great network diagram to use for your
project.
Of course, you could always use a technology like Nxt Note as well. Very,
very cool technology! Check it out!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Time for a PM Revolution (The Value of Project
Management)
Is anyone else getting as frustrated as I am about the debate over the value
of Project Management? Project Managers are generally not consulted, then
asked to do the impossible, and then blamed if it does not go well! For
instance:
An Executive picks a pet project to complete. He looks at his staff and ﬁgures
that anyone can do project management. So he selects Ron from Accounting
(because he is generally reliable) and assigns him as the project manager. He
then tells Ron, "I need this done by the end of the year. You have $1,000,000
to spend." As soon as Ron accepts the project, it has failed! How can we
possibly know how much to spend or how long it will take before we have had
a chance to plan? If Ron tries to plan, he is told, "We don't have time to plan,
we have to get going to get this done!" When the project runs late or over
budget, then the executive feels that there is no value in project management.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Do you think that this same executive would ask anyone who finished high
school math to close the books for the quarter? NO! Why? Because
accounting is a certified profession that has a clear process. We don't short
change that process, it takes what it takes. Does a commercial developer
select anyone who can draw to be an architect? NO! Why? Because it is a
learned and certified profession! Isn't project management a certified and
learned profession? It is time to realize that a PM Revolution is in order! It is
time to understand that not everyone can do project management!
The reason that we can't find the value in project management is all that we
are doing is executing poor decisions. You already selected a date, budget,
and since anyone can do project management, whoever was available got the
assignment. Project management will continue to be devalued until we as
project managers stand up and educate. At least that is my opinion!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

One of the top 5 PM's of all time: Santa Claus
It is time to start a new, more serious, and much-needed debate. Who are the
top five non-religious mythical project managers ever? My first pick? Santa
Claus.
I mean really, how many of you can say that if you missed your project
deadline by one day, you would disappoint 6.89 billion children? That is quite
a bit of pressure! Not only that, missing the deadline likely would stop his
existence! As some of the great texts will tell us (by texts, I mean movies and
TV) children must continue to believe in Santa Claus for him to continue to
have the magic. I teach in my seminars to ask the question, "Can I ask the
significance of the date?" when a mandated date is posed. Santa can answer,
"My very existence will be diminished and I will crush the hearts of billions of
children." I think that constitutes an acceptable reason to mandate a date.
So every December 26th, Santa and his team of elves hold a lessons learned
session to begin the planning for the next project and literal "go-live" date of
December 25th. I wonder if the elves are looking at Scrum and Agile
methodologies for toy making?
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

