Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Time Span and Complexity

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“I’m not sure that I understand time span,” Morgan said. “It’s not that I am resisting the idea, I’m just not sure how it works.”

“Let’s say I have a task that I want to delegate,” I explained, rolling up my sleeves. “I call you in and we discuss it. I lay out the delegation, talk about the performance standards. You have questions, we create an action plan. The meeting is over.

“From that moment, you begin to work ahead without my direction. You use your own independent discretionary judgment and finally complete the task.

“You arrive back in my office and say, ‘Okay, I’m all done!’ You clap your hands together and say, ‘What’s next?’

“You have just established the time span for that task and now need my direction on what to do next. Perhaps it was three days, maybe a week, whatever it took.

“Morgan, whenever I look at a position in the company, I always look at the time span for the various tasks that have to be completed. Time span indicates the complexity of the task. The longer the time span, the more complex is the task.

“Most companies underestimate the complexity of most roles in the organization and then are surprised when people fail to perform. By using time span as the measuring stick, we can be much more precise about the level of complexity.” -TF

A Supervisor’s Time Horizon

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Morgan was complaining. “You have been talking about checklists and schedules as the core tools for Project Managers and Supervisors. It just doesn’t seem that hard. Why don’t my PMs get it?”

“Morgan, it’s not just a matter of training. Supervising and Project Management are clearly Strata II roles. The role is different and the people are different.” I could see Morgan was struggling with this.

“But, if I take my lead technician, why can’t he seem to put a schedule together?” Morgan was pushing back.

“Morgan, I want you to think of these two roles in terms of time span. The time span required for a technician may be as short as one day. A person doing the work may only have to think about the work that needs to be done today.

“But the time span required for a supervisor is longer. And the story doesn’t end with just scheduling. Scheduling responsibilities may only require a two or three week time horizon, but there’s more. Supervisors must also think about building bench strength, recruiting technicians, training technicians, testing technical competence, cross-training. For a supervisor to be successful, I usually look for a minimum three month time horizon. The supervisor needs to be able to work into the future, without direction, using their own discretionary judgment, on tasks that may take as long as three months to complete.” -TF

Core Skills of Project Management

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

What do you consider the three most important parts of Project Management?

Response:

Project Management is a classic Strata II role. From a macro level, it involves the coordination of people, materials, equipment and project sequence. The three core management skills drive the project forward.

1. Project Planning (creating a comprehensive project plan including milestones and accountabilities).

2. Creating and monitoring a schedule (prioritizing and sequencing time frames associated with changing elements of a project).

3. Creating and monitoring a checklist (documenting and tracking all the details for completion and quality).

The value adds for Project Management are project control, accuracy to project specifications, timliness and completeness. -TF

One Simple Discipline

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“Purpose?”

“Purpose. The first step to having important meetings is to be crystal clear on the purpose for the meeting.” Phillip and I had been talking about meetings. Phillip was concerned that his Project Managers were having difficulty in what seemed basic stuff to him.

“We tell Project Managers that they need to have meetings, and then we wonder why their meetings fall apart. Bottom line is that most companies don’t train their supervisors and managers on how to conduct an effective meeting. They just expect it to happen, like magic.”

“So we need to start with purpose?” asked Phillip.

“Everything starts with purpose. Meetings run amuck when there is no purpose, or where people attending have different purposes. Until we get those purposes out on the table, our meeting is going to meander aimlessly.”

“How do we do that? Send an email out before the meeting?” pondered Phillip.

“Yes, it’s as simple as that. But think about it. How many meetings did you attend during the past month where there was no stated purpose and no agenda?”

Phillip didn’t have to think long. “You know, I don’t think I went to a single meeting last month where there was an agenda, much less, a stated purpose.”

“Now, I know some things managed to get done in those meetings, but they could have been much more effective. Do that one simple thing, and teach your PMs to do the same and you will see an improvement.” -TF

A Skill No One Teaches

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“So, in addition to creating schedules and checklists, we should train our supervisors on how to run meetings?” Phillip was becoming a believer.

“Not just how to run a meeting, but how to run an effective meeting,” I responded. Phillip shook his head. He didn’t have to be briefed on the difference between meetings that were important and meetings that were a waste of time.

At the same time, he was uncomfortable. “You know, we do a pretty good job of training people on the technical stuff that we do, how we make things and how we deliver our services, but we don’t even come close when you talk about training on how to run meetings.”

“I know. Interesting, isn’t it? One of the most important things that a supervisor does and your company doesn’t spend any time teaching the management skill of how to run an effective meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What do we need to do first?” asked Phillip.

“Tell you what. Meet me here tomorrow morning, same time. There are several different kinds of meetings. We will talk about the ones most important to you.” -TF

Running the Job

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“There is more?” Phillip asked. He was gaining a new appreciation for the role of the Project Manager. “This is more complex than I thought.”

“Phillip, one of the biggest mistakes a company makes when it hires people, is underestimating the Time Horizon required for the person to be effective in the position. The role of a Project Manager requires a brand new skill set, a skill set that most companies never train.”

“We talked about schedules and checklists, but you said there was another tool.”

I nodded. “Perhaps the most important tool. Meetings. Most PMs know they need to have meetings, but they just gut their way through. Nobody likes their meetings. They skip them if they can. Participation by team members hardly exists.

“Yet, if you think about it, running an effective meeting is an important management skill. It makes communication consistent because everyone hears the same thing. It provides the opportunity for interactive participation and questions. It encourages participation and promotes buy-in. It can be used as an accountability tool.

