Page 104 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

If you want the Earth-shattering ideas you need to ask questions that don’t have the answer buried
within!

Instead of loaded questions, ask neutral questions which foster proper reflection about the outcome
you would like to achieve.

What Will It Mean To Solve The Problem?

Many project teams come unstuck by overthinking the physical aspects of the problem, instead,
great solutions can come from reflecting on the more emotional side of the issue - the why rather
than the what! When you define what solving the problem will mean, you open yourself up to new
solutions.

Bernie Roth is a master at this. At the d.school he challenges students to identify what will it mean to
them when they have solved their problem.

My friend Gareth is a breakfast radio presenter and tells a story that falls into this category.
One morning, driving in to work Gareth found himself at the back of a long tailback caused by an
accident. It was between exit slip roads and the road behind had quickly filled so reversing was not
an option. A police officer confirmed that the road was closed a mile ahead and was unlikely to
reopen for a couple of hours - meaning Gareth would miss the start of his show.
He sat in the driver’s seat trying to come up with a plan. How could he get his car free? Could he
drive up the grass bank? Could he explain the situation and convince the officers to let him through?

It wasn’t until he thought about what getting free from the queue would mean that he came up with
the solution. The problem wasn’t how to get the car-free but how to get himself to the studio for
6.02 am. The policeman had said the accident was a mile away and after that, the road was clear so
Gareth called a taxi firm, explained the predicament to them and by the time he’d parked his car in a
layby and jogged down the adjacent footpath a cab was waiting. He made it with five minutes to
spare!

How often do we do this in IT Project Management? When you agonise over what a problem
appears to be rather than establishing what the perfect outcome would look and feel like you close
your mind to the groundbreaking solutions!

By the way, when he shared the story on air a listener called to say that, next time, he’d pick Gareth
up in his helicopter. Now that would have been even better than the taxi ride.
So ask - what will it mean to have solved the problem and watch your mind light up with ideas!

Make The Problem Bigger (Run With Me)

My IT Project Manager pal Malc always says, “What’s the fun in solving a small challenge, expand it
till you get to the problem worth solving!”

It’s tongue in cheek but I get where’s coming from – often you blindly run after what appears to be
the problem and expend all your energy until the real challenge, the one that will make a real
difference appears by which time you’re exhausted.

Malc says, “It’s like chasing a rattlesnake that’s bitten you so you can bite it back. Running will just
spread the poison through your bloodstream faster and chances are you’ll chase it back to a cave full
of the things.”