“Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and it’s greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become a reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”
– Stephen Hawking
This quote hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, what a wildly accurate, and profound statement! Take a moment and reread the entire quote. Then, lean back and think about the landscape of the enterprise digital transformation initiative(s) you have taken part with, and moreover, how they tend to go awry.
If you are like me, and when you lean back and ponder on it all, it jumps out at you like a viper in the weeds. The core of what derails or bogs down, and blows up in the face of what should be a highly successful initiative is that we stop talking. I do not mean that we all-together stop taking. We do not effectively communicate with each other, or leverage the best practices and or technologies we employ (incorrectly), leading to a breakdown of accurate and clear understanding. This understanding is essential in getting programs to and across the finish line. It also is what makes or breaks them as well.
What one specific group on the other side of the campus is doing is not known by another group across the ocean. However, both groups are intertwined in processes and decisions that significantly affect the outcomes of deliverables, and both groups are diligently working on them. For that matter, one stream lead is making a decision for his team, that unknowingly affects another team lead in the office right next door. But they don’t talk much regarding what they are doing until stuff blows up in testing. Then its a bit too late.
Now I do not want to dive into the murky waters of corporate culture, and success and failures of organizational change. What I am trying to highlight is that every individual within an organization has a part. The individuals on the program or project creating the future state, as well as those individuals grinding out the daily cadence within the current state of the organization. Those people on the initiative have a much greater need for effective communication, as every decision and bottleneck is the potential difference of millions in overruns. That is, if not carefully navigated throughout the entirety of the program lifecycle.
Effective communication is the heart and soul of Platinum PMO’s AMIGO, with the application of our Integrated Core (People, Processes, Technology, Data, and Governance), as well as the RACI Matrix for concise, clear communication and decision making by all those affected, both directly and indirectly. Be it documentation, risks, critical decisions, changes, you name it. Clear and concise communication is the tie that binds.
“…All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”
The core of Platinum PMO is in being an advocate and advisory in the ever-challenging world of DX. Experience, knowledge, and expertise in guiding clients through programs with relative ease, while providing the needed clarity during crucial decisions is a core value we provide to our clients.
Do not hesitate to contact us, and see for yourself how we might be of assistance to you. We revel in solving (often avoiding) problems by providing efficient solutions that help YOU WIN!
