10 OBSERVATIONS FROM A RECENT PROJECT - #3

3. Business is organic

Corporations may not really be people (Supreme Court decisions notwithstanding) but they do behave a lot like living organisms. There are unifying systems that tie the entity together, but also specialized areas performing specific functions. But, to me, the corporate quality that most resembles organic life is adaptive behavior. Nothing in any company is static. A business is always acting and reacting. And for us, as project team leaders, to expect everything to stand still while we try to roll out our wonder-plan is unrealistic. You must plan for disruption from the start. You must try to anticipate, as best you can, what potential situations might derail your timeline or budget and have a mitigation plan in place. If you've planned your project in iterative steps and have carefully broken down the work effort into deliverable functional components, disruption will be much easier to manage. The bottom line: Businesses change or die. Sometimes the change will be at odds with your project. Accept it and work toward success within the framework of constant change. And, take heart in the fact that you’ll be considered a hero (by some) when you are able to pull it off in spite of the challenges.

Jeff Lowell

If you missed it, click here for the INTRO.  To easily see all of the current posts in contiguous reverse order (newest to oldest), click on the "10 Observations" link under the Categories heading in the sidebar on the right side of the page. Be sure to catch the next chapter:  4. A True Friend.

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