Larn How to Become a Strategic Thinker?

Are you one of those people who formulate a master plan -- to manage your time or to lose weight, and so on but it never seems to turn out the way you planned?  If you are, it may be time to step back and learn how to think more strategically.  Thinking about what you really want first works much better than a laundry list of solutions, or goals with action steps.

I notice as a coach that a common mistake people make in going after what they want is failing to think through what they are really after, confusing strategies with their objectives (or outcomes), goals and the actions they need to take. They end up falling into a trap of continuous activity without ever really shifting out of the problem.

Single people do this when they take actions "to meet people" without really thinking through what aspect of their lives they want to enhance, what type of person might fit the bill, where this person might hang out, and what changes they might actually have to make when that person actually does enter their lives. Though they actually may meet many people, it doesn't necessarily change their lives - or causes a host of new problems! - because they've failed to identify the actual outcome they want to achieve.

You might think of strategic thinking as holistic problem-solving.  It's a comprehensive way of looking at a situation that focuses your priorities inside a framework in which you can set goals and take actions. It promotes clear thinking by identifying the approach you want to take towards moving forward to get what you want.

Some basic strategic questions are:  how can I achieve my outcomes in a more efficient, clever, satisfying, less effortful, more profitable or elegant way, and in a way that encompasses all of who I am?  Perhaps I can achieve multiple outcomes with the same strategy?

1.    The first step in formulating a strategy is to define what you want to achieve. Ask:  What do I really want?  Define this broadly, including how you'll feel when you've reached it. The approach that you use to reach your desired outcome is your strategy.
2.    Set goals. Goals are a way to mark your progress in achieving your outcomes.  Create goals by working backwards from the end result you're trying to achieve.
3.    Take action. Break down your goals into doable, bite-sized pieces, to determine the specific and systematic actions you'll need to take to reach your desired outcome.
A recent client's Deprivation Strategy towards weight loss may be instructive. She wanted to lose twelve pounds, and cutting out sweets and snacks, and walking two miles a day wasn't working.  She wasn't sticking with it.

"What's your objective?" I asked her.  " Who will you be and how will you feel when you lose 12 pounds?"  She responded that she'll be someone who's more in control, and that she'll feel healthier and have more energy. While losing weight may have achieved her objectives, she was actually looking for a Feel-Better-About-Myself Strategy.  When she understood what she was really after, she realized she had other options.  She chose to make healthier food choices rather than to diet to lose weight. She enlisted a buddy to walk with her three days a week to feel more energized and in control -- and she got support to boot.  Indeed, by focusing on feeling better about herself, rather than on losing weight, she's been successful in feeling better about herself - and the body she has.

Another mistake people make is failing to set measurable goals to let them know how their strategy is working.  Remember the elements of SMART goals:  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reproducible, Time-Sensitive. Business owners and professionals who neglect to define their measurables, often work too hard for the results they are getting.  They would do well to employ the Work-On-the-Business, Not-Just-In-the-Business Strategy.

Lastly, if optimum performance or personal effectiveness is your objective, the Know-How-You-Operate Strategy is pure gold.  Many people operate on creative cycles.  I have a Ground-Zero Strategy that engages whenever I complete a series of tasks. I know that I naturally gear down, or "empty out" after a cycle of creative work. I know I don't have much juice left, so I schedule in down time to 'go to ground" between projects.  For me this is a time and stress management strategy that works wonders. I don't fret that I'm not 'accomplishing', I feel rewarded for a mission accomplished, and I naturally replenish my creative energy.

Make strategizing into a game, and let the flow of excitement and momentum it generates stimulate your creativity. You'll expend less effort, be more flexible, flatten your learning curve and have more fun getting what you're really after.

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The Importance of Project Management

Project Management is no longer a special need management. It's rapidly becoming a standard way of doing business, even small or large firm must need project management to assist their firm. The future promises an increase in the importance and the role of projects in contributing to the strategic direction of organizations. Several importance of project management for your firm is.

* Compression of the Product Life Cycle

* Global Competition

* Knowledge Explosion

* Increased Customer Focus and

Let me clarify the reasons why this is importance

Compression of the Product Life Cycle:

One of the most significant driving forces behind the demand for project management is the shortening of the product life cycle. For example, today in the market competition the product life cycle is really importance for the firm. In order to comply to the customer demand and the competition market the firm must set up plan for produce their product as shortening as they can.  Speed, therefore, become a competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly as possible.

Global Competition:

Today’s open market demands not only cheaper products and services but also better products and services. This has led to the emergence of the quality movement across the world with international standard organization 9000 certification a requirement for doing business. ISO 9000 is a family of international standards for quality management and assurance. These standard covered design, procurement, quality assurance and delivery processes for everything from banking to manufacturing

Knowledge Explosion:

The growth in new knowledge has increased the complexity of projects because projects encompass the latest advances. Today, each area has increased in complexity, including materials, specifications, codes, aesthetics, equipment, and required specialists. Similarly, in today’s digital, electronic age it is becoming hard to find a new product that does not contain at least one microchip. Product complexity has increased the need to integrete divergent technologies. Project management has emerged as an important discipline for achieving this task.

