Albert Einstein said, “Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems, in my opinion, to characterize our age.”
In my opinion, it also characterizes most project and resource planning efforts. So much attention is spent on improving project mechanics (e.g., critical path scheduling, task estimating, financial planning, resource assignment, baselines, change approvals, running meetings, etc.), but precious little is spent on understanding the goals of the project, and of the portfolio.
Understanding and articulating the goals leads to more informed decision-making, better-aligned resources, and greater customer and employee engagement. Often, there are conflicting goals among stakeholders, and this needs to be rectified as well. It’s why Napoleon said, “It’s better to have one bad general than two good ones.”
Unfortunately, many leaders are overly focused on mechanics and tactics, especially newer project managers. I often compare it to someone just learning to dance; They’re so busy watching their feet and counting steps that they forget to just listen to the music.
There’s no doubt, when goals are clear, the organization operates like a well-tuned orchestra. Otherwise, you can have the best systems and processes in the world and you’ll still come out sounding like a grade school band (no offense to parents of grade schoolers out there).
Bottom Line: Next time you’re leading a program, implementing a system, or attempting to allocate resources, make sure the goals of the endeavor are understood and widely agreed upon. Fix that, and everything else will fall into place. Put another way, Focus + Purpose = Productivity. Now that’s an equation even Einstein would like!
