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As a Project Manager, do you feel like Frogger?
Bill Fournet is the President & CEO of The Persimmon Group. He has provided business strategy, educational development, and information technology consulting to clients in various sectors, including energy, financial, telecommunications, government and human resources.
"As a Project Manager, do you feel like Frogger?"
By Bill Fournet
I know my colleague has written previously, comparing Project Managers to Pac Man. However, I more often observe Project Managers as Frogger. Do you remember Frogger?
The poor little frog who has to get from one side of the road to the other while avoiding cars, motorcycles, and other obstacles seeking to impede or worse, kill it? Frogger gets a few rewards if it moves correctly, but should it enjoy the reward too long… SPLAT!
To me, Project Managers are much like Frogger, reacting to the whims of management, conflicting directions, issues, morale issues, etc. They are rewarded for winning, but have to move quickly to stay avoid the obstacles. Should the Project Manager fail to “keep moving” or to “keep reacting” then SPLAT!! What the Project Manager needs to do is step off the road, take a break, and assess the situation.
Inevitably, Frogger (the game) has a pattern. If the Project Manager can determine the pattern, he or she can proactively plan the route, make it to the other side, and win. This approach requires a pause in the action, observation, and patience. Do you find yourself doing that? If not, it is most likely because you can barely keep your head above water. Try this to help:
Buy yourself breakfast and schedule an early Monday meeting (30 minutes). Only you. No one else can know the location.
Don’t worry – the team will survive.
Write down your biggest risks for the week. Answer the question of “what keeps you up at night?”
Write a short list of actions that you can do (or have done) to execute them. How are you going to mitigate your risks?
For actions that require an email or phone call for you to have someone else perform (who is not in your control or authority), you should plan to write those emails as soon as you get to your desk.
Write 2 – 10 objectives or outputs that will make the week a ‘success’ in your mind.
Are there any actions you can take to improve their chances of success for these objectives? If so, note them.
Lastly, contemplate the team’s mood. Are there any morale issues? How will the week be for them (stress, outputs, deadlines, etc.)? What about any personal issues (birth, vacation, birthdays)?
Now, take a sheet of paper, draw 3 lines and label as below – quickly organize your items accordingly:
Risks
Objectives
Dynamics
Mitigations
Insurance
Awareness
The top row maps your most important focus areas. The bottom row notes the things that must be done to ensure your success. This simple approach will help you get you out of reacting to issues (like Frogger) and help get you in front of your projects.
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As a Project Manager, do you feel like Frogger?
I know my colleague has written previously, comparing Project Managers to Pac Man. However, I more often observe Project Managers as Frogger ...