Increased Customer Focus:

Increased competition has placed a premium on customer satisfaction. Customers no longer simply settle for generic products and services. They want customized products and services that cater to their specific needs. This mandate requires a much closer working relationship between the provider and receiver. Account executives and sales representatives are assuming more of a project manager’s role as they work with their organization to satisfy the unique needs and requests of clients.

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The Five Goals of a Project Manager

As a Project Manager, you need to manage people, money, suppliers, equipment - the list is never ending. The trick is to be focused. Set yourself 5 personal goals to achieve. If you can meet these simple goals for each project, then you will achieve total success. So read on, to learn...

The 5 Goals of a Project Manager

These goals are generic to all industries and all types of projects. Regardless of your level of experience in project management, set these 5 goals for every project you manage.

Goal 1: To finish on time

This is the oldest but trickiest goal in the book. It's the most difficult because the requirements often change during the project and the schedule was probably optimistic in the first place.

To succeed, you need to manage your scope very carefully. Implement a change control process so that any changes to the scope are properly managed.

Always keep your plan up to date, recording actual vs. planned progress. Identify any deviations from plan and fix them quickly.

Goal 2: To finish under budget

To make sure that your project costs don't spiral, you need to set a project budget at the start to compare against. Include in this budget, all of the types of project costs that will accrue, whether they are to do with people, equipment, suppliers or materials. Then work out how much each task in your plan is going to cost to complete and track any deviations from this plan.

Make sure that if you over-spend on some tasks, that you under-spend on others. In this way, you can control your spend and deliver under budget.

Goal 3: To meet the requirements

The goal here is to meet the requirements that were set for the project at the start. Whether the requirements were to install a new IT system, build a bridge or implement new processes, your project needs to produce solutions which meet these requirements 100%.

The trick here is to make sure that you have a detailed enough set of requirements at the beginning. If they are ambiguous in any way, then what was initially seen as a small piece of work could become huge, taking up valuable time and resources to complete.

Goal 4: To keep customers happy

You could finish your project on time, under budget and have met 100% of the requirements—but still have unhappy customers. This is usually because their expectations have changed since the project started and have not been properly managed.

To ensure that your project sponsor, customer and other stakeholders are happy at the end of your project, you need to manage their expectations carefully. Make sure you always keep them properly informed of progress. "Keep it real" by giving them a crystal clear view of progress to date. Let them voice their concerns or ideas regularly. Tell them upfront when you can't deliver on time, or when a change needs to be made. Openness and honesty are always the best tools for setting customer expectations.

Goal 5: To ensure a happy team

If you can do all of this with a happy team, then you'll be more than willing to do it all again for the next project. And that's how your staff will feel also. Staff satisfaction is critical to your project's success.

So keep your team happy by rewarding and recognizing them for their successes. Assign them work that complements their strengths and conduct team building exercises to boost morale. With a happy motivated team, you can achieve anything!

And there you have it. The 5 goals you need to set yourself for every project.

Of course, you should always work smart to achieve these goals, using smart software like ProjectManager.com. As it's online, your team can collaborate to ensure your project success. Get your first 30 days free by Signing Up here!

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What is a Project?

Project can be small or large. Project are involves a group of inter-related activities that are planned and then executed in a certain sequence to create a unique product or service within a specific timeframe, cost and quality constraint in order to achieve outcomes/benefits. Projects are often critical components of an organization’s business strategy, or relate directly to policies and initiatives of the Government.

Projects can be different size and complexity. For example, they may:

- It could involve changes to existing systems, policies, legislation and/or procedures

- It involves an element of risk and entails organizational change

- Involve a single person or many people

- Involve a single unit of one Agency/organisation, or may cross Agency/organizational boundaries

- Involve engagement and management of external resources

- Achieve beneficial changes; improve an organization through implementation business change such as: cost anywhere from $10,000 to more than a $1 million

- It has specific time, scope, and limited resources such as labors, equipment and facility to allocate to project in a life span.

Note: Project is different from your everyday work, it’s not a routine task and not repetitive. Specially, it done only once, a new product or service exists when the project is complete.

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What is project management team do?

The Project Management Team (PMT) is coordinating the work and overlooking the progress of the project, checking that everything is done according to the rules (Commission and internal rules). The PMT is also in charge of resources, IP, knowledge and risk management and the follow up of the Grant Agreement (GA) and Consortium Agreement (CA), organising consortium and Executive Council meetings. The PMT is in constant interaction with the Coordinator and WP coordinators. The PMT also interacts with the scientific officer at the Commission.

How to work effectively with your team?

To work efficiently the PMT needs to be informed regularly when things happen. The PMT is there to help you! This means that if you face a problem (change of legal status, change of staff and legal signatory, financial questions, delay in achieving a deliverable etc) you should inform the PMT immediately as some decisions will have to me made: amendments of the Grant Agreement, discussion via the Coordinator with the European Commission and your administration for legal and financial issues, information of the EC Project Officer at the Commission and discussion within the WP for deliverables …

Risk management is an important part of the work of the PMT: when things are going wrong we should be able to correct them as soon as possible

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