The 100 day question

I don’t know why it’s always discussed as what has been achieved in the first 100 days whenever someone takes over something, business, country (politician not dictator), new senior role or a big project…

I am 50 days into this epic project… so what are the big things I have done, what are the lessons and what are the skills used?

1.?A new temporary shower cabin to replace the rather disgusting existing shower.? Helped by my 70 year old father in law (who speaks only French) I learnt that his years of experience in construction made the installation a lot smoother than if I had attempted it on my own.?

Lesson:? Leverage people who already have the experience and skill set to improve your success and speed up implementation.?

Skills used: Listening (although a lot of this was signing), patience, trust (in the experience).

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2.?Removal of trees.? This is a necessary process to remove dead, dying, diseased and above all dangerous trees.? I contracted a specialist tree surgeon who deals in difficult trees… think close to power lines, roads, buildings and on river banks.

Lesson: For super specialised tasks do not attempt to do them yourself!? Employ someone with knowledge, experience and expertise.?

Skills used:? Clear articulation of the requirements. Listening to the expert and adjusting your view accordingly. Trust that they will do the job (in this case avoiding the thing mentioned before)

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3.?Drive widening and drainage installation. Again, this was a specialist job although could be tackled by hiring the equipment and doing it myself.?

Lesson: Specialist contractors can often speed up delivery as they have the knowledge, experience and embedded skill set.?

Skills used: Understanding the time, people, cost, project matrix. Acknowledging that a specialist may be ‘expensive’ but they save time and in the long run and importantly expense.

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4.?Dealing with lumber.? This may not sound significant but when you have downed 40 trees you are left with a lot of cleaning up to do.?

Lesson: Having the right equipment is key to processing the trees faster.? It is the same in the workplace for software implementation, you need the appropriate office space, the right level of server capacity (production, test, back up etc), the right level of resources…etc, I could go on.?

Skills used: Understanding what is needed to get the job done

?5. Installation of communications. In rural France there is little guarantee of a phone signal let alone wifi. The re installation of Starlink (I did a temporary job), a boosting antennae for 3/4G and additional outside and inside wifi boosters by a competent installer iOS a game changer.

Lesson: I should have done it sooner! Once again, get a specialist. This is also an important safety point. Not having the ability to communicate (no signal) in the event of a problem is not good. In the work place safety is often given lip service. What are you doing to ensure the safety of your team?

Skills used: This is another clear articulation of requirements, which in this case was based on detailed research. Often you will have the experience to do this and as always listen to the advice of the expert.

In all of the above one thing stands out and that is communication and questioning.? With numerous different people flowing through the project I have asked many questions to leverage the knowledge of people who have experienced similar things in their field of expertise. When asking questions, you often can get down to the real answer, which is much the same in any workplace. Patience and listening are key elements to enhancing your communication.? These are important skill sets which allow you to be successful.

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I haven’t yet mentioned this key element in any project. Planning! Sorry folks it is necessary! but remember in any project, that flexibility (in changing priorities, nuances to changes in goals, adaption to new objectives in light of new information and being agile) allows you to continuously move in the right direction.? A big warning, just having a plan does not grant success.

Again, no lesson, but the old adage “fail to plan” equals “plan to fail” comes to mind.? And here’s one for the AGILE method fans.? It doesn’t work for every project….take note!

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Finally, there are numerous activities ongoing in this project and the goals remain realistic and achievable with some stretch targets included.? Keep this in mind when setting your objectives for your project.? It is ok to be over ambitious if you have a boss that understands this and is ok for delays and under delivery within a specific timeline - if you have that option. Also bear in mind that the less experience you have, the more ambitious you are likely to be.? I like to ‘focus on momentum’. Is it going in the right direction? How do we course correct as we move through? Sometimes things feel like they move slowly but then suddenly everything comes together.

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Good luck with your project and don’t forget that every day is a new learning opportunity!!

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