#275: The 3 Stages of any project
Avoid getting your team anxious and airsick by knowing where you belong in the process, and what you're doing to upset them
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Imagine you are on a private plane with a few of your friends. You are cruising along at 35,000 feet with no specific destination in mind. One of your friends comes up with an idea (we will call him Friend #1) and wonders out loud, We should get to a resort area to just hang out and relax.
Friend #2 steps in and says, How about we go to Lake Tahoe? They have great food, bars, and plenty of things to do in the area.
Excellent - We have an idea and the beginnings of a plan.
The plane drops to around 28,000 feet and starts heading to Tahoe.
You step in and say; Hey, not that I want to be a wet blanket, but there is a snowstorm getting ready to dump some heavy stuff on Tahoe any minute now. You may want to re-think this destination.
The plane jumps back up at 35,000 feet again.
Friend #2 thinks about it for a while and comes up with his second idea. He responds with, well, since we are heading in that direction, how about San Diego? You confirm that between the weather, beaches, and mountains not too far away, that would be a great place to lay low for some time.
The plane drops back to 28,000 feet, cruising along.
Friend #3 now gets the rest of the plane excited about San Diego. We can go to the great zoo one day, spend some time surfing, and I’ve always wanted to hike in those mountains! Hey team, won’t it be great?
The plane goes down to around 18,000 feet and is on a direct path to San Diego.
Friend #4 now perks up as they have started the to-do list; “I have a list of hotels we can stay at and a few car rental companies. Also, I’ve pulled up a list of the top 10 things to do in the area, and it looks like we will need to reserve a few of these places in advance.”
The plane drops to about 8,000 feet.
Friend #5 is now involved,
He has already called the airport and got the landing instructions - the plane down to 5,000 feet.
Then he placed a reservation at the Hilton and bought the tickets for the zoo – and the plane lowered to 2,500 feet
As the landing gear was getting ready to go down, Friend #2 said, You know we could go to Phoenix and play golf; that sounds more fun.
And the plane jumps back to 25,000 feet.
All the passengers get airsick from the sudden increase in altitude. And just like that, the team needs to start all over again. The plane didn’t land in this example; and we almost got through the three stages of any type of new development. There are a couple of lessons here, let’s look at them.
First, we have the actual steps of the project:
Stage 1: Ideation
Stage 1 is where we wonder about things in the future and come up with something that sounds like a great idea. Every product or service starts with someone wondering and inventing something. It’s not quite concrete yet, the i’s are not all dotted, and t’s are not crossed, but we have something where we can sink our teeth.
Think about it. Whether it was someone dreaming about cell phones or landing on the moon, it started with open eyes and wonder, and inventors then jumped into the process flow. Then, once they have something to discuss, the idea moves to Stage 2.
Stage 2: Activation
At this point, the idea is reviewed by someone that can do a gut check. That person has experience in these types of things, knows the environment, or other ways that have increased their ability to see if the idea has merit. In one sense, this is where some sanity enters the project. The people in this area look at the feasibility of the concept. They may ask if it fits into the budget.
While we are still in the activation stage, someone pulls the project team together and begins rallying the troops. They are responsible for getting everyone excited about the idea and getting the buy-in necessary to make it all happen.
Stage 3: Execution
It is here where the rubber meets the road. We write our overall project plan, put milestones on paper, and time stamp them. Then those tasks to hit the milestones are managed and completed in a well-thought-out way. Finally, the project is completed when the plane lands, and the product or service becomes a reality. We have made it from the whiteboard to the factory floor.
We throw Friend #2 under the bus in this example. They begin to wonder out loud if this is a good idea. It’s the most upsetting to those that are in the execution phase. It seems that the change of heart doesn’t consider all the work done. Also, there is a chance that gaining future buy-in becomes a risk if this happens too often.
Where are you in this process?
Wherever you are in this process, you need to be considerate of those up and downstream of you. We only use 5 or 6 people in this example, but this could just as well be 100 or 200 people throughout an organization.
If you are the Idea person and pull that plane back up to 28,000 feet just as it was getting ready to land, you better have a reason. I have often heard that person was never really ‘married’ to the idea. If that’s the case, it should have never moved into Stage 2.
Buy-in
We talk about getting buy-in as a leader. Each of these stages needs to have buy-in for there to be a commitment to carry out the tasks. If your team continuously gets pulled back up to 30,000 feet, you will never get the enthusiasm you need to complete the project. If your team members don’t believe you are committed, they will not be so eager. We often find projects well behind planning because those downstream don’t think the leaders will ever let them land in San Diego.
Yes, it goes back to creating that vision and then sticking to it. If you are an entrepreneur always chasing the next shiny object, you need to be careful. As excited as you were when you came up with Idea #1, you want your team downstream to be just as excited. Not letting them finish is the fastest way to put that fire out.
As with any project, it is hard work today, but they lead to better tomorrows. If you are having trouble identifying stages, staying on plan, or any other team-building issue, contact Kole Performance Group!
Note: This airplane analogy is one I heard from Patrick Lencioni, in his discussion about Working Genius.
We published an article that has some of this discussed “Stay in your lane” if you want to read a bit more about the importance. Managing the team dynamics and responsibilities is key to future success!
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