A presentation/workshop by Peter Taylor for the APM Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire branch, on 16th October 2013 in Leeds

1. Peter Taylor
www.thelazyprojectmanager.com
peter.b.taylor@btinternet.com
Twitter: @thelazypm
Author, Speaker, Workshops, Coaching

2. The Art of Being Twice as Productive
still Delivering Good Projects
with Peter Taylor

4. Robert Heinlein

5. Helmuth
Karl
Bernhard
Graf von
Moltke

6. Theory by Miss Anne Elk:
'All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much, much thicker in the
middle, and then thin again at the far end. That is the theory that I
have and which is mine, and what it is too.'

7. Theory by Peter Taylor
'All projects are thick at one end, much, much thinner in the
middle and then thick again at the far end. That is the theory that I
have and which is mine, and what it is too.'

8. ‘A bad beginning makes a bad ending. ‘
Euripides
Ahead
of the Game
Manage the Sponsor
Manage the Creep
Communication Breakdown

9. ‘A whole is that which has beginning, middle
and end’ Aristotle
All
in a Fun Day’s Work
Breathing Normally
A lot of ‘Lurve’ in the Room
The lights are on (but no-one’s at home)

11. In the event of an emergency,
an oxygen mask will drop in
front of you from the panel
above. Place the mask over
your mouth and nose,
straighten out the strap, and
pull the strap to be sure it is
tight on your face. After you
are wearing it securely, a tug
on the hose will start the
oxygen flow. It makes sense
to put your own mask on
first, before helping others.
Breathe normally…

12. 





Stay calm in a crisis
Plan for the crisis
Breathe normally
Filter, filter, filter
Delegate, delegate, delegate
Prioritise, prioritise, prioritise

13. ‘The world is round and the place which may
seem like the end may also be only the
beginning.’ Ivy Baker Priest
The
Missing Link

15. ‘As we know, there are known knowns
There are things we know we know
We also know there are known unknowns
That is to say we know there are some things
we do not know
But there are also unknown unknowns
The ones we don't know we don't know’

16. Definition of Insanity
“Insanity means doing the
same thing you did in the
past … but expecting
different results”
Based on Norman L Kerth’s book –
Retrospectives

17. The Prime Directive
Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the
best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the
resources available, and the situation at hand.
The 5 Key Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What
What
What
What
What
worked well that we don’t want to forget?
should we do differently next time?
still puzzles us?
do we need to discuss in greater detail after this retrospective?
did we learn?
The 4 Freedoms
1.
2.
3.
4.
You have the freedom to talk about the project the way you see it, rather than
the way others want you to see it
You have the freedom to ask about anything that puzzles you
You have the freedom to talk about whatever comes up in your mind
You have the freedom to say that you don’t really feel you have one or more of
the preceding three freedoms

18. +
Time
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19. +
Time
-

20. +
Time
-

21. +
Time
-

23. The Art of Being Twice as Productive
still Delivering Good Projects
with Peter Taylor

24. 85%
of organisations had sponsors
in place
83%
of organisations don’t
train/support/guide sponsors
100%
of respondents believed that
having a good sponsor was key to project
success
©2013 James, Rosenhead, Taylor – Strategies for Project Sponsorship (Management Concepts) May 2013

25. 
‘…that organizations with active project
sponsors are more likely to have better
project outcomes…More than three quarters
of projects (79 percent) at high-performing
organizations enjoy active project sponsors,
compared to less than half (43 percent) at
low-performing organizations’
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. Pulse of
the Profession™, March 2013.

26. 

Meeting Project Goals +29% variance with
good sponsorship in place
Project Failure -13% variance without good
project sponsorship in place
Now, insert your portfolio value and work it
out…
Portfolio = $5,000,000
+29% Variance with sponsorship = +$1,450,000
-13% Variance without sponsorship = -$650,000
©2013 Project Management Institute, Inc. Pulse
of the Profession™, March 2013.

27. 

‘The most important person in the project is
the executive sponsor. The executive sponsor
is ultimately responsible for the success and
failure of the project’
But…
©2012 CHAOS Manifesto: The Year of the Executive
Sponsor (Standish) 2012

28. ©2012 CHAOS Manifesto: The Year of the Executive
Sponsor (Standish) 2012

29. Everyone believes it is critical to project success
and yet
Sponsors are not ‘trained’ to be
effective
 Sponsors do not have the ‘time’ to be
effective
 Sponsors are just expected to ‘know’
how to do the job


30. ‘If you wish to persuade me, you must think my
thoughts, feel my feelings, and speak my
words’ Cicero, Roman orator and statesman,
once said.

31. ... as others need you to communicate

32. 



Reporting is not communicating!
Communication is a key area that
differentiates top Project Managers
Effective communication – identify the
critical information, right time delivery
through optimum method
Educate people about your own
communication needs

33. 
Communication is not easy (to be
successful)

Truth is critical

Email management and control

Every project should have a communications
plan, with all knowing their required
contributions and commitments

34. 
Respecting Time

Respecting Language

Respecting Views

35. Peter Taylor
www.thelazyprojectmanager.com
peter.b.taylor@btinternet.com
Twitter: @thelazypm
Author, Speaker, Workshops, Coaching