Forecasts can be alarming or stress-relievers. In which forecast should I trust?
As I ponder this morning, I am glad to look out my window and see the world pretty much the same as it was yesterday. If you saw the movie 2012, you may have been alarmed at the perspective of the effect on our planet! As I look across the valley at the opposite mountains, this morning I do not see any great rifts in the landscape, no lava flowing, no explosions, nothing cataclysmic.
How about your project forecasts? Do they conjecture an even-keel future to your sponsor and other key stakeholders? Or have project realities strayed so far from the plan that the forecast doesn’t resemble that project whatsoever?! How stressed does your forecasting make your key stakeholders?
Good communications along the way can help reduce the stakeholder shock when a bad outlook surfaces. Practice sharing the direction of your project before it reaches it destination. I am reminded of a rule that one of my original managers quoted often: “No surprises.” If a project was to experience any negatives, my manager wanted to hear about it sooner rather than later. He also did not want to hear the bad news from anyone else before he heard it from me!
OK – here’s the good news/bad news scenario:
The good news – It’s 12/21/2012 and the earth is still intact.
The bad news (maybe?) – The day is young. Keep me posted!