There have been some interesting situations that Santa and the elves have
discussed during lessons learned of the past. Like the one time in 1947 that
Santa had to go to court to prove that not only did he work at Macy's, but that
in fact he was the real Santa. The Commonwealth of New York agreed.
Contingency plans have been put in place now for weather thanks to the
discovery of the infamous birth defect in one of the reindeers in 1939. There
was also the time in 1966 where Santa helped Batman out of a jam all while
keeping regular status report meetings with his team back at the North Pole.
In more recent times, Santa Claus had to work out a wrestling dilemma for
the World Wrestling Federation in 2006. The man is just everywhere!
However, the secret documents that were smuggled out and made into the
movies "The Santa Clause" have given us the greatest insight into the risk
mitigation strategies. First, if the actual Santa gets hurt or is in an accident
and can't continue his duties, then someone else just puts on the suit and the
risk has been mitigated. Of course, we ﬁnd out that the lucky person who
enters into the clause must also obtain a wife by next Christmas. That nearly
caused the demise of the 2002 Christmas project.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Think about the scope creep that Santa has to deal with as well. First about
1.4 billion new children are born every year. That is quite a few new names
and toys to have to estimate. Also, there is the checking of good versus bad
that has to be worked out. I can tell you by experience that some kids can
make a comeback! New technologies are being developed every day as well
and it is harder and harder to keep the attention of our youth. What used to be
wooden toys are now Wii's and Xbox's. Things move, make noise, and even
appear to think nowadays. The cost of upgrading the workshop every year
alone is staggering.
The teams change, the circumstances change, toys change, and yet year
after year, the project date is made. There are over 800 appearances of Santa
in the documented tales of his exploits and issue resolution practices in the
ancient texts (again movies and TV!). Each and every time, Santa and his
team ﬁnd a way to deliver the project on time. For that, he is one of my top 5
mythical project managers of all time. Let the debate rage on for the other 4
slots!
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Why does the team need to see the schedule?
I received a question that asked:
"Do you have any suggestions for how to help your team of resources (who
are untrained in PM concepts) understand what they are seeing in the
schedule?"
I get this question quite a bit. In my opinion, I choose to not send the
schedule to my team. I think I just heard the collective gasp. Before I get into
what I do, let's discuss why I don't. When I am challenged on this thought in
my speeches, I always ask, "What do you think happens when you send the
full project plan?" Some of you out there may think that as soon as the
resource gets the plan, they open it, print it, ﬁnd their name and tasks, and
study it to make sure they are ready to go. Although there are a few team
members out there that might do this, the norm is to not even open the ﬁle.
Most resources simply wait for the status meeting or for the e-mail to come
to tell them to get started on their tasks.
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So does it make sense to train all of the team members on how to read a
project schedule? Also, what type of schedule? Several project managers
write linearly based project schedules, meaning that their schedules go from
Task 1 to Task 2 in the order in which they are to be performed. These
schedules are against project theory as well. True project schedules should
be written from WBS's and network diagrams. If this is the case, then many of
the schedules are even more diﬃcult to read because the tasks are grouped
by deliverable and may increase the complexity of the predecessors. So what
do I suggest? To-do lists.
I send each team member a report of their tasks. It is a simple report that
shows the task name, start date, ﬁnish date, their estimate, and the actual
hours that have been reported. It is sorted by start date and I show all of their
tasks for the project. This tells them what they are really interested in, what
do I need to do and when do I need to have it done?
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Some people object asking, "What about the predecessors? Don't the
resources need to see what needs to complete before they can get started?"
My general answer is no. Most of the time, the predecessors came from the
resource during the WBS/Network Diagramming session anyway. They
already know what needs to complete before they can get started.
This approach has been very successful for me. It is simple, effective, and
keeps team members focused on what they are supposed to do. I have also
written Visual Basic code that automates the creation of Excel spreadsheets
as task lists from Project. Another approach is to use the Reports-
>Assignments->To-Do List report that comes standard with Microsoft
Project.
Whatever the format, just make sure that what the team member receives
isn't information overload. This will allow you to communicate more
effectively with each team member. It also allows you to manage risk and risk
dates more eﬃciently by not revealing all of the dates to all of the resources.
This isn't a shady practice or something you are trying to hide. It is simply
your information to manage.
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Stroke the Ego of Your Stakeholders!
I received a question after one of my presentations of Stop Playing Games!
"When you stated that Project Managers don't publish negative facts about
the project for fear of backlash from their stakeholders, you mentioned that
you should stroke their ego...how do you do that?"
That is a great question and a technique that is not utilized often enough, in
my opinion. Project managers are often naysayers or are viewed as the ones
who are very negative. I think part of it is how we were taught. We were
taught to own the project. Success and failure...it is the project manager's to
own. I think we should own the leadership, but there is a fundamental ﬂaw in
this belief. It is not our scope, it is not our budget, most likely it is not our
date...so what exactly do we own? Where did it become the norm that the
project manager owns the outcome of a decision that they did not make?
Rolling with this theory, if we don't own it...then all we can do is facilitate it.
PM's must remember to ask for what they need and push the decision back
to where it belongs.....the stakeholder or sponsor. This is where we stroke
the ego. Make sure that you ask them...not tell them.....what they would like
to do. It goes something like this:
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Mr. or Ms. Sponsor, we have an opportunity on this project, but I really need
your help. In order to secure the date that you have asked for, we would need
to get an additional three resources. However, we could move some scope
around as well. Not sure what the best answer is and I could really use your
advice.
This pushed the decision back to the sponsor, but also shows that you
respect them and their opinion.
So the technique is to truly value their opinion and bring them into the
decision making process. I have seen so many projects fail due to unrealistic
demands where the date, budget, score, or how unrealistic the demands are
discussed with the sponsors or stakeholders. In my experience, if you get the
data that you need, come up with options not problems, and present them in
a respectful manner, you will be more successful.
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Padding....is it really bad?
The great debate for project managers....is padding an estimate bad? In my
new book, I say that padding is one of the worst things that you can do
because it proves that you do not believe your own estimates!
I received a question from the audience that asked, "Padding is for known
and unknown risks and events in the future. Why do you say padding is bad?"
Padding is actually not for known and unknown risks. It is actually a blanket
percentage that a project manager will put on top of their estimates just to
cover them from blowing their budget. It generally isn't scientiﬁc or have any
thought pattern behind it other than lumping a generic percentage on top.
This practice has been around for ages. We have conditioned our executives
by doing this practice. They have learned that they can cut 10-20% of the
budget without consequence. They are aware of the padding and are
accustomed to chopping off a generic percentage. Thus, the game is played.
Can you out add a generic percentage that your sponsor will cut?
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This generally all occurs without too much conversation as well. This game
is played and is played in silence. To combat this, there should be an honest
conversation. The project manager should be honest in their estimates and
use risk and risk information to plan for a true contingency. This is not
padding, but a practice known as contingency planning. Once the
contingency is planned and the reasons for it are documented, present that to
the sponsor. When they try to remove a generic percentage, challenge them
with the planned contingency and explain why it is there.
Having an honest conversation and talking about risk versus padding can
lead to a true budget fostered in trust between the sponsor and project
manager. That is a fantastic place to start!
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The Breakthough Moment
I get asked often what it is that I do and why do I do it. Being a project
manager for a living is very tough to explain. The easiest way to state it is
that when companies want to improve, change, or try something new, they
look to project manager's to make it happen. That is the easiest part. The
harder part is trying to explain why I do what I do. It means regular travel,
long hours, and often work that goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Maybe I
just like to torture myself!
In reality, I love the challenge. I love being a part of the creative process and
watching great minds come together to accomplish something that has never
been done before. Most of all, I love the breakthrough moment. It is a rare
moment that happens only once or maybe twice on a project. It is the
