Learnings from the PMO (Part II of II)

80/20 Rules! (Pun intended)

80/20 is the single most important rule of the business world. Period. Here are some 80/20 rules that have worked for me –
1. To structure and solve most business problems, 80/20 works best when used in tandem with Mckinsey’s MECE approach
2. Don’t let your boss know this, but at any managerial level, 80% of your work can be delegated. Doing this helps you elevate yourself to take up 80% of your boss’s activities. He will be wondering where you get all the time from and done correctly, your reportee will also be thankful for the opportunity. Underline ‘Done Correctly’.
3. One of the most famous 80/20 rules is that 20% of your clients contribute to 80% of your revenues. Unfortunately due to the way businesses are structured, less than 20% of top management time goes into nurturing these businesses. They tend to spend maximum time on developing new clients. Although this is necessary for sustained growth, this will eventually backfire unless actively planned for.

There are a hundred other examples out there; just put on your 80/20 hats and hunt for 80/20 opportunities in every business situation and you will come up with interesting insights. In the business world, surely 80/20 rulez!

Third Time Lucky

Developing and implementing new work processes and improving existing ones is an important PMO activity. What I did learn is that while implementing change, the first time you communicate the process, there is luke warm response probably because people feel it is not serious. The second time you communicate, there are usually more questions and concerns raised about the new process and people let you know what all can go wrong. But, usually the third time around there is more compliance and from the fourth iteration the process becomes the norm. So if you are establishing processes, be patient.

People vs Resources (Employee view vs Management view)

Many people argue that organizations should not view employees as mere resources; they must view them as individuals and manage them accordingly. I was one of the proponents of this theory; that is until I took up my current job. I understood that the resource view or the helicopter view is very good for analysis, work distribution, resource management and in general running the business. But equally important is the people (individual) view when it comes to talent recognition, reward mechanisms, appraisal etc. The idea and challenge for the management is to understand and maintain the People view at the employee level, make them feel valued and personal while at the same time maintain a resource view for business needs. This dichotomy is because in the 21st Century company, people are the resources albeit special resources. They have the physical attributes of any other type of economic resource but also an emotional aspect of being human. So go ahead ye managers, take those economic/ business decisions, be objective but also develop empathy, respect for people and connect.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Well, the title says it all. These days we have so many tools for communication at our disposal - the email, the SMS, the cell-phone and what not, yet there is so little of communication. Yes, we do talk a lot, email and message a lot but are we able to pass on an idea in our head with the same intensity and precision to another head? Lack of proper communication according to me is the root cause of all problems political and other wise in today’s organizations. So do I have the answer, well for starters -
Speak it out - Bring your thoughts in the open and do not be afraid of being ridiculed. But, try to remain neutral and objective. Use the logic of elevator pitches during all business conversations.
Write better – Pithy emails are good as long as they communicate properly. Many a time most of the information we want to communicate is left in our head.

Communication – This is the cardinal word for success in the corporate world!