A recent text message exchange with a team member, I mentioned we should give some “thoughtful planning” to a company Labor Day celebration. Labor Day is a time when our company comes together as one for BBQ, and since everyone is in the same place and away from the production floor, it’s a great opportunity to send and receive important messages about where we are at and where we are going.
There’s a problem, or opportunity however in this exchange, depending on your view of the world.
When asked: “What shall we do?” I did my best version of project management and wrote the following:
Cook.
Message.
Campaign.
Sell.
Laugh.
Eat.
Work.
Hustle. Celebrate.
Live. Hug.
Ball-Bust.
“That’s a rough outline.” 12 simple words.
Text messages are great for free flow thinking, but not really project management.
For most people, this exchange can be infuriating. For players that like to write a playbook and not just execute one that’s been handed to them, I would think this is energizing.
There’s a thing about project management I’ve learned? It doesn’t motivate me. But it’s important. It breaks down a vision into concrete steps.
I always wish I had the project management skills of my sister. She could PM her way off an island in any time-frame given.
Sometimes, the best laid vision of success is a words picture. As the great Stephen Covey once said: “Start with the end in mind!”
For me, Words help with that process.
One of my best friends once declared in our college yearbook: “Words are everything!”
He’s right.