Crosswind Project Management

Tonight I was in Arlington, Texas for the Annual Boy Scout Pancake Feed. My friend Bert Johnson (no blood relation) is one of the scout masters (I guess I am using the title correctly here?)
I guess I have attended this event for at least the last 15 years only missing one year to an unusual snow storm in early March here in North Texas.

It’s an amazing thing looking at the long term, operational view of things, from a project view. I say it this way in that I have seen a lot of these young boys, and girls (in the case of some sisters that help as well) grow up over the years, but typically in one year at a time increments.

It’s an amazing dynamic of teamwork. The community pulling together to support the boy scouts with their event. The dynamics of Bert’s father as a senior scout leader (portfolio manager) at the event, his two sons, and others as still senior leaders (program managers), and the influence they have with the young boy scouts (project managers) as they manage their own tables or areas of the food cooking and processing as they are satisfying their stakeholders needs.

I look forward to the field of project management continuing to evolve and get to the point where the mentoring and guidance gets established to help grow future leaders in the field of project management.

Just like the requirements in going from a cub scout, to weblos, to boy scout, people go from their technical fields to project and program managers in their technical fields. The work that a lot of the volunteers at the various PMI Chapters and SIGs worldwide do to help grow the profession of project management should be commended.

I recall in Houston giving a speech and being asked a number of questions at the end of the speech by this older gentleman. At the end as people were leaving, I asked him if I took care of his questions. He said yes, and that it was pretty decent, in that he didn’t have to roll up his pant legs once. I asked what he meant, he said I didn’t pile it on too deep.

I asked this man, Aren’t you PMP #1? His reply, “PMP#1, Member #3, Old Fart #8, something like that yeah, I guess”.

This man was at the dinner table when PMI was formed on the East Coast 40 years ago. I enjoyed speaking with him about the history that he has seen grow from the momentum of that dinner meeting four decades ago.

I am also reminded of a woman from our most recent PMP boot camp who has had a very good career path so far. She has worked at one place. They have put her through her bachelor degree and she is currently working on her MBA. She came to us to work toward her PMP. In our course exit interview she asked if we had a mentoring program. Truth of the matter, we don’t have a formal one, but I want to try to do anything I can to help our alumnist’s, so I explained to contact me as necessary and I would do anything I could to assist as opportunities came up.

As you are out managing your projects, programs and portfolio’s let’s remember what people like Bert Johnson does in Arlington, Texas, and Eric Jennett (PMP#1) have done over the years, and I try my best to do as I can, let’s remember to help grow and develop those around us. Hopefully someone did it to us years ago. Let’s pay it back, if they didn’t let’s pay it forward ( to use a phrase from that movie title).

Regards,
Tony

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Three key words to how I roll….I think three key words to how a good long term mentality works as well.

Saturday we received in the mail from our Asia Pacific office a nice package. Among other things were four of our new products translated into Traditional Chinese and ten year yearbook of the PMI Taiwan chapter.

I always like seeing new products and services complete and available. Planning anything is nice, envisioning it is nice, but finishing something is like ice cream and pie after a good meal. Finishing something also says something about how you do things. Anyone can dream, anyone can talk, but making it a reality positions your organization to do even more in the future with the momentum you generate. It also helps with the culture of the organization and support of the leadership. If we think back to people like Jimmy Johnson. The Cowboys Jimmy Johnson was at his best in December, January and February (Super Bowl). The NASCAR Jimmy Johnson has positioned himself so that as his season winds down he is in control of things, not waiting on things to happen with others to help him.
That said, Legacy is a very important thing to me. We can’t live in the past. You as a project manager can’t either. But, we can focus on the future and as we are doing things, be sensitive to how what we do impacts how we are remembered and thought of by others based on what we have done.

I don’t think I have ever seen a better documentation of legacy than what PMI Taiwan did with its last ten years. They had content in Chinese and English. They had events from anything that had been published in PMI magazines and photos. They had documentation about their speakers over the years, special events, etc.. It also had reference to their work with the IPMF, PMI Hong Kong, PMI Malaysia, etc. It was the sort of solid view of their history that one couldn’t help but be proud. I will admit, I was very excited and humbled to see the pictures of me in there from my work with the IPMF and chapter as well as the Crosswind logo in some of the picture backgrounds. I remember a few years ago, one of the PMI Chapters we work with in the US had a representative in Taiwan doing work with his job (not the chapter), and someone from his employer in Taiwan showed him the book she was using for her PMP Exam. He sent me a picture of the two of them and our book.  This just emphasizes how small of a world we live in. As project managers I cannot emphasize how important it is to remember the small world view. You never know how someone you have interacted with in the past can impact your future.

On Sunday we took a member of the Crosswind family to Crosswind (er, Cowboys) Stadium for the Chargers game. This team member is moving out of the area to start a new church and get married. He is one of my anchors that has been with us almost a decade. He earned the beyond excellence award back in 2005 with the release of our PMBOK Guide Third Edition product line. He is going to be missed, but his legacy will live on with us and he has influenced our product development team significantly. The day I passed the PgMP exam we went to the Packers and Cowboys game in 2007. The funny part was we didn’t even realize it until we were at a tailgate party and some new people started asking us our names. He said Brett and I said Tony. They said come on, really….we looked at each other and laughed. He was wearing a Brett Farve jersey and I had on a Tony Romo jersery.

