WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.120 Today we're going to talk about how to be a brilliant project manager. 2 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:09.240 It's a little bit of a play on words. 3 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:16.720 What if I told you that in our company, Brilliant, that we do 40 to 50 projects a year and in 4 00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:22.680 the last 3 years not one project has been one hour late? 5 00:00:22.680 --> 00:00:26.160 That's a pretty impressive and spectacular result. 6 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:32.360 These are ordinary people who have also learned how to become great project managers. 7 00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:38.320 One of the first things we need to do is say, what do we mean by project manager? 8 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:43.800 Normally that title in corporate America is meant to elicit a highly trained person who 9 00:00:43.800 --> 00:00:49.920 is extremely good logistically, can organize and can manage a large project. 10 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:55.400 Perhaps you're thinking of a big project like software or a physical construction project, 11 00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:56.880 something like that. 12 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:01.560 But actually each of us do projects every single week. 13 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:06.320 You know, you're doing micro projects and they have the same effect. 14 00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:11.680 Now there is a phenomenal side effect to becoming a good project manager. 15 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:16.640 The first and obvious result is, yeah, we get things done on time. 16 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:22.200 But there's a better thing and that is you get to build trust with your team. 17 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:27.360 Project management is more about people than it is about the project itself. 18 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:32.360 You know, when you become known for being the person who does what they say, when they 19 00:01:32.360 --> 00:01:35.920 say, trust builds. 20 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:41.240 You know, it's a bit like if you said, I will have that document to you on Tuesday 21 00:01:41.240 --> 00:01:49.200 morning at 9am and the document is there at 8.30 ready to go, that's fantastic. 22 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:54.480 Well what if you're not able to do it and you discover on early Monday morning, you're 23 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:58.560 not able to deliver the project on Tuesday. 24 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:03.840 Then there's a powerful way to still keep trust with your team even though you're going 25 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:07.680 to delay the deliverable of something you said you would do. 26 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.560 And the simple way of this is, remember, good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. 27 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:19.160 That means the moment you know, within minutes, you let the person know, I cannot deliver 28 00:02:19.160 --> 00:02:24.160 at 9am, this is the reason I will have it by Wednesday morning. 29 00:02:24.160 --> 00:02:25.840 Does that still work? 30 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:31.800 Now that still maintains trust because it shows respect and that you communicated this 31 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:33.480 when you found out. 32 00:02:33.480 --> 00:02:39.640 You know, the way I learned that is I was a young man in my early 30s running a pretty 33 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:45.040 big software company and we were co-owned by one of the largest insurance companies 34 00:02:45.040 --> 00:02:47.080 in the United States. 35 00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:52.360 And I got to work a lot with the CEO and one day I called him to tell him that one of our 36 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:55.400 major projects was going to be late. 37 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:59.640 His first question was, when did you know that? 38 00:02:59.640 --> 00:03:02.360 And I was able to say, an hour ago. 39 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:06.480 And I could tell the respect went way up. 40 00:03:06.480 --> 00:03:12.480 In other words, I was able to maintain my trust and my reputation with that leader because 41 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:15.760 I knew and communicated very quickly. 42 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:21.680 And that's where we got the expression of good news travels fast, bad news travels faster. 43 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.360 One of the first things our team will say if they call me to tell me that something 44 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:29.280 is going to be late, that they said they would deliver on, that they would tell me exactly 45 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:30.600 when they found out. 46 00:03:30.600 --> 00:03:35.280 Hey, I found out 10 minutes ago, I wanted you to know immediately. 