What I do before I develop a team project strategy for clients is the most important part of any project. Like priming walls before I paint, pre-work saves a lot of time. This pre-work helps everyone set and subsequently manage project expectations and outcomes.
Google the term: team project strategy. There are a number of templates available. Team project strategy isn’t about filling in forms. When used inappropriately, these templates wreak havoc on your customers, demoralize your employees and negatively impact the sustainability of your business.
My use of the term team project strategy is a team-based approach to project management used in agile software development, lean production and creative media and advertising. Everyone on the project team becomes equally responsible for the quality and success of the project.
Some of you reading this post have earned your PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. You are experienced in how to consistently organize, collaborate and manage high-quality, productive and profitable outcomes.
Most of you reading this post haven’t earned this certification. You may be tempted to download a project strategy-related template and fill in the blanks. That type of mindset is a pathway to business chaos.
Before I develop a Team Project Strategy for clients, I review three building block A-B-C’s:
- A. Workforce
- B. Processes
- C. Business model
Like you, I work with a lot of small and mid-size businesses. These companies can represent the future for economic recovery and growth. These businesses represent over an over $200B+ marketplace to those of you selling IT and Cloud products and services.
These companies have enigmatic workforce, processes and business models. Do you work for, or sell to, this type of business?
For that reason, I avoid diving headlong into “doing” the project. Instead, I conduct a business health check-up. So should you. This single pre-project step tells me (and will tell you) whether developing a team project strategy will be productive and profitable.
I collaborate with team members, including executives and managers. We create a crystal-clear set of realistic expectations about the capability of workforce, processes and business model to consistently create enduring and valuable business outcomes for their clients.
Laying the groundwork of team project strategy determines how well your business case aligns with realistic execution of strategy.
A. Workforce competency dictates the pace and shape of Team Project Strategy.
What is the composition of the workforce responsible for executing team project strategy? If you do not have the right horses in the stable, your team – including the lead horses – will not be able to pull together to get to your destination.
Many small businesses, including micro-businesses, are composed of individuals who are not professionally competent. They are wonderful people who are a team in name only. They have gaps in education and work experience. They work for a company whose workload relies on manufacturer’s reps’ efforts. The reps have no stake in that business other than receiving commission. Each sale looks different.
Each project requires a different set of expertise and oversight. “Team members” may be highly motivated to “do” a project. However, they have no idea how to start, manage and complete team project strategy.
Do you work for, or sell to, this type of business?
B. Processes dictate the pace and shape of Team Project Strategy
Many solopreneurs and small businesses, including micro-businesses, have not created a set of solid and consistent business, workplace and operational processes. Some companies have zero processes recorded for current and future employees.
Employees futilely refer back to their own, individual job descriptions for guidance about “how to” do their jobs. For the record, a job description is not the same thing as a set of business, workplace and operational processes.
When it comes to combining “what they do” with “what their co-workers do” in order to execute team project strategy, employees are overwhelmed.
Do you work for, or sell to, this type of business?
C. Business models dictate the pace and shape of Team Project Strategy.
Business models are designs for productively, profitably and successfully operating a business. A business model develops revenue generation models, targets customer segments, aligns products and services with target markets, and creates financing programs for business and operational transactions.
Many small businesses, including micro-businesses, do not have realistic business models. Revenue generation is based on project-work developed by outsourced sales representatives. Sometimes manufacturing and operations functions also are outsourced.
This type broker/integrator model works well if the people and core business and operational processes are in place. However, when this scenario is not the business model case, high-quality execution of team project strategy is a consistent struggle.
Do you work for, or sell to, this type of business?
What understanding Team Project Strategy means for you.
If you currently work for the type of small business I’ve just described, collaborate with leadership and co-workers. Develop next steps for creating a team project strategy Playbook. Start by defining the training and certification each of you requires to drive revenue through your organization. If leadership is not willing to invest in you, find an employer who is.
If you currently sell to the type of small business I’ve just described, collaborate with your own company’s internal teams. Develop a team project strategy for managing hand-offs for implementing deliverables. Partner with clients to develop the workforce, processes and business models they need for your customer success story.
Focus on hybridizing your professional development arsenal. Include developing expertise in team project strategy. Otherwise, you may literally sell yourself short over the course of your career.
Babette N. Ten Haken is a strategist, coach, analyst, author and blogger. Her focus: the interrelationship between teams, leadership and culture in technology and manufacturing. Her Workshops and Professional Coaching Tune-Ups focus you and your teams on context, clarity and confidence in the execution of strategy. Babette’s Playbook of collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com. Image source: iStock
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