Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

So I received an email from my friend George. And he’s asking why it is that there are no posts about spiritual success on this blog. Well, I thought I’d write something tongue in cheek and humorous. Hasn’t turned out that way. Spiritualism is important. I’m not sure that one can truly find success without it. But I haven’t the first clue how to even begin to discuss spiritual success.

Part of the reason for that is the ambiguity piled on ambiguity that results when connecting spiritual and success. Everybody has a different idea about what success is. People look at me a bit strangely when I tell them that I blog about success. What makes me an expert? In their eyes, mainly, I’m not a success. In most cases because I don’t drive a Porsche. That’s not my definition of success.

If I suggested to my friend George that I was spiritual, or that I considered myself to be spiritually successful, he’d laugh his head off. His definition of spiritual success is very clear. And admirable. Rooted in a tradition that isn’t as old as he thinks it is but is still pretty old. He connects, in reality, to a plane that I can barely sense. And, for the most part, lives the life that the tradition he has embraced…um…suggests. Demands, really, although I reckon that few who say they embrace that tradition actually are able to translate it into daily living. George does. That’s the admirable bit. And George would never suggest that he was spiritually successful. In his mind, there’s no success or lack of success in spirituality. You either are…or you ain’t.

My definition of spiritual success is considerably more murky. Contextual. Related more to universal vibes than internal certitude. Confused. A guide for living only in the broadest and vaguest way. In some ways I have to work harder than George at my spirituality because the guides are less clear. One can rationalize most anything and I spend quiet moments mulling over decisions and actions that seemed right at the time but at closer inspection are not congruent with my beliefs. In some ways, he works harder because the tenets he follows have very little flexibility and that sometimes places him in situations that are awkward and make him appear to be…well…small minded and bigoted. He is neither.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time engaging in spirituality as the body of posts on this blog grows. I’ll just get in trouble and…frankly it’s an area of success that I don’t know enough about to feel comfortable rattling on about it. And George won’t be of much help.

This post’s tactic

Do yourself a little affirmation, regularly. Every day if you want but I’ve been good if I get to it three times a month. Not one of those “today is the first day of the rest of your life” things. Take five minutes and write down (yes – with a pen and paper – push yourself a little!) at least four things and four people you are grateful to have in your life. If you really have to push it to find four of each (let us hope you are short on the “things” side), perhaps you should reconsider how you are spending your time.

Last week, in Project Management (Part 1) I talked about project management in general, and defining and planning the work. This time, let’s explore moving a project along.

Managing Issues

Projects often do not go exactly as planned. Well, OK. Projects never go exactly as planned. Being able to problem-solve and respond to realities that challenge the project is a critical element of completing projects. The committee or working group (or responsible person) should meet regularly to review progress, make sure that things are going as planned and resolve any difficulties that are being faced.

Managing Scope

Frank and Marge decided that their spare bedroom was looking shabby and needed to be repainted. So they pulled out the furniture and started to talk about colours. They noticed that the carpet was stained and worn, so, since the furniture was out anyway, they decided to change the carpet as well. Frank noticed that there were lots of cracks and dings in the walls and figured that they should repair the walls before they painted, replacing the old and rippled plaster with nice, smooth drywall. Then Marge said that she hated the window in that room, because it always stuck and was nearly impossible to open, so maybe they should replace the window also. Frank said that, since they were replacing the window anyway, perhaps they should make it bigger…maybe make it the size of French doors and put a little balcony outside so take advantage of the view.

Before long, the entire back of Frank and Marge’s house was torn open and a three-room addition was being built!

Frank and Marge had a little trouble managing scope, and their little weekend painting project turned into a major, six-month construction project.

Projects have a way of turning themselves into complicated monsters if they aren’t watched very carefully. Your Definition of Work should be the guide for dealing with changes in scope. Do not make the project bigger than planned unless the project will not be able to move forward without doing additional work. If people see another thing that should be done, make it another project. But finish the one you are working on now before starting the new one!

