You only get so far without a plan!

Welcome to this Business Excellence Article.

I see many organizations starting their improvement projects without a proper plan. They do not really know what they want to achieve and how, and how to measure it all. They are not prepared for the fact that a lot will be demanded of the organization during the project. You don’t get anything unless you also put something in.

Often the person appointed to run the project is not given the right conditions to succeed. Success requires a management decision to run the project and that this decision is communicated to the organization. It is important that you and other leaders in the organization stand behind the decision and actively support it. The project manager must feel supported by management.

The project manager must also develop a proper plan, showing what is to be done and when it is to be done, and who is to do it. I usually stress that it is important to make both a PERT chart and a Gantt chart.

The PERT diagram shows the activities to be performed in relation to each other. It provides the flow of activities that need to be done first and which ones come next, until the project is completed. The Gantt chart then shows all activities laid out in relation to each other, linked to time. This is where you see when things should be done and finished.

It is only when you know WHAT to do and HOW to do it that you can start thinking about WHO will do it. Many organizations start both their processes (daily work) and their projects by thinking about who will do it.

To know who should do a job, you must first find out what skills are required to carry out the activities. Go through the activities and list the skills required and assign a role to each activity.

When you then look at the resources available, their skills can be matched to the needs of the roles. Then replace the roles with people. Ensure that the resources are available when planned and also that there is flexibility in time, as things happen all the time that affect the plan.

The plan must be anchored with the management so that the person who commissioned the project can give their approval to operate according to the plan. The decision taken must also be communicated to the organization.

Management must then ensure that the organization has the necessary conditions to cope with the extra work involved in a project. Without these conditions, the project will have little chance of success. There will be conflicts between the project and day-to-day operations, which will not benefit any party.

So without a good plan, a project will not succeed, so make sure you carefully plan the improvement work, and also follow a proven model. If you want more support in both of these areas, I suggest you get in touch with me, as I have worked for more than 25 years on both.

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!“ is a quote that many have had the honor of saying.

Now sit down and make a plan for your improvement work. Get started immediately, otherwise there is a risk of time slippage, which you cannot allow. Then you are also prepared to participate in the workshop.
Business Strategy for Leaders
which will give you a good start.