The Red Pill Executive. Tony Gruebl
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Operations Executive stops fighting Mimics and turns toward the Omega. A Red Pill Operations Executive kicks butt.
In his email, Dobson goes on,
I’ve never argued that triple constraints are the be-all and end-all of project management. They are a single tool and they provide a set of potentially useful insights, particularly useful in the very beginning when you’re trying to understand all the hidden dynamics of the new project. The overlooked question, I argue, is “Why?” On the overall project, “Why are we doing this?” “What do we hope to achieve?”
“What will be different depending on whether we succeed or fail?” On individual constraints, “Why $40m? Why not $30m, or $50m? Is it a best-guess arbitrary number or is it anchored to a hard limit (the project’s only worth $X, or we don’t have more than $40m period)?”38
Michael Dobson is clearly onto something here. Project managers rely heavily on the Triple Constraints while their blue pill sponsors might have a different frame of reference and a different agenda.
Project managers often cite the “faster, better, cheaper: pick two” idea to their operations sponsor to set the stage for constraint discussions, but is it really that easy?
How can a project manager possibly make this claim without a deep understanding of scope, resources, capability, corporate culture, levels of performance, the temperament and direction of the Operations Executive, strategic direction of the company, and many other variables and considerations? If it were as simple as staying within the Iron Triangle, we would have a better track record.
In essence, project managers create presentations to deliver their analysis and estimates without knowing all the necessary background data. They need to know the scope of the work and the depth, breadth, and raw capabilities of the resources needed to handle that work. The seemingly intangible things like corporate culture really do matter and play a significant role in what resources are available and how they can be used.
“The blue pill model fails to recognize the far more critical and complex organizational context surrounding the project.”
The traditional, blue pill model fails to recognize the far more critical and complex organizational context surrounding the project. The Red Pill Operations Executive acts in partnership with project managers. When everyone on the team pulls in the same direction, they get stuff done. Without this level of collaboration, the Iron Triangle locks the project manager into a doomed framework, sometimes to the point of taking the entire company down with the project.
While the blue pill Operations Executive hunkers down watching for Mimics hiding in the sand, their Red Pill counterparts assemble a squad of warriors and head out to kill the Omega, no matter what it takes.
Locking your operations manager into the Iron Triangle without regard for other factors leaves them exposed, where they can only move within rigid walls, where a shift in the cost, time, or scope/quality means certain death to their success, yet the project might need these changes in order to deliver Business Value. In situations like this, your operator is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“The battle is the great redeemer. The fiery crucible in which only true heroes are forged.”
~Master Sergeant Farell in Edge of Tomorrow104
Long considered a place of safety, the Iron Triangle actually takes us down to where 70% of initiatives are eating our lunch.
The insidiousness of the Triple Constraint Theory is that we use it to judge our own performance. Hit pause and think about that for moment. The horrific success statistics we have been quoting are simply a record of whether or not we stayed inside the Iron Triangle. So much more is involved in evaluating project success, primarily whether the final result adds value to the company as expected.
Did you reach the company goal?
It’s that simple.
Can you see the impact this bias toward failure has on PMOs within many organizations? It’s no wonder PMOs are frequently formed and disbanded, reorganized and moved, while still confined to a structure and process that does not heal the damage to quality operations managers, the reputation of the Operations Executive, or the company’s bottom line.
“A true determination of project success is primarily whether the final result adds value to the company as expected.”
This situation has become so dismal that many times the Operations Executive questions the effectiveness of project management altogether. After decades of disastrous results, agile practitioners completely reject project managers. The average Operations Executive accepts this rate of failure as par for the course for their PMO. They’ve given up on a lost cause.
Why? Because we’ve been working our butts off trying to kill more Mimics and dying on the beach while the real battle is far away.
Chapter 1 Summary
•The it’s-just-the-way-things-are attitude is intolerable with failure rates at 70%.
•The industry has a deep inertia when it comes to improving effectiveness.
•Human behavior is at the root of project failure.
•Operations Executives and project managers who take ownership see improved performance rates.
•When used the traditional way, the Iron Triangle becomes a trap.
CHAPTER 2
What Does It Take to Win?
“There has to be a way we can win.”
~Nance in Edge of Tomorrow39
In traditional project management, cost overruns, missed goals and deadlines, and even failed outcomes go with the territory. It’s no wonder the average Operations Executive takes the attitude, I’m already investing enough money, resources, and time on this. I’m not changing anything. Not even if it can increase my likelihood for success.
Simply put, it’s the devil they know, so they leave it alone. By the way, that’s a perfect definition for blue pill thinking.
We’ve already established that project management statistics are attached to the Iron Triangle with a 70% fail rate. Lock yourself inside the Iron Triangle at your peril. While you’re playing it safe, Jaws is circling and he’s really, really hungry.
While we would agree that the Triple Constraints are vitally important, they are part of a larger pie. Every Operations Executive wants to keep time and expense low and maintain the scope balance. That’s how to get the most value.
However, when looking at overall project success, we have to widen beyond the Iron Triangle to Business Value and do that with a high level of clarity. No sugar coating here. No tweaked numbers to fit an agenda. No more murky statements like, “We’re doing fairly well.” Or “Nothing is wrong here. Especially near the nuclear reactor.”
We’re looking for fidelity in the true value potential. When assessing the Business Value of a project, think of yourself as a special ops sniper with a laser scope and a night sight. You’re locking Business Value into the crosshairs, onboarding the squad, and heading straight for the Omega. This is where stuff gets real.
Measuring Business Value
How does a company accurately measure the Business Value of a project with fidelity in the true value potential? While the movie metaphor is a quick and easy way to paint the picture, real world project success is not as simple as blowing up the Omega. Business endeavors are complex, often with dozens of factors and many stakeholders.
Taking this question to the bare bones, we would have to say a win happens when the benefit of a project is more than the cost. This might seem oversimplified, yet without clarity on the cost and