Communications

Making sure that everyone connected with the project knows what is going on is essential to project success. At work, this can be done at meetings, or by posting update notices on bulletin boards. In the community, bulletin boards can work, as can email ‘blasts’ or just letting the news get out ‘organically’. Every neighbourhood has its own way of spreading the word. Use it!

It is also important to celebrate success…of important tasks and when the project is completed.

Quality

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. This is true for many things and one of them is doing the project. The key here is to see how many project tasks have to be redone. Aim at none!

Learning from Experience

While a project is underway, keep a diary of everything that happens. When the project is done, review it all with the committee, working group or responsible person. The basic questions are:

What went right? What didn’t go so well? How can we do this better next time?

The point is not to assign blame but rather to build on the things that the people involved in the project do well and find ways to support them in the things that they do not do so well.

Celebrate!

This cannot be emphasized too much or too often. In some way or another celebrate every little success the project enjoys. People love to celebrate. When an important activity is finished, celebrate. If a task is finished ahead of schedule or for less money than planned, celebrate. When the project concludes, whether a screaming success or something of a dud, celebrate!

Repeat as Necessary

One project seems to spawn others. There will be no shortage of ideas for new projects. The more likely problem is that there will be many more ideas than there is time or energy to complete. The setting of priorities and agreeing on limitations will be very important. Taking on too many projects, either all at once or one after the other, will burn people out and they will lose enthusiasm, energy and commitment. If it stops being fun, stop doing it for a while.

I can’t tell you how often I’m asked about project management. Probably because I’ve been doing it for a very long time. While it sometimes drives my family and my neighbours crazy, I’ve been known to apply project management techniques and processes to things as diverse as weddings and house buildings. We are always working on projects and it seems to me that everybody needs to know something about project management.

I’ve noticed that people won’t read more than about 700 words in a blog, so I’m dividing this post in two. This post will introduce the idea and look at defining and planning the work. Next week, we’ll look at issues, scope, communications, evaluation and celebration.

There is an entire field of study and work devoted to the management of projects. In fact, there is an international organization, called the Project Management Institute, dedicated to the theory and practice of project management. They have a certification system for project managers and a 400-page book, called (without irony) the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Yes, you can get a university degree in project management!

While formal project management is useful if you are building a bridge or creating a new kind of computer software, it really is not necessary for the kinds of projects that most people undertake, either at home or art work. At the same time, all projects need to be managed if they are to be run effectively and the steps of a project are usually the same, whether you are planning a dinner party or the roll out of a new product line.

Define the Work

Once you or your team has decided (or have been told!) to work on a project, it will be helpful to carefully define just what the project is. Start with a name. If the project is to hold a get-together barbeque for the neighbourhood, you might call it The Neighbourhood BBQ. (As most things, most project management really isn’t rocket science. In fact, take a look at The Secret of Success for some thoughtful comments on Rocket Science!) For a ‘one-off’ event project, the definition can be a simple statement, like

“The neighbourhood guys will organize a BBQ so that everyone can meet everyone else, have a little fun and talk about the state of the local playground.”

(There’s usually an agenda. Sigh.)

If the project is more complex or will continue for an extended period of time, a more formal statement of Goals, Objectives and Outputs would be more useful. This is also the time to start a Project Diary. Everything that happens concerning the project should be mentioned in the diary. This will be very useful as things proceed…and at the end of the project. A three ring binder is a useful Diary holder, as things like correspondence (in and out) and other material can be included easily.

The Work Plan

Even the simplest project will run more smoothly if there is a written work plan. This could be a straightforward ‘To Do’ list or a more formal chart with work breakdowns, timelines, persons responsible for each task…even a critical path analysis (which sounds more daunting than it is to create, really). Start with the To Do list and expand it if you need to.

For anything but the simplest project, a person or group should take responsibility for seeing it through. This might be an existing committee or an ad hoc working group. It could be a single person with a lot of energy and interest in the project.

Next week, in Part 2, we’ll move the project along.