47 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:41.600 So it's not about being perfect, it's about maintaining trust with your team. 48 00:03:41.600 --> 00:03:45.840 And actually, it turns out to be a fairly simple thing to do. 49 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:49.040 But while we're about this, we're going to blend two things together. 50 00:03:49.040 --> 00:03:54.840 As I said before, delivering powerful projects and being a brilliant project manager is as 51 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:59.560 much or more about the people than about the project itself. 52 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:04.160 So here's a couple of things we're going to go through to help you grow as a project 53 00:04:04.160 --> 00:04:05.160 manager. 54 00:04:05.160 --> 00:04:12.040 You know, I think as we go through these simple steps, I hope we can help you avoid the big 55 00:04:12.040 --> 00:04:15.880 mistakes that most people make. 56 00:04:15.880 --> 00:04:20.100 Now I wanted to point out that mistakes don't break trust. 57 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:22.400 How you own them does. 58 00:04:22.400 --> 00:04:25.920 You know, if you don't phone the person and say, hey, I'm sorry I can't do it, you know, 59 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:30.800 and come up with excuses, that doesn't build up trust even if you let them know quickly. 60 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:31.800 It's owning it. 61 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:38.680 I messed up, I didn't plan properly, I underestimated the amount of time this would take, I'm going 62 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:41.120 to need, you know, a bit more time. 63 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:45.200 And then give them a definitive, when will you do it then? 64 00:04:45.200 --> 00:04:50.920 And what will happen over time when you keep doing this is the team will come to know, 65 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:57.040 we can give it to her because she always delivers on time. 66 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:58.600 And that's the reputation. 67 00:04:58.600 --> 00:04:59.960 It's not just, you know. 68 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.280 Did you do what you said you would do? 69 00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:03.840 And how do you deliver on time? 70 00:05:03.840 --> 00:05:06.940 So we're gonna talk about how to make that happen 71 00:05:06.940 --> 00:05:08.640 every single time. 72 00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:12.080 And so we're gonna talk about four components. 73 00:05:12.080 --> 00:05:14.080 I'm gonna share with you the setup, 74 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:15.840 how we set up projects, 75 00:05:15.840 --> 00:05:17.800 how we shape our projects. 76 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:20.400 Then we're gonna talk about giving people the heads up 77 00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:22.120 and finally the wrap up. 78 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:24.200 So the four elements of the project. 79 00:05:24.200 --> 00:05:26.940 So let's get to the first part, the setup. 80 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:30.260 Now here, you wanna discover the one thing 81 00:05:30.260 --> 00:05:32.080 that matters in the project. 82 00:05:32.080 --> 00:05:35.500 So to do this, meet with the stakeholders. 83 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:37.100 And what do I mean by stakeholder? 84 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:40.020 I mean anybody who's involved in the project 85 00:05:40.020 --> 00:05:41.260 one way or another. 86 00:05:41.260 --> 00:05:43.940 Not just the owners or not just your boss, 87 00:05:43.940 --> 00:05:46.740 but people who would end up owning this project 88 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:48.820 and living with it. 89 00:05:48.820 --> 00:05:51.500 So let's say you're building a new, 90 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.340 installing a new type of accounting practice 91 00:05:54.340 --> 00:05:58.740 or you're inventing, adding something to your app 92 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:01.140 or there's some specific element. 93 00:06:01.140 --> 00:06:04.900 Think about who would end up living with this? 94 00:06:04.900 --> 00:06:07.320 And then who would it affect most? 95 00:06:07.320 --> 00:06:09.360 These are the stakeholders. 96 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.260 The next thing you wanna do is give it meaning. 97 00:06:11.260 --> 00:06:13.300 When you're at that meeting, give it meaning. 98 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:15.620 Why does this project matter? 