moment that means everything is going wrong, stress is high, and failure is
imminent. Then, the team comes together and finds a solution, or a
"breakthrough" and the project gains momentum. Being a part of that
moment is like being the star on the playing field making it happen for their
team. It is like solving the great mystery or finding something sentimental to
you that you thought you lost forever. It is an incredible feeling.
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I remember having those feelings even when things did not go the way they
were supposed to. I remember working on a project that was absolutely
doomed from the start. However, the team and I were being great optimists
and putting a tremendous amount of effort in to the project. While the work
was being completed, it was hard, depressing, and at times demoralizing. Yet
there were two distinct breakthrough moments on the project. When they
occurred, the entire team grew closer. From time to time, I will hear from
some of those team members and there is a bond between us that is very
diﬃcult to explain. The only thing to say is that we went to the ends of the
earth and back.....together.
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Pushing Back...Is It OK?
It is amazing to me the difference between the way that project management
is tought versus the way it is practiced. If you follow the PMBOK, the PM is
expected to have quite a bit of influence. If you look at how project
management is practiced, it seems that most PM's are just order takers. For
instance, in Rita Mulcahy's PMP Exam Prep, she goes over what she has
coined as PMI'isms. Some of the key ones are:
- PMI stresses the fact that a project manager must work within the existing
systems and culture of the company. They call these enterprise
environmental factors and they are imputs to many processes.
- Percent complete is an almost meaningless number. Project managers
should not spend time collecting useless ingformation. It is better to control
the project and know the status through other actions.
- A project manager has authority and power. She can say "No" and work to
control the project to the benefit of the customer.
- If at all possible, all the work and all the stakeholders are identifieid before
the project begins.
- The work breakdown structure (WBS) is the foundation of all project
planning and should be used on every project.
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- Many project managers do not properly plan their projects. Therefore, the
work they do while the project work is ongoing is vastly different from what
should be done.
- There is a basic assumption on the exam that you have company project
management policies (son't laugh, we will get there) and that you will adapt
them for use on your projects. These may include project management
methodologies, risk procedures, and quality procedures. So, assume you
have them when you take the exam.
Many of you may scoff at these suggestions. Here is the key.....Rita is
absolutely right! She couldn't be more right! So then why is project
management practiced in such a different manner? Most organizations just
truly do not understand the profession. Our day is coming. Our day is on the
horizon. The day where the project manager can say no, can push back, can
be fearless in the delivery of messages.
Until that day comes, you must still try to follow the principles of project
management. Why? Because they work! The days of dictating dates and
budgets while demanding scope are coming to an end. Companies simply
can't continue to operate with the blinders on.
Project managers, do not be afraid! It is ok to push back! It is ok to question
the date! It is ok to provide options! I promise......one day you will be heard!
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Creating Proper Metrics
There has been quite a bit of debate around the selection of metrics for
project reporting. Most organizations simply look at the "On Time, On Budget"
statement and feel that is an acceptable status. Then there are the
organizations that try to invest in Earned Value which is a technique that is
widely taught in project management circles. The appeal of Earned Value is
the reporting of % complete and % of budget expended were not suﬃcient in
telling executives where the project actually stood. Earned Value gives two
metrics (Cost Performance Index and Schedule Performance Index) that is
engineered to give a quicker and more eﬃcient status to executives. The
problem with Earned Value is that it is extremely complex to maintain and
most project managers do not have adequate information (like estimated
hours to complete and work completed versus hours expended) to create an
accurate picture. This is where the stoplight report comes in. Most
companies rely on the subjective guess and feelings of the project manager
on where the project cost, budget, and quality stand. So what metrics should
be reported? The list can vary based on industry and corporate culture, but
the following list can help create some metrics to get you started:
• Cost and Schedule: These metrics are still important and understanding
where the project stands from a budget and time perspective is still vital
information. It just can't be the only information provided.
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• Project Plan Quality: How many tasks show a past due start date or a past
due ﬁnish date? When was the last time the project plan was updated? How
many times have the dates slid or moved on the plan? These metrics will
show how closely the project manager is managing the plan. Also, by
publishing these metrics, it gives the project manager notice that the plan
must be managed.
• Project Issues Raised: How many issues have been raised? Too many can
be a sign of a project in trouble and too few can be a sign of the project not
being managed appropriately.
• Project Issue Close Rate: How many have been closed by the due date? Do
issues have a due date? Metrics like this one will make sure that the team is
putting appropriate focus on the issues of the project.
• Risks Planned For: How many risks have been raised and planned for?
Again, too many shows a risky project and too few shows one that has not
been managed appropriately.
• Meeting Attendance: How many meetings have been called and how well
attended were they? This helps understand the effectiveness of called
meetings. If there are too many or they are not well attended, or too few, this
could be a sign.
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• Communication Plan Execution: How many communications did the project
manager plan during the project and were they effectively communicated?
For instance, if they said an issue log would be created and disseminated
every Thursday, did they send one every Thursday? This will assist in ensuring
that everyone is getting the information that they planned to receive for the
project.
• Decisions Requested and Received: How many decisions or issues have
been raised to the stakeholders and/or sponsors and how many have had
appropriate decisions? This shows the attention that the key people affected
by the project are paying. If a decision seems to drag or items requested are
overdue, this can put the project at risk.
These are just a few items that can be tracked to paint a clearer picture of
how the project is being managed and the level of trust you can put into the
reports received. Utilizing a broader metric base will allow you to give a
conﬁdence level to the reports and allow you to focus on the proper problem
areas. For instance, if a project does not seem to be moving, where does the
blame lie? It is easy to simply blame the project manager. However, if the
project manager is waiting on the CEO of the company to make decisions and
the decisions have not been made, the project manager may be wary to raise
a red ﬂag. It is important to make sure that all information is level set so that
the most complete picture can be painted for statuses. Then, you truly have
the right information in front of you to make the proper adjustment.
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To PMP or not to PMP, is that a question?
I am going to take my turn to weigh in on this debate. As with any issue or
opinion, some of you may agree and some of you may disagree. The best
part is that we have the opportunity to discuss and take sides!
Before I go any further into this post, yes, I know many PMP's who could not
manage themselves out of a paper bag. Yes, I know many PMP's who do not
seem to know squat about project management. There, I admitted it. But
does that mean the PMP is totally invalid?
I have seen many postings and articles debating the value of the PMP. The
Project Management Institute (PMI) has grown in leaps and bounds over the
last few years. One of the key reasons is the administering of the PMP exam
and the credential itself. Professionals seem to be deeply divided on whether
this is a credible certiﬁcation. I think there is only one opinion that really
matters.....yours.
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I tweeted earlier this week that I thought a PMP was very beneficial. One
person responded to me that "Street cred is earned by exhibiting knowledge."
I couldn't agree more. It made me think back to a time earlier in my career.
Due to a host of issues, I did not finish college on time. I went into the
workforce. I even had my PMP before my college degree. I remember
responding to a job advertisement for an internal consultant. I had all of the
skills necessary and knew if I got the chance to interview, the job would be
mine. I couldn't even get past the first screening. The reason? No college
degree. When I was in school, I was studying for radio and television
broadcasting. This job was nowhere near that line of study and I had years of
"Street Cred." Couldn't even get an interview. It was then that I decided to
finish college and get my degree. However, there were easy options thrown
at me. Degree mills or cheap ways to say that you had a degree. I did mine
the old fashioned way. Hard work. I did have a push though. The current job
I had been working stated that a college degree was necessary. Even though
I already had the job, took a 40% pay cut to accept the position, and was truly
over-qualified, I would have lost it if I had not enrolled to finish my degree
prior to joining the company
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

