The higher the view, the better the outcome with managing projects

As I rode my mountain bike on New Year’s day, I noticed a few interesting things. When I started out, I was in a hilly forest that was quite thick. In many respects, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees! It was nice and cool, but otherwise a bit boring. As I climbed up the trail, I finally hit a ridge line. My perspective was drastically changed at that point. I could see down the valley from which I had come. I could also see the peak which was my ultimate goal. The finish line was finally in sight and I knew how to get there.

Many times, when engaging in project work with a team, we forget to check our perspectives. Some people on the team can stay in the forest and get the blocking and tackling work done, but someone or a small subset of the project group needs to have the ridge line view. Without this perspective, the project will have a tendency to wander and change frequently.

Ask yourself these questions to determine your perspective:

1. Do I have a clear vision of what the finish line looks like for this project?
2. Am I so overwhelmed with the details that I can’t think about the higher-level issues and objectives?
3. Am I watching my project wander on a daily or weekly basis?
4. Are daily “fires” taking the limelight and making the project suffer?
5. When I go to sleep at night, what am I thinking about? High-level opportunities or low-level details?

You will notice some common themes in those questions. If you are focused on the details, that typically means that you don’t have the details adequately organized, assigned out and accounted for.

I had a call from a client today asking me if there was a way to view all of his Milestones across all of his projects. I showed him the Global Calendar and he was in heaven. His perspective had changed. He was now on the ridge line with a great view of all his projects. He now knew where he had been and where he was going. It was a beautiful thing.

Think about how you can change your perspective to be more productive. A manager in the trees is not helpful; climb that mountain and get the view you need to run your projects with excellence!

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