PMcrunch

We are living in an age of "standardization".  It seems that everything is standardized, from processes and procedures to management practices across the board.  While we, as managers, try to standardize much ourselves in order to reduce error, create efficiencies, build a common vocabulary, and enhance communication, what happens when things just don’t seem to be working the way we like?

We are living in a world of fast-paced change.  These processes that we try to standardize often do not last long!  We know we need to build accommodations for ongoing change into our processes.  We need to build in training, process reviews, market analysis, continuous review of external factors, and of course constant contact with stakeholders.  These need to be part of our ongoing activities and initiatives.

But what happens when none of this seems to be yielding the desired results for our projects and programs?  Perhaps to paradigms that we and our teams have used to date need be reconsidered.  Maybe we need to get "outside the box" to see the world in a different way.  Maybe as leaders we need to step back from "standardization" and steer clear of the “conventional wisdom” that got us there to begin with.

Albert Einstein said: “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it.”  Right now, certainly for many of us, our human nature tells us to dig in and wait out the storm.  However,  leadership requires actively embracing the unusual, starting with thinking outside the box.  That means clearing our collective heads of your own core notions / assumptions, enlisting the help of people who bring unconventional wisdom to the table.  With new viewpoints and influence at the table, we can embrace our problem sets with new perspective and go on the offensive, trying new things.  This enables us to navigate commonly-perceived barriers, fear, and general negativity — and reach beyond the norm to achieve the best of what is possible.
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John Reiling, PMP
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