I ask you, had I finished my degree when I was supposed to, would that make
me any more qualified? The better question is, if I need to distinguish myself
from others, is a degree necessary? Here is the wierd part. Those who have
degrees are shouting yes at the computer screen right now. Those who do
not have degrees are ready to comment how they were able to succeed
without one.
I think it is the same for PMP's. There are several classes of people out
there. There are those that agree with the principles, believe in the
certification and get it for the right reasons. There are those that simply got
one to try to get a better job or salary. There are those that got them through
a certification mill or by doctoring their applications. There are those that will
never get one at all. The question really is, which one of "those" do you want
to be?
I agree with the "Street Cred" tweet that I received earlier this week. Once you
have the opportunity to show your knowledge and talents, will you follow the
principles that you agreed to when you signed the ethics pledge?
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

I personally believe that the certiﬁcation IS valid. I believe that it is
worthwhile and I am proud to not only have a PMP, but to participate in many
levels of PMI. I think those that received theirs through unpure motives will
weed themselves out in the end. I think those that go after it cheaply will see
it leave just as easily. There is a bigger question out there than this one. If a
company is going to require a PM to have a PMP, then the company should be
willing to follow the process! The answer to that issue is..........another post
for another day.
Beyond the ID number is a person....
I get asked often about why I got into consulting and started my own
business. I can give you many cliché's and other random comments. What it
really boils down to is two things: my family and my father.
First and foremost is my family. The only way that I knew how to protect the
work/life balance that I want and provide for them was to do it on my own. I
did become cynical of the corporate world though because of the example
that I had from my father.
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In 1978 three men, Ken Fisher, Gordon Mann, and my dad Dudley Morris
started a company called USSI. They wrote automation software for
insurance companies and were pioneers in their industry. USSI is still thriving
and is privately held. I am not sure of the practice today, but when I was
growing up, I could always remember the "Corporate Cruise" and the stories
of the Christmas parties. The cruise was a reward to the entire company for
hitting their goals. The company would take everyone and a significant other
on a three day cruise to the Bahamas as a reward for hitting their sales and
profitability goals. I never got to go on a cruise, but I loved hearing the stories
about it. The other thing I remember was the Christmas party. Every year Mr.
Mann would play "Let's Make A Deal" (which is funny since my high school
friend Wayne Brady hosts that show now). I remembered how the company
was a family. These days, everyone seems more focused on corporate
liability than rewards. Christmas parties or gatherings like that are also a
thing of the past.
I lost my father in 1992. A few months ago, I stopped by the office of USSI.
Keith Fisher (Ken's son) is now running the company. He called in a couple of
people that were still there that worked with my father. It was a special
moment for me. I never knew how much growing up in the midst of my
father's company impacted me until a few years ago.
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My whole career, I had been searching for that "family" feeling. I had been on
a search to be able to share those war stories and wear where I worked as a
badge of honor on my sleeve. I believe I was born into the wrong generation
for that. I fear that we have become just numbers, not people in many
organizations. I came close to those family feelings only to have them not
live up to my expectations in the end. I had several instances in my career
that shaped who I am:
• One of my first real professional jobs pitched that family feeling. It turned
out to be one of the most demanding and abusive environments. I remember
being written up two days before my wedding for leaving the office 10
minutes before 9PM to pick up my tux before the tux shop closed. The quote
that always stuck was, "I thought you were a team player."
• A colleague of mine had made a huge mistake. It was blamed on me. I
thought it would pass and I was protecting my colleague, so I took the heat
for it. I was forced to apologize in front of the whole branch office as to what I
did. I also was subjected to what amounts to purgatory for the next 4 months
until I eventually had to quit.
• I was 180% of my plan at a position. My colleague was 30% of plan. The
company was forced to downsize. I was eliminated over my colleague
because it would be more expensive on paper for the company to keep me
because I had over-achieved and my bonus was more.
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• I was running a team. Our first year, we had exceeded all expectations.
When it came review time, I had rated them all as such. I was told that I could
only have one person, maybe two exceed my expectations. If they all
exceeded my expectations, then the problem was my expectations. I then had
to find ways to score them so they fell below the grade. I had huge problems
with that one.
• I was running a company that was really on the way up. The company had to
shut down due to financial issues beyond my control. I felt like my family was
ripped from me and my eternal optimism was almost completely shattered.
I am sure that many of you have had war stories like these. I think that this
can change. I think that this economy and the recent difficulties can push us
into a new era. The financial crisis that we have all faced has exposed quite a
bit. We have been able to discuss "Too big to fail," executive bonuses, and
how the corruption of so few can lead to the destruction of so many. I think it
is time that we look beyond the employee ID and start valuing people again.
This can start with you. Find someone on your team that has really gone
above and beyond. Stop by their cube and tell them how much they are
appreciated. Do not use terms like productivity, focus, or other corporate
jargon. Thank them for being who they are. Thank them for their contribution.
Show them real appreciation. Make sure that when decisions are being made
that we think of them as individuals, not as numbers on paper.
