Strategy -> Project Management

• Strategy is essentially about gaps.

• Filling the gaps involves change management.

• Project management is the best tool to manage changes.

How to Report Status on a Project

By Rob Redmond

To write excellent status, you must understand:

1. The three components of status

• Overall
• Milestones - c0mpleted, in progress, and coming up
• Issues - that require management action/attention

2. Write in brief details

• Bullets, no paragraph
• Shorten expressions and sentences
• Reduce adverbs (really, very, much) and adjectives (good, bad, ugly)

3. Key data needed by management

• project's name
• project identification number
• overall project health (red yellow green)
• % complete you expected to be at today (planned completion)
• % complete you are actually at
• number of days behind or ahead against the plan
• number of blocking issues you face
• number of "normal issues" you face

Effective Meetings

QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE MEETING:

1. What is the purpose of the meeting?
2. What are the desired outcomes?
3. Is a meeting really necessary to achieve the purpose and outcomes?
4. What alternatives exist to meeting?
5. Who should attend the meeting?
6. What is the chemistry of the invitees?
7. What is the meeting plan?
8. What unexpected issues might arise?