99 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:17.980 Explain why this matters 100 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.700 and what would it mean for the organization 101 00:06:20.700 --> 00:06:21.600 if you pulled it off? 102 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:23.700 Say, this is why it matters, 103 00:06:23.900 --> 00:06:27.380 but what if we actually pulled this off? 104 00:06:27.380 --> 00:06:31.700 I think of the story of a very old British show 105 00:06:31.700 --> 00:06:32.860 called My Fair Lady. 106 00:06:32.860 --> 00:06:34.340 And there's a moment there 107 00:06:34.340 --> 00:06:37.580 where she's really struggling to learn to speak 108 00:06:37.580 --> 00:06:38.940 like he's trying to train her 109 00:06:38.940 --> 00:06:40.820 and all the elocution lessons. 110 00:06:40.820 --> 00:06:43.920 And then he just, his humanity kicks in for a minute 111 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:46.060 and he sits down with her and he says, 112 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:49.420 think about what you're trying to accomplish, 113 00:06:49.420 --> 00:06:53.520 the beauty and mastery of the English language. 114 00:06:54.340 --> 00:06:55.180 And she looks at him 115 00:06:55.180 --> 00:06:58.560 and immediately she starts to pronounce things better. 116 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.520 In other words, months of work suddenly kicked in 117 00:07:01.520 --> 00:07:04.520 because he helped her see 118 00:07:04.520 --> 00:07:08.640 what she was trying to accomplish for her, not for him. 119 00:07:08.640 --> 00:07:11.040 And so this is a big turning point 120 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:12.360 in that particular story, 121 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:15.320 but it's also the turning point in your project. 122 00:07:15.320 --> 00:07:17.560 So here's what we wanna do. 123 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:21.600 We wanna find about, think about why we're doing this. 124 00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:24.520 Here's a power hack. 125 00:07:24.520 --> 00:07:27.360 Find out the largest pain point. 126 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.920 So this is not a time to get a wishlist from everybody. 127 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:33.080 We want these 15 features. 128 00:07:33.080 --> 00:07:36.160 This is what if I could fix one thing 129 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:38.480 that would make the biggest difference. 130 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.800 By focusing everybody on the one thing, 131 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:43.140 then what's gonna happen is 132 00:07:43.140 --> 00:07:45.680 we're gonna leverage the Pareto principle. 133 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.200 In other words, 20% of the time 134 00:07:48.200 --> 00:07:51.260 is gonna give us 80% of the benefit. 135 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:53.260 Now you say, well, we have to fix all these other things. 136 00:07:53.260 --> 00:07:57.100 Yes, but if we do a series of thin slice projects, 137 00:07:57.100 --> 00:07:59.380 thinking like eating a loaf of bread, 138 00:07:59.380 --> 00:08:00.540 you don't take a loaf of bread, 139 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:03.220 cut it in half and try and eat the whole thing. 140 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:08.220 So we're looking for that one thing, not a wishlist. 141 00:08:08.300 --> 00:08:10.100 And a lot of people 142 00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:11.980 when they're first learning to manage projects 143 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:13.500 get carried away with, 144 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:15.180 well, what if we could have everything? 145 00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:17.340 What would that look like? 146 00:08:17.340 --> 00:08:18.780 And now what we're doing is 147 00:08:18.780 --> 00:08:20.740 we're at that first setup meeting, 148 00:08:20.740 --> 00:08:23.620 we're trying to get an agreement 149 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:27.580 on what will give us the biggest bang for the buck. 150 00:08:27.580 --> 00:08:29.020 So we've given it meaning 151 00:08:29.020 --> 00:08:32.860 and then agree what does done mean. 152 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:36.539 Now this mean done means I delivered the project, 153 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:38.780 we actually wrote the software and tested it. 154 00:08:38.780 --> 00:08:40.740 Does done mean I finished the document 155 00:08:40.740 --> 00:08:42.740 and hit the send button? 156 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:45.580 What does done exactly mean? 157 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:47.940 So this is a very helpful element. 158 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:50.940 So we've talked about, so we meet with the stakeholders 159 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:54.180 and now what we've done is we've set up the project 160 00:08:54.180 --> 00:08:56.340 looking for the one big thing, 161 00:08:56.340 --> 00:08:58.180 we've given it meaning 162 00:08:58.180 --> 00:09:00.020 and we've asked what if we pull this off? 163 00:09:00.020 --> 00:09:02.260 What does it mean for the organization? 