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I recently watched an organization who was utilizing their staff at an average
of 123% be told to cut 10% of their staff due to budget concerns. Any time
there is an arbitrary number, that is just paper pushing and numbers games. It
is easy to look at a spreadsheet and come up with those decisions. It is much
more diﬃcult to look others in the eye and come up with those decisions. I
see companies make lump sum cuts to their staff, yet never cut projects or
initiatives. They feel that the work will just become "absorbed." This means
that those that are left are now working 150% of their time and are "thankful"
just to have the position. I fear that the ﬁnancial bubble is about to cause an
employee bubble. If we keep seeing them as numbers, that is what will
happen.
As for me, I know that my greatest impact is to have my own business so I
can work with the executives of other companies and have frank
conversations. It is what it is. I am seeing great strides out there. We are
collecting data that shows it is time to invest in people again. We are seeing
data right now that shows if you focus on the work/life balance of your
employees, the numbers actually improve, not decline. Take time to talk to
your employees, team members, or colleagues. Remember that beyond the ID
number is a person and you can't go wrong!
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Payment terms......sheesh!
I have been dealing with quite a bit of issues lately with payment terms. This
is something that I ﬁnd kind of funny. It appears that the only dates that are
truly ﬂexible is when one company owes another company money. It is even
something that you are really not supposed to discuss. Many companies
have payment terms on their invoices. Usually it is a net 30 days or net 45
days and almost always there is a penalty clause. However, the clauses are
almost impossible to enforce.
This is not the same for the consumer credit world. If you are one second
late paying a credit card or a bill, there are late fees, percentage increases,
etc. There is no grace period for an overdrawn bank account. The consumer
has no choice but to pay. If they do not pay, then there are collection
agencies and other means to recover their money. I once received a notice in
the mail that I owed $0.04 to a company. It took them $1.35 in supplies and
fees to send me the notice! When I disregarded the notice, they threatened to
send me to collections. I stopped it there, but I did kind of want to see if
someone would actually call me for it. But then again, I knew that there
would be $100.00 worth of fees put on top of the collection activity, so I just
taped 4 pennies to an index card and mailed it in.
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However, businesses are not the same. I just watched a thriving business go
bankrupt because their primary customer withheld payment for no apparent
reason to the point that the company missed a payroll. If you try to enforce
penalties, then many companies refuse to pay it. Also, collections seems to
cost more than the recovery of the money. It is just weird.
It is interesting to watch a business ﬁght for longer payment terms while
never honoring the original terms. They will ask for a change from Net 30 to
Net 45 and have payment averages of Net 70. As a small business, I often
have to make phone calls or inquire about payment. I normally get a very
polite response, but it is also very nonchalant. I will call and say something
like, "I am inquiring about invoice X that is 15 days past due. Can you let me
know when this will be paid?" The answer is, "Oh yes sir, we are cutting a
check a week from Friday and will put that in the mail." You are so happy it is
going to be paid that you generally accept the terms.
I know as consumers, we can act the same way, but there is also
consequences that come as matter of fact as the behavior. If businesses try
to enforce it in the same terms, it strains the relationship or ends it. For many
companies, late payments are an honest mistake or are late by a few days
due to process. There are other organizations that pay late as a strategy. I
have personally seen a memo of one organization that outlines how to string
their vendors along maximizing the "use" of their funds.
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I also worked for a company that incented us on making sure that we ran a
45 day services to cash metric. This meant we had 45 days from the day that
we performed the service to collect payment. We were incented on invoice
on a monthly basis on good faith. If we had an invoice go over 45 days
services to cash, the company would pull back the incentive amount on your
next check. If you collected the money after the 45 days, then the company
would give 50% of your incentive back. There were many times that I was on
my client's site at 44 days begging for a check with a FedEx envelope in my
hand!
As a project manager, we are to ensure that contracts that we oversee and
manage are compliant to the terms. For most, this means to ensure the
deliverables are complete to the speciﬁcations provided. It usually ends
there. As responsible project managers, we should make sure that all terms
are being adhered to. As PMI states, the project manager is responsible for
the relationship with the vendors and that both parties are treated fairly. This
should include payment terms as well. What are your experiences?
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It is all in how you take it......
One of the most overlooked options for most of us is the option to choose. In
every situation and interaction, knowingly or unknowingly, we choose to feel
how we feel. This is a very powerful concept once you understand how to
harness the power. Let's look at some examples:
Someone just yelled to you, "Hey...idiot!" We turn around to see who shouted
at us....and then we choose how we will react. If it is a long lost friend, the
insult may have been a joke or term of endearment. We just laugh and shout
back, "Who you calling idiot?" It is all a big laugh. What if when you turned
around, you didn't know the person. This is where the choosing comes in. We
may react by shouting the same thing that we did at our friend, "Who you
calling idiot?" This time, it is not a big laugh but an escalating confrontation.
The point is that we aﬃx connotation to almost every situation in life. Many
times, we unknowingly choose a negative connotation. Why is that?
I have been doing a tremendous amount of public speaking lately and I see all
kinds of things from the front of the room:
• A guy is nodding off
• Someone just left the room
• Two people are whispering
I could take this as:
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

