Be Action-Oriented and Focus on Results
What is the most important leg of a tripod? The missing one!
Successful project management stands on the following three legs: people, information, and action. Yet, action is regularly ignored.
Lucy Suchman opens her book, "Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-machine Communication", with a comparison between the different navigation methods employed by the European and the Trukese navigator:
"The European navigator begins with a plan - a course - that he has charted according to certain universal principles, and he carries out his voyage by relating his every move to that plan. His effort throughout his voyage is directed to remaining on course. If unexpected events occur, he must first alter the plan, then respond accordingly. The Trukese navigator begins with an objective rather than a plan. He sets off toward the objective and responds to conditions as they arise in an ad-hoc fashion. He utilizes information provided by the wind, the waves, the tide and current, the fauna, the stars, the clouds, the sound of the water on the side of the boat, and he steers accordingly. His effort is directed to doing whatever is necessary to reach the objective. If asked, he can point to his objective at any moment, but he cannot describe his course.
Suchman, whose research focus was on "purposeful action", concludes that while the European navigator exemplifies the prevailing scientific models of purposeful action, she believes that ignoring the Trukese navigator is a serious mistake. The project managers in this book concur.
Conceivably, for navigation, neither method is superior to the other. The differences between these two methods might simply reflect different styles of thinking and acting. Yet, from the cases in the book, it is clear that for managing projects, the differences between the two reflect much more than just styles of thinking and acting.
The European method is most suitable when uncertainly regarding the task, environment, and constraints is low, as in an established production process ("geometric order"). However, the Trukese method is more suitable when uncertainty is high and the situation is novel and confusing, such as in the development of a new product using an immature technology or while coping with a disruptive technology ("living order"). The projects in the book employ a mix of these two methods, but there is clearly a greater use of the Trukese method in the early phases of most cases.
The comparison between the working styles of the two navigators highlights the three key components of the current practice:
- Planning by action
- Management by hands-on engagement
- Focus on results
This text is part of the book "Mastering the Leadership Role in Project Management - Practices that Deliver Remarkable Results". Author: Alexander Laufer. Editor: FT Press.
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