“But that rarely happens, because most managers don’t know how to hold an effective meeting.” Phillip was listening intently. It was beginning to sink in. Running the job is completely different than doing the job. -TF

The Next Tool

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Phillip was all ears. We had been talking about the core skills for a Project Manager. During the past four years, Phillip had been involved in hiring this level of project supervisor. In his mind, the most important skills were the technical construction skills.

He slowly understood that the role of Project Management was different. While the role of the crew member was to do the work, the role of the supervisor was to make sure the work got done. It required a completely different set of skills. It had nothing to do with hammers, saws or heavy equipment. It had to do with scheduling people and materials. It had to do with making sure the work was complete and finished on time.

“You said we need to teach our PMs how to put a schedule together?” Phillip asked.

“Yes, and a schedule is only one of the tools of the supervisor. Another important tool is a checklist.”

“You mean, like the punch list we use at the end of the job to wrap up all the unfinished details?”

“You got it,” I prompted. “Why use a checklist only at the end of the job. Checklists can be very useful through the entire project. There are a hundred things that need follow-up and no one can keep all that in their head. In fact, after a few jobs, a master checklist can be created for different parts of the project, like a template that can be used over and over.”

“And we should teach this to our supervisors?” Phillip was slowly getting on board.

“Yep. I know it comes second nature to you, but not to your junior Project Managers.” I stopped. Phillip had enough for today. “Tomorrow, I will come by and we can pick up the next Project Management tool.” -TF

What Does the Schedule Say?

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Phillip stared at me. His blood pressure was up, though he appeared calm, but not like a deer in the headlights.

“So, we should teach our Project Managers to schedule?” he asked, knowing the answer was yes.

“Look. Phillip. Think about this. What is the most frequent problem a Project Manager has to deal with?”

Phillip didn’t hesitate. “The contractor calls up and wants to know how come something on the job site isn’t happening the way he expected it to.”

“And what happens then?”

“Well, the PM starts scrambling. He jumps on his radio to find out what happened to the crew or the materials or the equipment. It can get a little chaotic.”

“Why doesn’t the PM immediately go to his schedule to find out what is happening?”

“His schedule?” Phillip almost started laughing. “His schedule won’t tell him anything.”

I stopped, waited for ten long seconds. “And why won’t his schedule tell him what he needs to know.”

It was Phillip’s turn to wait. He was trying to craft a response, but the only thing that came out was the truth. “I guess we don’t take schedules seriously enough to train our PMs on how to create them and use them.”

“So, Phillip. Yes, you need to train them on how to put a schedule together.” Phillip nodded slowly in agreement. “And that’s not all. There’s more.” -TF

It’s a Different Skill Set

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As Phillip simmered, he finally blurted out, “But they should know how to schedule. How hard is that?”

“I don’t know, Phillip. How complicated are your scheduling logistics?” I asked. We had been talking about his Project Managers. Though technically proficient, they seemed to have difficulty creating and maintaining current schedules.

“It’s just getting the materials and the people scheduled. It’s not that difficult.” Phillip was firm.

“What is the biggest problem they face in scheduling?”

Phillip thought for a minute, hoping to tell me there were never problems, but he knew better. “I guess the biggest problem is coordinating with the other subs on the job, to make sure their work is finished and the project is ready for the work we do. Since the subs don’t work for us, coordinating with them is sometimes difficult.”

“So, how do you train your PMs to deal with that?”

“Train ’em. They’re just supposed to know that they have to go check.” It was not a good answer and Phillip was beginning to backpedal.

I pressed. “On the job, do materials ever get backordered? Does a crew member ever call in sick or a whole crew get reassigned to an emergency? Does the contractor ever change something without a change order? Does a piece of heavy equipment get delayed on another project and not show up? Does a dumpster load sometimes not get switched out in time. Does a code inspector sometimes not show up?

“Tell me, Phillip. How do you train your Project Managers to create and maintain schedules?”

Phillip hesitated. He knew any response would just sound like an excuse.

“Phillip, here is the critical factor. Actually doing the work is completely different from making sure the work gets done. It’s a different role in the company. It has its own skill set. You don’t hire for it, you don’t train for it, but right now, it’s killing you.” -TF

Didn’t Interview for That

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Phillip was perplexed. “I explained it to them three times. They still don’t get it.” His emotion was a mixture of anger and bewilderment. This discussion was about his Project Managers.

“What do you think the problem is?” I asked.

“I don’t think they have the capability to understand. They all have 4 or 5 years in the business. They know how to do the work. They just can’t seem to be able to get other people to perform, at least not on time and most of the time, not on budget.” As Phillip was talking, he was calming down.

“Technically, they understand what needs to be done?” I confirm.

“Yes, but the technical skills almost seem unimportant, now.” Phillip was shaking his head.

“If it’s not technical skills, what are the skills?”

“It’s like, they can’t even fill out a schedule. Ryan is one of my PMs. I asked to see his weekly schedule. He was so proud, he had it right in his clipboard. It was dated three months ago, all scribbled up. Three guys on the schedule don’t even work for us anymore.”

“So, one of the skills is the ability to put together a weekly schedule contemplating the project workload, targets, people, materials and equipment?”

Phillip had a look on his face somewhere between an epiphany and a nervous breakdown. I continued, “So, when you interview for new project managers, do you interview for their ability to schedule?”

He shook his face from side to side, “No, we usually interview for technical skills.”

“Do you think you might start interviewing for scheduling skills?” -TF