• A guy is nodding off - "Man, I am boring him to death!!!"
• Someone just left the room - "I have offended her. She doesn't like me."
• Two people are whispering - "They have lost interest in my message."
Or, I could take each situation as:
• A guy is nodding off - "He had a really late night, but he is trying to make it
through because he really wants to be here"
• Someone just left the room - "There is an emergency she needs to deal
with."
• Two people are whispering - "They are sharing how they will use the
concepts tomorrow."
The truth is that I really do not know any of the reasons for this behavior.
However, I can choose what connotation I want to place on the event. Since
ultimately we can choose to aﬃx the connotation, then it doesn't have to be
negative.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

This is applicable to personal relationships as well. There are so many ﬁghts
and disagreements because of how we chose to take something versus what
the intent was. For instance, I have a person in my life that seems to always
want to one-up the situation. They try to affect my spouse. If they can't get to
her, then they try to get to me. If they can't get to me then they try to get to my
family members and so on. It is almost an obsessive compulsive behavior. It
is as if their joy in life is putting down me or my family. However, that is me
choosing a negative connotation to the behavior. Who knows the reason for
the behavior, I really don't. So why should I attach a negative feeling to it? The
answer is that I won't! When I observe the behavior, I just shake my head and
say, "That's odd," and move on.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

In business, I found out that I was a fantastic motivator and project manager.
I also found out that I was not good at being a HR manager. My entire career
had been spent influencing people that did not report to me on an
organization chart. When I did have people report to me, I was awful at some
of the key skill sets. I had a person that worked for me that no matter what I
did, in their mind I was out to get them. There was a negative connotation
placed on every action that I performed. Some of it was warranted and some
of it was just plain unfair. I tried everything to build a relationship, but just
could not do it. That bothered me for a very long time until I chose the
connotation that I would affix to the situation. I looked at my efforts to rebuild
the relationship and then came to the realization that I had done enough. I
could look at myself in the mirror and honestly state that I tried everything I
could to make the relationship work. After that point, the negativity and hurt
feelings I had simply melted away.
Choosing how you take something is a very powerful technique. People will
see somebody really happy and state, "I wonder why they are so happy!" The
answer is that they choose to be. Making the decision to find the good in
situations can have a transforming effect. If you don't believe me, just try it! If
you think I am crazy, I will just choose a positive way to feel about it! ;)
It is all in how you take it.......
Page 58
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Afraid of giving estimates
It is amazing how many project plans there are out there that have published
dates and the project manager will tell you that the team will not give them
estimates. If there are no estimates, how do we have a date?
Here is a simple ﬁx for when you feel people will not give you estimates.
Simply ask them why! This honest approach will catch some off guard, but it
will open a dialogue that may break down some barriers.
In my seminars and work with clients, I will ask many team members why
they will not give estimates. Here are some common responses:
- "I am afraid I will be held to it."
- "I am not sure what I am estimating."
- "I don't know what else may be asked of me during the time that I am
supposed to be doing this work."
- "I won't really know a real estimate until I get started."
Each of those responses can be worked through. To really be great at project
management, you must earn the trust of your team. They must know that
whatever information they give you is going to beneﬁt them, not work against
them. There seems to be quite a bit of mistrust towards the project
manager. A honest conversation can remove many of these fears or doubts
and at least getting you and your team on the right page.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

If they are truly unsure, walk them through PERT (Best Case, Most Likely, and
Worst Case) estimations. Then apply formulas or select where you think it
will end up. This will give them an opportunity to present a range of
estimates and will give you the opportunity to actually have an idea of a true
estimate. Honest conversations really work!
Page 60
Rick A. Morris, PMP

The Project Called......Life.
It has been a whirlwind week and it is only Wednesday! In the last 2 weeks, I
have given 8 speeches in 2 countries and 6 different cities. I have also made
major strides in seeing a huge dream of mine come to fruition. I am so full of
energy, inspiration, and adrenaline as I have seen a dream turn in to an action
plan. What was a wish now has a due date. What was a vision now has a
task list. As I reﬂect, I am so blessed to have had an opportunity to learn,
teach, and perform the art of project management. I want to issue you this
challenge: Where is your project plan for your life?
Now I know there are many project managers that get a bit crazy with this
and plan their lives down to the 10 minute increment, but that is not what I
am talking about. What I am talking about is the things that we do everyday
are the skills and activities that people ﬂock to hear in self-improvement
seminars. We tend to take these things for granted. Think about it. What is
your plan for the next year? If you were to attend a commercial course or go
hear any variety of motivational speakers, the message is the same. You
must plan your success, it doesn't seek you out.
Page 61
Rick A. Morris, PMP

