November 29, 2022 | 3 min read
Follow-through or fall-through?
Mario DiBenedetto
Managing Director
“I lost track of that action item in my inbox.”
If anyone in your project or program management office ever says those words, you should really consider helping them find a new career. A little harsh? Not really. At the heart of any successful PMO is a meticulous, relentless attention to detail. And managing action items and follow-ups via your email inbox is a recipe for playing email ping-pong.
This will sound weird, but if managers aren't annoying me with the crazy details I never contemplated, then I figure they are probably not working very hard.
I'll admit, I say "do it right the first time" all of the time. But I often lack the patience that is key to the success of a really good project manager. It pains me to deal with them because they have the patience and persistence to ensure everything gets thoroughly documented the first time even when I am dying to move onto the next subject. And they take the time to confirm their understanding of everything, especially action items, before they let people move on to new subjects.
KEY POINT: Start with the right people. Expect to be uncomfortable.
If you've got the right people, do they have the authority to implement the processes they need to be successful? More accurately, do they THINK they have the authority? My point is that there are too many managers who are gun-shy to schedule the standing calls they need because they have been accused of wasting stakeholder time.
Which results in the excuse that “I couldn’t find time on the calendar to meet with the stakeholders.”
