Most objectives that govern projects really aren’t objectives. They tend to be deliverable, especially if they are created by the training or human resources functions. They are also often metrics, rather than results.
Here are examples of some truly lousy project objectives that nonetheless often stick their ugly heads above the water:
- Run a three-day leadership conference.
- Provide coaching for one day per week.
- Create a customer call processing of 15 people per hour.
- Counsel Mike on how to better manage his time.
- Develop more staff confidence.
- Take us from “good to great.”
Now I’ll turn them into true business outcomes that mean something in terms of eventual value, which we cover later in this chapter:
- Leaders will voluntarily share resources and information and cease creating duplication and client confusion.
- Enable Mary to present corporate results to the media without reading a prepared script and to answer spontaneous questions rapidly and to the satisfaction of the questioner.
- Improve the speed of customer processing without diminishing quality.
- Enable Mike to get his job completed to his boss’s satisfaction in less than 45 hours per week.
- Push decision making down to front line levels so that there are fewer approvals, faster response time, and less failure work.
- Maximize our ability to ___________ (fill in the blank).
You might disagree with some of my wording, which is fine, but I think you’ll agree that we’re not talking about results that have an impact on the business and not simply tasks.
About 99.99 percent of all RFPs (requests for proposals) you’ll ever receive are really arbitrary alternatives packaged as if they are projects. They specify how much time, duration, how many people, how many sites, and so on. They are invariably created by a cohort of low level people who evaluate all the wrong things—tasks versus outcomes. (Will you eat lunch on-site? Will you cut your bread horizontally or diagonally?) This is why it’s rarely sensible to respond to RFPs, because you’re never dealing with a buyer and the source is always looking for how much you’ll charge by the hour.
These 11 questions best elicit true business objectives:
A few of these questions honestly answered in a trusting relationship will provide your project objectives (which is why an economic buyer’s attention is all you need—no needs analysis, endless interviews, and so on). Ironically, lower level people and gatekeepers usually can’t give you the proper answers because they don’t know them!
Most projects have a handful of objectives, from two to six. A single objective is usually too narrowly focused on an alternative (e.g., place an interview in publication X), and too many are usually a gallimaufry of vague intentions (e.g., expand in Europe while developing our domestic management team and improving quality).
Each objective can provide a variety of values to the client, so even a few can result in substantial impact, which in turn justifies significant fees.
The best way to rapidly move a buyer from tasks and arbitrary alternatives to genuine business outcomes is to ask, “Why?”
“We want someone to run a weekend strategy retreat in October.”
“Why?”
“Our strategy isn’t being universally implemented uniformly.”
Glossary
Objectives are business outcomes and results that have substantial impact on the products, services, and relationships of the enterprise, and which can be measured. They may be new opportunities reached or problems solved.
“So your need is to accelerate your ability to meet your strategic goals on a global basis?”
“That’s the reason.”
Note how much more value is inherent in that restated objective, and how much more latitude exists for meeting it than a simple weekend of moving items from one easel sheet to another!