What are your goals for the coming year, two years, or five years? What are
the building blocks to achieve those goals? What action can you take now to
start down that path? This is a work breakdown structure for your life! Some
of the most successful systems out there ask you to make a problem
statement (i.e. scope). Then list milestones (key deliverables) and then break
the milestones into "mini-goals" (i.e. the next level of the WBS) Then you take
the mini-goals and create actionable tasks. The final step is to schedule
actual work against the actionable tasks, estimate effort and duration, and
create a way to measure success. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the
project plan for your life!
Try it! It can really be powerful. This year, my business partner and I set a
five year goal and announced a concept. Each day, I try to plan an activity to
move us towards the concept. In just the past week, the momentum is taking
a life of its own and we went from a concept to a planned date, activity, and
scope. It is amazing that we have had the tools all along to assist ourselves
in achieving the next level, we just are not using them to our benefit. They
say that the cobbler's kids have no shoes ;)
Let me end with this question. What are you going to do tomorrow to take
the next step in attaining your goals? If you do not know, then start with your
scope. Then follow your instincts, project management can guide you the
rest of the way. Good luck!
Page 62
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Anytime I get too big for my britches..
I just have to come home. Kids are incredible and I am so blessed to have
two wonderful children. They can light up the room, make you angry, make
you laugh until it hurts, make you cry, and make you look inside yourself. All
of that can happen in just a couple of hours!
My daughter asked me this weekend about writing a book and she felt that
she should write a book. I took her up on her offer. Throughout the weekend
she was thinking of characters, stories, situations for the characters, and the
general ﬂow of the book. It was truly an amazing process. She has an
incredible imagination. To see her eyes light up when she saw how it was all
coming together is something I want to hold in my heart.
My son is fascinated with "Where The Wild Things Are." I caught him looking
at himself in the mirror and practicing his "monster" face. He was practicing
a scowl and getting his hands just right, and then would stomp in the room
and announce that he was going to "Eat you up!" We just laughed and
laughed!
We also got a chance to step out for some beautiful weather and go to a
park. I forget how much fun it was as a kid to just be outside and run. They
ran themselves silly and you couldn't get the smile off of my face.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

As I reﬂect on the time this weekend with my family, I look at my station in
life. The job is going well, new ideas and advancements for the company is
growing. The speaking career is really taking off and I am getting booked in
Germany, Panama, Brazil, and all over the US. I am in real negotiations with
book #3 and have taken some major steps in advancing towards a life long
dream. Yet, the role that I think I will really be measured on is the role of a
Father and Husband. Was I the best that I could be for them? Sometimes, I
have to remember that the career is a means for them, not the end or the
quest.
I took time this weekend to work on that life long dream. Many are asking me
what it is, yet, I do not want to jinx it or discuss it until it is a done deal. That
could be a couple of days, weeks, months, or even years before it happens.
As excited as I am about having a clear vision as to what my future holds, I
am so glad that my kids reminded me this weekend of why I pursue this
future. Why I am pushing the career so hard right now.
We were playing a game and my daughter questioned if I really did know
anything. It made me laugh. It is truly amazing how someone can look at
you and hold you in such high regard, love you as much as they do, yet can
make sure that I keep things in perspective. I hope you take time as you read
this to reﬂect on what is important in your life. What the quest is really for or
why we do what we do. Realize that "tomorrow" is sometimes too long to
wait to make time for what is important.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

A Lesson From Undercover Boss
Have you had a chance to see this show? It is on CBS and has CEO's go
undercover in their organization to get a sense of what it is like on the front
lines. The messages have been amazing.
The lesson that I get from the show is to never be afraid to roll up your
sleeves and participate at the ground level. This gives the unique perspective
that many lose touch with. We all have many ideas on how to run an
organization or improve operations. If we are lucky enough to set policies
and make key decisions for a company, we rarely get to see the impact. We
also forget at times how each job is an important factor in how the overall
organization runs.
Key Executives from organizations such as Waste Management and 7-11 are
participating in this show and learning lessons that change their behaviors.
They see ﬁrst hand how their policies are being carried out. For instance,
Larry O'Donnell, President of Waste Management, was very focused on
eﬃciencies. He wanted to ensure that everyone was a productive as
possible. Then he saw how one of the plants were carrying out his
effeciencies. They were docking double the amount of time they were late
back from lunch. This was something he did not anticipate.
Page 65
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Joe De Pinto, CEO of 7-11 saw how their charitable plans were not being
followed. A fantastic idea that was lacking in execution. He also was taken
aback by the people that really made the operation tick. It is a lesson we
should all learn. When is the last time we truly walked a mile in someone
else's shoes? When is the last time we saw the impact of a decision?
For project sponsor's out there, when is the last time you really understood
the impacts of the cost, schedule, and quality triangle? If you are not sure,
maybe it is time for you to become the undercover boss.
Page 66
Rick A. Morris, PMP

You have three choices...
This will be a short post, but it was on my mind.
I was completing my seminar with an organization and I received a question
that I get often:
"What if none of this stuff works? What if the organization refuses?"
Unfortunately, there are really only three choices.
1) Persevere - You can work with the organization and continue to educate
and be a positive force in changing the overall culture. If you truly follow the
process of making emotional conversation unemotional (documented in my
book) then through perseverance, will, and success, the culture WILL change.
I have watched it occur over and over again.
2) Accept - If you feel that nothing you try will ever make a difference, then
accept it for what it is. In essence, quit whining about it! ;)
3) Move On - If you feel that you can't persevere or accepting the results is
not your style, then the only choice left is to leave the organization. I know
that it can be diﬃcult in these times, but if you can't live with the culture and
do not have the perseverance to change it, then it is your only other option.
Page 67
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Understanding the three choices and being resolute on which one ﬁts you
and your situation can go a long way in making the ﬁrst step. Once the
decision is made (and of course, I will often choose #1) then you can focus
on making the difference.
Page 68
Rick A. Morris, PMP