164 00:09:02.260 --> 00:09:04.980 And so what we're trying to do is land that one big thing 165 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.260 and then decide what does done mean 166 00:09:07.260 --> 00:09:09.380 if I delivered this one big thing. 167 00:09:09.380 --> 00:09:11.620 Notice what we're doing subtly here. 168 00:09:11.620 --> 00:09:13.900 We're setting expectations. 169 00:09:13.900 --> 00:09:16.660 We don't leave it open-ended where people think, 170 00:09:16.660 --> 00:09:19.740 oh, well, she's gonna deliver this incredible project 171 00:09:19.740 --> 00:09:22.660 or he promised us these 10 things 172 00:09:22.660 --> 00:09:23.700 because what you've done 173 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:25.940 is you've helped them focus on the one thing. 174 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:27.660 So what's their expectation? 175 00:09:27.660 --> 00:09:29.420 The one thing's gonna be done. 176 00:09:29.420 --> 00:09:30.780 What does done mean? 177 00:09:30.780 --> 00:09:33.340 Done can mean different things to different people 178 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:36.260 so we settle that, the big thing and what does done mean. 179 00:09:36.260 --> 00:09:38.540 Now the project is set up. 180 00:09:38.540 --> 00:09:42.220 So let's talk about how do we shape up the project? 181 00:09:42.220 --> 00:09:46.140 Now what we mean by shape up is how do we give it shape? 182 00:09:46.140 --> 00:09:48.020 So we know what the big thing is 183 00:09:48.020 --> 00:09:49.660 and we know what done means. 184 00:09:49.660 --> 00:09:51.660 Now we wanna shape up the project 185 00:09:51.660 --> 00:09:54.380 and like the loaf of bread analogy, 186 00:09:54.380 --> 00:09:57.820 we wanna take the thinnest slice possible. 187 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:00.220 The joke at Brilliant is the slice has to be so. 188 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.280 than you can see through it. And what we mean by that is we don't want boil-the-ocean projects. 189 00:10:07.280 --> 00:10:12.360 You know, you don't need to try and boil the ocean. The bigger the project, the more complex 190 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:17.440 it is and the higher the probabilities, you will know we're close to deliver what you 191 00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:18.440 have to be. 192 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:26.120 In fact, statistics show that 60% of requirements on the project are usually wrong. So we start 193 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:31.080 to think about it very carefully. And now the way to do this, the power hack, if you 194 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:36.040 like, is don't start with, you know, what are we going to trying to do? Start with the 195 00:10:36.040 --> 00:10:42.800 appetite. The appetite means how much time can I really commit to this? Now, you've already 196 00:10:42.800 --> 00:10:48.000 installed some deep work sessions into your schedule. So you already have some buckets 197 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:55.120 of deep work scheduled in your weekly program, in your outline. So in that case, you want 198 00:10:55.120 --> 00:11:00.560 to say how many deep work sessions is this going to take? I can commit five deep work 199 00:11:00.560 --> 00:11:04.560 sessions to this. And if you're doing one deep work session per week, well, then that 200 00:11:04.560 --> 00:11:09.680 is five weeks. Now, what we're trying to, we will get into this a lot more in a lot 201 00:11:09.680 --> 00:11:15.440 more detail as this course progresses. But for now, we want you to think about what's 202 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:20.560 the appetite? How much time am I committing? What's included? We knew what done with, but 203 00:11:20.560 --> 00:11:25.240 now we're getting into the detail what's included and very specifically what is not 204 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:30.920 included. I'm not going to write the software. I'm just doing the specifications. You know, 205 00:11:30.920 --> 00:11:35.560 I'm going to design the new marketing campaign, but I'm not actually going to build the funnels 206 00:11:35.560 --> 00:11:40.240 and I'm not going to connect it so we can actually do a transaction. Decide what's included 207 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:46.120 and what is not. Then circle back to to the stakeholders and say, OK, we're going to spend 208 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:51.560 this much time. This is what's included. This is what is not. So now we've shaped up 209 00:11:51.560 --> 00:11:58.760 the project. Step three, we want to give them a heads up. So we want to set expectations 210 00:11:58.760 --> 00:12:03.080 of what and when. So we've already said this is the time. This is what we're delivering. 