“Quiet or you may ruin it for us all.” – have you ever been in a situation where that thought crossed your mind? I was earlier this week. Allow me to explain…
Marseille is the site of the EMEA PMI Global Congress for 2012. The city is the second largest in France, and it has a rich history. Best of all, Marseille is perched on the sunny, southern tip of France dipping her toes in the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The scenery along the coast of Marseille is remarkable and the climate is ideal.
I was feeling very content with the site selection – very happy, indeed. Our Advisory Group was holding our annual face-to-face meeting just prior to the EMEA Global Congress. Our purpose is to represent the interests of the REPs – Registered Education Providers of PMI. We have representatives on the team from Brazil, China, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, India, Switzerland, Costa Rica, and USA.
Our meetings had just begun Saturday morning, and my mind had wandered down to the coastline of Marseille…I was daydreaming of a boat excursion to view the Calanques (see http://www.terragalleria.com/europe/france/marseille/).
Suddenly, I was snapped back to reality when a fellow team member shared a troubling concern.
Challenging the status quo. With courage and humility, this team member expressed his concern that he was not contributing enough to the ongoing support of the REP Program. He offered to resign.
My lizard brain immediately began calculating results and possible outcomes to this challenging statement. If he offers to resign, I should offer to resign. But I don’t want to resign…I like Marseille. My lizard brain requested that I shout: “Quiet or you may ruin it for us all!” I ignored the lizard.
The tense moment passed quickly, as other members rallied around our friend and expressed a similar concern. We all reflected on the question: are we making a difference? The result was a more focused and more productive 2-day meeting wherein our team kept asking the question: how can our Advisory Group add value? (Very Agile)
The actions of one, bold member to step out of his comfort zone and make a statement to challenge the status quo made a demonstrable difference. His words set the tone. We turned topics into deliverables; we broke deliverables down and made assignments; we will track progress in our monthly calls. Hmmm… Sounds like project management.
Application: go ahead and make things awkward. Challenge the status quo. Your actions may lead to positive results.
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Planning is key.
Several years ago I was brought in as a consultant to save the delivery schedule for a contract between a large federal agency and a large corporation. When planning was mentioned, I interjected the following: “Planning allows you to allot resources to deal with the known, so that when the unexpected inevitably happens you may have the attention and resources to deal with it.” I felt very flattered when a retired colonel, a graduate of West Point, pointed at me and said, “What she said.” I have remained with that contract through several incarnations, otherwise known as task orders and am now seeking a PMP.
Nice quote on Planning, Dona – well said!