My youngest son just completed the project requirement to earn his Eagle Scout rank. I mention it not because I am very proud of him ( although I am) but precisely because the project requirement is one of the most important life skills a person can learn. For those unfamiliar with the requirement, the scout is required to conceive, plan, finance and direct (not do)the work on a project. The project must be writen up, proposed and approved by the beneficiary as well as Boy Scout district representatives. All three of my sons have done this, all of their projects were different and all had different specific challenges. However, I think the lessons they learned are universal and essential for anyone no matter what career they plan to have.

1. Planning (although sometimes tedious) is the foundation and most important aspect of any project.
2. Flexibility is critical in the implementation phase because no matter how detailed the plan, there will be unanticipated events that will require plan revision.
3. Clear communication is difficult but essential as a project leader leading others. Although it is tempting (in the name of efficiency) to do the work yourself, the scope and time constraints of a project often make it impossible and if you give in to the temptation to do the work yourself, you will anger or alienate the team and likely not end up with the result you envisioned in the time frame allotted.

When you ask an Eagle Scout what they would do differently on their project it inevitably ends up being something associated with the above list. If you conducted a similar survey with project managers, I suspect their process improvement suggestions would fall into the same categories.

All the tools in the world will not make a project successful if these elementary aspects are not understood and properly executed.

Entrepeneurial thought for the day

If you think your idea is too small to be lucrative remember this: Merv Griffin wrote the theme for Jeopardy. It was initially 14 seconds long, so he made it 30 second long by changing the key and playing it again; just enough time for contestants to finalize their answers.

It is estimated that the royalties for his efforts exceed 70 million dollars.

Reference: May-June Edition of Mental Floss

Wishful Thinking-Perfect Storm

Earl Klugh put out a recording in the 80s called Wishful Thinking. If you are a fan of light Jazz it is really worth a listen. The title track of that recording has been in my head all morning. I just read an article in Compliance Week about the current state of internal fraud and what is surprising is that despite survey numbers that indicate a steady increase in employee fraud (embezzlement etc.) companies have no plans to increase their efforts to monitor or fight fraud. It invites another less pleasant image. The scene in the Movie "The Perfect Storm" where a wave (bigger than anything ever encountered in reality) washes over the boat in the storm.

It is unfortunate, because as a fraud examiner the best way I know to erode my own credibility is to try and scare people into doing audits. Worse, that it should come as a surprise to anyone that fraud would rise in a down economy.

I hope you have a survival suit.

Chosing

When I was working for a large company, we all tried our best to abide by the laws regulating hiring decisions. This is of course, the right thing to do. When we were in the exciting activities of a start up I learned some valuable lessons about how tricky it really was to find the right people for the jobs I was trying to fill. On Saturday, as I was leaving the field of the first soccer game of the season in the over 30 league I have played in for (perhaps too long), it became very clear why it is so hard to be objective in the hiring process.

We were beaten very soundly by the apposing team. It was not surprising because it was quite clear what the result would be. We were playing a team with very good skill, but more importantly, a team that was quite well acquainted and comfortable playing together. Although the individual skills displayed by many of the new players on our team were impressive, most of us had not played together as a team, so the game for us was more an exercise in learning to communicate and play as a team.

The way a business operates is really no different. In order for it to compete successfully, the people and working relationships have to be solid and in fact are of primary importance. This is not to say that skills are irrelevant but they are clearly not primary. In the case of my soccer team we are of an age that training will be subject to the law of dimishing returns, but the reality is that in a business a person can always be trained. The point is that no amount of training will make a business successful if the team does not share a common goal, mutual respect and an ability to trust one another and effectively communicate.

Some would argue that being preferential in the hiring process is unfair (and it can be illegal in some instances) but if we are all honest about it, we know why it is done. If we want to be successful as a team in anything, we have to chose people we know well and can trust in order to be as competitive, effective and efficient as possible as quickly as possible.

If a business is committed to the fair hiring practices that have been established, then it has to acknowledge that with that commitment comes some risk of not being as competitive, efficient in the short term (and in some instances failure). Therefore, it cannot skimp on the activities that ensure a new or growing team has a clearly defined objective, is communicating clearly and is building trust. Without these foundational elements the result will likely be much like my team's outcome Saturday. I find it interesting that this principle is obvious to everyone, but many will acknowledge that it does not happen in their work world.

The season is young for us. It will be interesting to see if we decide to build the foundation necessary for success. What kind of team are you on?

"Night" vs "Man's Search for Meaning"

In an effort to educate our children on the horror of the holocaust, many teachers are having the students read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. The book is a disturbing memoir of his experience in the concentration camps. I am always surprised however, that they do not have them read an equally important book "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a psychiatrist who also endured the horrors of concentration camps,(the same one in fact) and ended up developing a psychiatric treatment approach (logo therapy) as a result.

It is important to read both accounts not because of their common horrific experience, but because their respective works are great examples of how such an experience can make a person view the world. Wiesel's book is documentary in its effect and leaves the reader with a very dim and hopeless view of mankind. Frankl's account does not sugar coat the events or his experience but he made a decision (in his estimation the reason for his survival) to live in hope and love and thereby discover a true meaningful existence. Wouldn't everyone benefit from reading such a powerful witnesses of hope?

Directing your passion for better organizations

I have been thinking a lot about the dangers of misdirected passion these days. I am a Boy Scout leader and every year we have new scouts and their parents become part of the troop. When there is a large number of people with a lot of energy and excitement that join it is always exciting. I have learned a hard lesson however. Where there is passion there is also going to be some disagreement. If that passion is not managed during the disagreement then there is great potential for dysfunction. If the energy for change from the new members (which ought to be welcomed) is seen as a threat or an insult, then there will be resistance from the existing leadership. If that energy and excitement for change is not presented in the right way then the existing leadership can end up being insulted and resistant to the change.

It made me think of the following Scout analogy. Building a fire requires several things: a spark, tinder, kindling and fuel. The spark lights the tinder and the kindling provides the ability to maintain the fire until fuel can be successfully added to sustain the fire. Watching boys learn this I often find them trying to light kindling or fuel with the spark. It is frustrating and unsuccessful. Building organizations is very similar. All organizations need that spark of new energy and enthusiasm to keep the organization fresh and healthy. But if that energy and enthusiasm is not properly applied then there are a lot of sparks and friction but no fire. The new energy and excitement has to be carefully applied and targeted so that it catches and provides the foundation for the sustained growth everyone is trying to achieve. Just as you can't light a log with a spark you can't change an organization overnight. Be patient, build the relationships and be sure that you desire for change is motivated by the betterment of the organization and not the promotion of you own agenda or your desire to "save the organization".