But We Still Get to Work.........
I recently did a speech in Austin, TX. One of the individuals attending asked a
great question and I have thought about it ever since.
For those of you that have seen me, I often use an example of variance in
estimates by asking someone how long it takes them to get to work. Usually,
it is between 300-500% variance. I then explain that it is something that we
do every day, but we have a wide variance. If we have a variance on a known
activity, how can we possibly select a date in the future on something that we
have never done and be accurate?
Someone in the audience raised their hand and said, "Yet, we still get to work
on time. If not, we would be ﬁred!" A great observation. My response to it
was that there is a wide acceptance of being late due to unforeseen
circumstances. However, I have thought about the question further and
wanted to expand the answer.
First, there are several adjustments when we start a new job. We may leave
really early to ensure that we are at work on time and then slowly leave later
and later until we settle on the right time. There are also times where we
can't leave any earlier due to having to leave a child at daycare or other
circumstances. In almost all cases, we come to an agreement with ourselves
and our employer about what is and is not acceptable.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Second, there is acceptance of things beyond our control. If there is a major
accident on the highway and someone is not to work on time, the assumption
is that they are caught in traffic. In fact, many people will defend the missing
person with this excuse without truly knowing the cause. If the daycare
opened late, the employee simply apologizes when they do get to work.
Third, the number of times early and late generally fall within the probability
distribution that people estimate. When you ask them how long it takes to
get to work, their first response will follow the most likely distribution plus or
minus a standard deviation.
Therefore, the case still stands. If we can't guarantee how long it takes us to
get to work, even though some of us have done it thousands of times
because there are just things beyond our control, then how can we ask
several people to perform tasks they may have never done before and be able
to guarantee a date and time of being finished?
The point of all of this is that project manager's dates of completion are only
our best guess or estimation. We have a tremendous toolset available to
help select the date, yet we are still predicting the unknown. If we could
guarantee the date, then we are in the wrong business. Maybe we should
have been stockbrokers! Just a thought.....
Page 70
Rick A. Morris, PMP

Metrics that Matter!
To me, data rules all! In any situation, I need to define a metric to measure,
measure it, and then utilize the data to make my point. I was recently working
with a client and we wanted to define a metric that would help prove the value
of their project management efforts. Like many clients, they have over 100
defined projects and 5 project managers. To combat this, they have created
several project lead positions to try to fix the project to manager ratio.
However, that just takes more time away from the project managers. The
problem is, how do you represent this?
We decided that there should be four "buckets" of time the project managers
should use to track their time on each project that they work on. They are:
- Planning - Any time performing true planning activities
- Communication - Any time in meetings, typing e-mails, handling phone
calls, etc.
- Administrative - Any time filling out project management systems, creating
meeting minutes, etc.
- Mentoring - Time spent helping the "project leads".
This should give us a total percentage of productive time the project
managers used. We should then be able to correlate project progress and
status to the percentage of time in each category.
Page 71
Rick A. Morris, PMP

I will post back in a couple of months the results that we found, but felt that
may help others out there trying to find the same information.
What about my capacity?
I work with many organizations that really want to understand the capacity of
their IT organization. Rarely do the ask about the capacity of their project
managers. Building on the theme that not everyone can do project
management, then maybe capacity to do projects starts at that level. What if
the organization limited the number of projects they can truly accomplish by
the capacity of their project management staff?
I had a chance to build a PMO based on a very valid model. They had a
consultant perform a study about the type and length of projects and the
demand that is required to handle what the organization wanted to
complete. It was determined that roughly 35 projects per year was the
maximum for the company and a PM could run up to 5 of those projects
during the year. Therefore, the staffing model was set to 7 project managers.
We ended up completing 47 projects in the first year, but the expectation was
set and the management of the company recognized the value that true
project management can deliver. So how do you determine the capacity or
number of projects?
Page 72
Rick A. Morris, PMP

The best way to determine the capacity of your project management practice
is to ﬁrst establish tiers. Projects should be classiﬁed in 3-4 tiers. Tier 1
being the most strategic projects or the projects with the most risk. Tier 2 is
still a highly strategic project, but it is shorter in duration or is not as risky.
Tier 3 can be single unit or department initiatives and tier 4 can be internal
initiatives or projects that can be run by team leads. Based on the
governance models of the organization, an estimate of a percentage of a
PM's time can be assigned to each tier. For instance, a tier one may take up
50% of a project managers time where a tier two may take 35%. Once this
has been established, then the capacity can be determined. As an example:
If Tier 1 = 50%, Tier 2 = 35%, Tier 3 = 15% and I have 5 project managers, then
the project capacity could be:
10 Tier 1 projects (500%)
or
5 Tier 1 (250%)
5 Tier 2 (175%)
5 Tier 3 (75%)
or
Any makeup that equals 500%.
Page 73
Rick A. Morris, PMP

This allows you to determine the real capacity of project management.
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Rick A. Morris, PMP

Lessons Learned: Confessions of a Project Manager - Volume 1

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