211 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:09.160 This is what we're not delivering. Now we want to do is pick a team and we want to create 212 00:12:09.160 --> 00:12:14.320 margin with the team. You know, when we said it was going to take four deep work sessions, 213 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:20.040 it may take other people's time as you include it. Create margin, but don't sandbag. What 214 00:12:20.040 --> 00:12:24.000 does sandbagging mean? It means you say, oh, it's going to take six weeks when everybody 215 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:28.240 knows it doesn't take more than two. That will hurt your reputation, not build it. In 216 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:35.280 other words, take your time and add another 20 percent on top of that. I think that generally 217 00:12:35.280 --> 00:12:40.680 is a good rule of thumb. And, you know, have decision integrity. And what I mean by that 218 00:12:40.680 --> 00:12:46.880 is try to let people know that we may finish this on time, but we're leaving ourselves 219 00:12:46.880 --> 00:12:51.380 a little margin. Tell people that. And, you know, the best thing then is because when 220 00:12:51.380 --> 00:12:57.480 you do that and you actually show your team we've built in margin, the concept of building 221 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:03.800 margin into projects is a very powerful way to train your team that we don't do things 222 00:13:03.800 --> 00:13:09.960 right on the edge, because that sets us up for failure and that breaks trust and hurts 223 00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:16.600 our reputation. So, we don't trade in excuses. We own the issues. We let people know quickly. 224 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:20.720 And finally, the wrap up. Now, the wrap up is a lot of fun. And here's the key to the 225 00:13:20.720 --> 00:13:25.000 wrap up. You know, a lot of people skip this step because, oh, well, the project's done. 226 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.840 Let's move on to the next project. It's really important. All good leaders take a minute 227 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:33.960 and gather all the people who it connects to, all the stakeholders, maybe the whole 228 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:39.560 team if you're a smaller company, and say, hey, we delivered this project and this was 229 00:13:39.560 --> 00:13:46.080 the effect. We did what we said we would do and we delivered it on time. And now we're 230 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:52.120 looking for not only telling them what we've done, but let's find heroes to the story. 231 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:58.120 Be really specific in giving your team recognition. Remember from previous trainings, we don't 232 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:03.320 do the general blip thing of awesome, good job. That stuff is mindless. You know, we 233 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:09.080 want to say the way Sally, the way that you led that specification or the way you designed 234 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:14.840 that screen was truly beautiful. It gave the project such a professional feel. You 235 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:20.320 want to be really specific. Go around and recognize team members and then take a minute 236 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:25.320 and celebrate as a team, right? Just zoom out for a minute and say, this project was 237 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:31.560 important because it got us down the road. Okay, we've talked about the four powerful 238 00:14:31.560 --> 00:14:37.080 things, right? How to set up the project with the stakeholders and we decide exactly what 239 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:42.960 the big pain point is for them and what has done me. Then we went to shape it up. We look 240 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:47.240 for the thinnest slice. Again, we look for the thinnest slice because we rather do lots 241 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:52.120 of thin slice projects than try and do one big project. Honestly, if your project's taking 242 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:57.600 more than six weeks, the slice is not thin enough. I like projects that are one to three 243 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.040 weeks long. That means you've got a nice thin slice. 244 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.000 ice on that. And once we've done all that, we've gone, what's our appetite? 245 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:06.720 What's included? What's not? We've communicated that back. 246 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:10.360 Now, everybody's expectations are set of when and what. 247 00:15:10.760 --> 00:15:14.000 And now we give them a heads up as we go through the process. 248 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:16.800 In other words, we keep them in the loop. 249 00:15:17.400 --> 00:15:20.880 If it's a longer project, specifically, we don't trade in excuses. 250 00:15:21.040 --> 00:15:23.920 We build in margin and we deliver what we said 251 00:15:23.920 --> 00:15:28.120 we deliver when we said and the wrap up, take a minute to celebrate 252 00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:31.120 and find the heroes of that project. 253 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:36.160 I know you're going to love being a brilliant project manager. 254 00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:38.320 And I hope this training was helpful. Thanks for listening.