Virtual Work for the Project Resource

My first position out of college was working for a big consulting firm, I was allowed to work virtually on some Fridays while engaged on out of town projects.  Since then technology has made virtual work even more effective and easy.  Personally I am a big fan of virtual work when it is appropriate.  In fact, often certain phases of a project can require periods of time where work is better performed remotely.  Take for example authoring a series of functional specifications, these documents require constant un-interrupted focused effort, and project war rooms are not often associated with long periods of quite time.

You will never hear me say an entire project can be run virtually or be tempted to hire a resource who is only available to work virtually.  Business consulting has just too many "high touch" moments when you need to be sat across from your stakeholders and team members.  But there is often flexibility to perform phases or certain periods of work virtually.

When used correctly virtual work can have several benefits: You can pull from a larger pool of project resources, you can keep those resources more refreshed and engaged from potential project burn out and office real estate can be best utilized.

Set the ground rules:

• Understand to work virtually is actually a temporary privilege, one that (if guidelines are followed) continues or ceases to exist altogether if not.
• On-site project or client needs always take precedence over virtual work.  If a big meeting has been moved to Friday, sorry your plans have just changed.
• Extra due diligence is required in planning and scheduling meetings and travel.  Often this requires much more forward planning on the part of the resource who will work virtually.
• Define core working hours where you expect 100% focused at your desk work (e.g. 8am - 3pm)
• Always be accessible.  In this era of smart phones, aside from you having an MRI or being in-flight, be very responsive...very quickly.

Monitor the ground rules:

• Monitor responsiveness to emails, phone calls and instant messaging (especially during the agreed upon core working hours).
• Monitor last minute meeting cancellations, usually it is a sign of poor planning and time management.
• Monitor flexibility on behalf of the virtual project resource when project plans change.
• Weigh the most important aspect, "Is the work getting done?"

About Us:

At CompassX we do a bit of virtual work for our clients, to see how we can help you visit our web site.
You can contact me at kyleh@compassx.com  |  www.compassx.com | © COMPASSX GROUP, 2013

What Makes a Good Consultant a Great Consultant?

Last week I met with a number of my clients, while helping them plan for upcoming project work. One of the questions I asked the group was, "What makes a good consultant a great consultant?"

By my estimation, my client group represented close to 100 years combined experience working with consultants in all sorts of different capacities.

Like an expert sharpshooter, their answers were consistently grouped.

1. A real focus on the customer.  Quick question, which is most important?  Your firm's goals or your personal career path?  Neither, without a real focus on your customer both will never fully materialize.
2. The ability to quickly bridge knowledge gaps.  Although the client often dreams of the perfect consulting resource, rarely does one individual meet the complete wish list.  Possessing the ability to quickly get up to speed in areas where you may lack knowledge is tremendously useful for the great consultant.
3. Drive, persistance, determination. You might be a Rhodes scholar, have prestigious university credentials and speak fluent Mandarin. I'm still taking the guy who has demonstrated he won't give up when things get tough, the pit bull who won't let go of his toy until he has won the tug o' war.
4. Listening  and communication skills.  No matter how good you think you are in these soft skills, as a great consultant you should always be trying to get better. I intend to do a post specifically on these two traits soon. 
5. Personality. Consulting is tough sledding. Many hours are spent in the trenches, deadlines are always looming, tensions can run high.  How do you react when things don't go your way? Do you play well with others?  Great consultant's won't be rattled easily.

About Us:

At CompassX we know all about strategy implementation and great project execution excellence, 80% of our client work is focused on nothing else.

You can contact me at kyleh@compassx.com  |  www.compassx.com | © COMPASSX GROUP, 2013

Strategy Implementation - Planning a Strong Start

Back a couple years (grin), I used to run the sprints.  I was pretty decent, All New England in college, and set a few school records progressing to the Eastern States Championships in high school.  Except for the start, there is not much strategy to the short sprints; gun goes off, run for as fast and long as your body will allow.  Ah...but that start, a race can be won or lost at that start.  Same goes for strategy implementation, a poor start can cost you the race.   

