Hot Potatoes and Crisis Management

Hot potatoes and handling crisis! The way projects are…

Have you ever been in to the shoes of an airplane pilot? Have you ever been in to the shoes of project managers? Their functions more or less sync each other.

You must be wondering what hot potatoes are to do with a pilot and a project manager. Here you go with the answer. Yes, an informal definition reads Hot potatoes as, “A problem that is so controversial or sensitive that those handling it risk unpleasant consequences”.

On a frequent mode, in every project discussion (why on a coffee cup discussions across corridors), project managers are geared up only to respond emergencies. They arise as if the problem was not noticed till that moment. Project managers and his supporting hands burn time and energy just for the sake of dosing of such emergencies and leave out what and how to carry on with the core business of running the project.

Being on the project manager role very often, I did introspect on this many a times for what and how we get trapped in to such situations.

The topic slightly twisted me to delve in to an analyzing mode. My observations/ analysis which are mostly common and in general applicable to all fields of engineering tempted me to scribble this topic to uproot the general ideology of project management. 

Hammer – 01: Customary view

I started rolling back to the starting point of any project, how me or my superior had dealt with the first meeting, generally the project kick offs. We generally have a clear slate presentation stating one to one agenda on how exactly the project will be handled, executed and handed over. The professional embalm of the company we work ensures to deliver these kick offs mostly on a very formal format.

The other side of the table also seems to be very good and many a times a pool of ardent disciplinarians. This phase of the project we metamorphically call as the engagement ceremony.

Firm handshakes, great project jargons, company performances, office capabilities, strengths are the general topics which go sideline to the key agenda.

In all due course, some great misses (I will call ‘soft touches’) that went unnoticed, but are quite essential as to move forward with the team who really rides the project decisions are…( I leave the readers to rehearse and find answers to these questions below in their next client encounters)

Chisel – 01:

·       Do we really know the name of the person, who scribed the meeting notes?

·       Do we know the project sponsor (PS) and project manager/s (PM) favorite food?

·       Do we get to know the guy who really processes our invoices?

·       Do we understand what is of interest in the project for the PM and the PS?

·       Do we recognize if there is any soft issues w.r.t documenting any official discussions?

·       How your client does perceive when the slide on change management was under explanation?

·       Did they (your client) recollect at any time some good old stories of the project executed by your company with them?

·       How do they react to the safety slides and your approach on safety?

·       Do they mispronounce yours or your colleague name more than once?

·       Did your client ask about what is your general break time and at any chance, do they peek in to see what your other colleagues are doing at that time?

·       Did your client speak a lot about traffic and airport congestions?

I can pull the list still harder. Key here is to read in between the responses of your client to the above questions and see what it lies. Take this up and apply in your next meetings

Predict - Anticipate anything that could go wrong.

Position – Decide your position on these issues.

Prevent – Take preventive measures

Plan – If preventing measures are not suitable, seek out a plan to deal with the crisis.

Persevere – Follow your plan and stick to the positions you have taken. Handle the crisis in a thorough professional manner.

Evaluate – If the plan is enacted, review the results to determine if there are other steps that can be taken to avoid the crisis for happening again.

Hammer – 02: Rehearse the project

Metaphorize your living in the project. See where in the entire scene of the movie you stand-in. You can drive the outcome provided you “part” of the story. You need to rehearse on a daily basis the outcome you expect to achieve and make your team to tune in to this belief.

Chisel – 02:

Communicate and communicate.

·       Be first to issue the information,

·       Regularly, frequently update the information,

·       All available information to be disclosed, the presumption should be in favor of disclosure.

·       Accuracy is an absolute priority, even though comprehensiveness is not.

·       Act and talk about contingency plans

·       Immediately and clearly announce internally that the only person to speak about the crisis to the outside world are the crisis team members.

·       When discussing upon actions, consider not only the short term losses, but focus also on the long-term effects.

Hammer – 03: Crisis management

Put it to a simplified definition, it is the application of strategies designed to help an organization or a project to deal with a sudden and significant negative event.

A crisis can occur as a result of an unpredictable event or as an unforeseeable consequence of some event that had been considered a potential risk.

Ironically, PMI does not recognize crisis as part of project development, however, this plays a vital role on the day to day happenings with the project teams.

Chisel – 03:

Project Managers must have the basic talent for crisis management. In addition to their normal duties, in times of crisis, they rise to the occasion and become the crisis control managers. Formal training in stress management, public relations, decision making, and leadership skills can contribute to their being a usable resource in times of emergencies. Education, training and experience are the building blocks of the Basic Knowledge component of the Crisis Control Model.

The model to be prepared specific for project and should show logical steps required in preparing for and in resolving a major crisis. You will find that no matter what type of crisis you may face in your personal or professional world, you probably follow this model's pattern. How well you deal with the crisis depends on how well you deal with each one of the model's components.

The types of crises that can befall a project usually can be grouped by the types and magnitude of responses necessary. The project (crisis control) manager should thoroughly think out various crisis scenarios and know exactly what resources are available at any given time

Scope control, resource allocation and directed leadership are the key ingredients to effective execution of crisis management, just as they are with project management.

Crisis situations seem to thrive on changing conditions. The project manager must be prepared to react to changes in conditions and/or the problem scope.

In a business crisis setting, management of resources is equally important. A hostile takeover attempt, for example, might require specialized financial advisors, public relations and legal assistance. Just knowing who is available and how to obtain their services in advance can immeasurably improve the project manager's performance in such a crisis.

No matter how well-trained or experienced a project manager can be, it is impossible for one individual to directly handle all aspects of a major crisis. The PM must delegate supervisory responsibility of various aspects of the crisis to qualified managers.

At the same time, a reporting chain of command must be established.

Like any project, effective control is enhanced by clear and concise status reporting.

Effective communication of information to those who need to know (including the public) is an important function of the Project (crisis control) manager.

CRISIS PREPAREDNESS CHECKLIST

Does your project have:

·       Potential project -threatening crises identified?

·       Designated crisis control management for various crisis scenarios?

·       Appropriate crisis training programs for key people?

·       Crisis preplans and alternatives including lines of command and authority?

·       Mechanisms to rapidly execute the preplans?

·       Programs for continuing re-evaluation of preplans and practice trial runs?

Many Project Managers have their own way of dealing this topic based on their experiences and exposures to the situation they faced or how their supervisors handled the situation. They replicate and reperform as they had seen. Above thoughts of having a documented process shall help and mitigate on a long run while executing projects to bring in success to your stride.