I wanted to do something very special for Brett, as he isn’t really leaving, he just won’t be showing up as often. If that doesn’t make sense, please just trust me, it’s a Crosswind thing. Given he already had the Beyond Excellence, I didn’t know what else to do. I officially decided to raise the bar even higher. Companies like Apple, and PMI have what they call “Fellows”, for example, Eric Jennett is PMP #1 and a founder of PMI. He is a PMI fellow.  Well, we had a special diamond award created and went back to the original logo Crosswind was founded with on it, and we presented Brett with the Crosswind Fellow award.

It was an emotional meeting I will admit, not just for me or him, but I think we were the most visibly impacted. As he was presented the award and thanked on behalf of all of our students, partners, PMI Chapters we work with, and people that have been, are, and will be part of our team he was saying that he only did what he knew how to do, and the only way to do it. Giving the impression that he didn’t think what he did wasn’t that out of the norm.

I can’t remember a time I couldn’t get in touch with him day or night if needed. I also remember for almost a decade he was always there, and when it came time to transition the daily responsibilities to others so he can focus on strategic things with us while he is starting his new church. That’s how I was raised to do things as well, so it’s not out of the norm for me either. I heard the great NFL super bowl winning coach Jimmy Johnson say on Sunday “the harder you work, the luckier you get”. I recall the glory years as I call them in Cowboys history when Jimmy was coach. The way he ran things was the norm for how I try to run things and Brett ran his things. It’s not out of the norm, it’s simply how we know to do things. I hope when the dust settles on my legacy and the Crosswind legacy, we are viewed like Brett and Jimmy Johnson…always there with the needed results…..

Now you as a project or program manager…..Certifications such as the PMP, PgMP or CBAP are nice, but what will your legacy be? How hard are you prepared to work to be “lucky?”

In closing I want to mention something that I just cannot comprehend…..After leaving the Stadium Sunday we were waiting to get out of the parking lot and I heard Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips on the radio say “You haven’t lost until you have given up”. I would agree this works for 5 year old football. I have a three year old and a five year old, and I am learning how to gradually expose them to things. Although my 5 year old can state all 9 knowledge areas of the PMBOK Guide from memory (yes, I am a proud father). But the Dallas Cowboys trying to get Superbowl #6…..You haven’t lost until you have given up. That in the business world would be like every sales person who has not gotten the job done, not being removed (fired) because they were still trying, even though they couldn’t close deals to keep the company going…..Think about it, how many people do you know that have done sales that were removed for not making numbers (right or wrong). I don’t mean this as a slam on sales people, but it’s an easy example, as they create revenue which drives companies.

Accountability is a key phrase I think more people need to understand and buy into. I think sometime in January the Cowboys coach will likely be held accountable for his results. How much better would this world be if we were all held accountable for what we do. I recall as we were growing from a few of us doing everything to more of us doing everything with more clearly defined roles. I asked one of my staff years ago, what are you responsible for? He said “orders at Crosswind PM”. I said “What is your email address?” He said Orders@crosswindpm.com….  My response was “I am good, do you have any questions.

Take a good project manager.  If you understand on the PMP exam from PMI’s view, you don’t just say here is a problem, instead you go to management with a problem and potential solutions, that is a view on accountability. You (the PM) are being held accountable to deliver the project product, service, or results.  Excuses are simply things you cut through on the way to the finish line.  I read a story by Richie Sambora (Guitarist for Bon Jovi). He was talking about the late, great, innovator Les Paul. Apparently Bon Jovi was recording their New Jersey album and Sambora was having some creative block on the guitar. Les Paul showed up with a custom Les Paul Gibson guitar that he had strung up himself for the Bon Jovi guitarist. Les Paul told him something to the effect of “here is the sword now go cut through that s**t.  The album was then finished and a lifetime friendship formed.  I also recall seeing a Troy Aikman interview from years ago. He said when you are the first player than in the draft, and you are a quarterback, you are brought in to win Superbowls. There is no other reason. He understands accountability, and three superbowl rings, a ring of honor induction and a first ballot hall of fame induction. 

I remember someone years ago telling me the best compliment someone could pay them was having them be a project manager for them. This was because it meant that you were essentially being trusted with running part of that person’s company (the project). In 2007 we had an operations person with 20+ years experience that didn’t buy into the responsibility of us implementing our ISO system. His excuses were he couldn’t do accounting if he did ISO, he couldn’t do ISO if he took care of customers, and he couldn’t take care of customers if he did accounting. Intelligence showed those were simply that, excuses. That and some other things led to him being held accountable in a way that caused him to have to update his resume.  The ISO piece of his job was given to a staff member that has been like a Troy Aikman to Crosswind. He understands accountability and delivers, as he did with the ISO system (while only being 20 years old at the time).  Unfortunately accountability is a really simply concept, but I think you either have it or you don’t. I can’t say I have figured out how to help those understand it, who are past a certain age.  I think the world belongs to those that do get it because those that don’t will be too busy making up excuses for whatever gets in their way.

So in closing….
Remember what you do can impact you in the future, so be careful and not short sided (in a short phrase, DO THE RIGHT THING)

Be productive, it makes it easier for you to stay around and not get caught up in things that aren’t productive…..

Remember we all will be held accountable at some point for our actions as a project manager, program manager, etc. (Promotion, reference, new contract, removal, etc.)

2009 marks a record year in our company with over 50 new products developed. It’s been a very busy year and I hope the new year provides new opportunities for Crosswind and you as we all work to grow the fields of project management, program management and business analysis.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!
Tony & Crosswind

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