What are the essentials to strategy implementation planning?

Do’s

• Do realize your best attempts at providing early detailed data points are futile.  Too much early emphasis on obtaining detailed data costs the client time, money, and often provides false positives.  ROI, schedules, cost estimates, Voice of the Customer surveys will be inaccurate, completely incorrect, off by many multiples or all three.  Instead provide basic high level current knowns, be forthcoming on the unknowns and how estimates were determined.

"Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired." Part II: "Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut." - Colin Powell

• Do continue to refine and provide greater and greater levels of accuracy on data points as the strategy implementation progresses.  Accurate analysis combined with the phased approach below, will allow for course changes and continuous refinement.

• Do use phases when building your strategy implementation approach.  Three reasons why I favor segmented planning.  1. Speed of business is running at warp speeds, what is needed today will change tomorrow. 2. Benefits delivered today immediately start adding returns. 3. Momentum is a force multiplier.   

Don’t

• Don't wait to build full consensus.  There will always be dissenters, and there is no such thing as the perfect time.  Get key champions on board and blast out of the starting blocks.  Time is a killer of all things, especially true of great ideas and early momentum.  

“I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” ― Bill Cosby

On your mark, get set, Go!

About Us:

At CompassX we know all about strategy implementation and great project execution excellence, 80% of our client work is focused on nothing else.

You can contact me at kyleh@compassx.com  |  www.compassx.com | © COMPASSX GROUP, 2013

Strategy Execution - The Lost Art

Business can be funny, one moment something is hot, and the next it's gone. Often replacing the tried and true with new, flashy, and easy to use. But is it really built to last? Why have strategy execution failure rates skyrocketed? 

I believe strategy execution has gradually been eschewed, by the formerly great management consulting firms in favor of strategy creation and increased profits, by corporate executives and their management teams trying to keep pace with the new warp speed of changing business and thereby less time and attention focused on actually implementing those necessary business changes, and ultimately by the "do'ers" themselves in favor of sexier projects and fancier bullets on their resumes, after all great project execution is really hard work.

Strategy execution, two very simplistic words, but as I would do with my clients let's break these down to ensure we are aligned in understanding.  Strategy, in itself can be defined as an idea, concept, scheme or plan created to bring forth a competitive advantage or to alleviate a business pain point.  In and of itself a strategy is an idea, hopefully a good one.  But in order to reap its' realized benefits, next it must be broken down into actionable concrete steps.  Execution are these series of steps, implemented, to make the strategy or project materialize.  Without excellent execution, all strategy fails to meet its full potential or worse completely falls flat. See figure #1 below.

Edison and Einstein both often used the quote, "1% inspiration, 99% perspiration", in their respective fields of invention and science.  In the coming weeks I will further break down strategy execution to provide meaningful short takeaways that can be applied immediately within your own organization.

Strategy Execution Benefits Curve

About Us:

At CompassX we know all about strategy execution and great project execution excellence, 80% of our client work is focused on nothing else. I personally have spent the past fifteen plus years learning and applying what it takes to bring a client's strategy to greatness. You can contact me at kyleh@compassx.com 

www.compassx.com

Online Medical Advice Survey Results

A June 2011 Costco members opinion poll asked this question: "Should you seek medical advice online?" Overwhelmingly 87% of respondents answered "Yes". "Lifescience companies are in the infancy stage of realizing both the upside potential and additional compliance burden of social media", says Kyle Heppenstall, who's firm CompassX Group is one of the first to offer a Lifescience specific social media offering.

DocuSign Used to Help Compliance

CompassX Consulting is set to help a client reduce non-compliant supporting legal documentation by implementing DocuSign’s e-signature platform. DocuSign’s technology, coupled with newly introduced leading best practices, will help reduce contracting cycle times and increase visibility on out of compliant contracts.