It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask (for more value)

This week’s tip: Don’t underestimate the number of times that you need to “ask“ for more value.

One of the key mistakes that I see project leaders making is the hesitancy to ask for more value from their work streams.

The idea that you will somehow generate transformational value passively is wishful thinking.

IMO, you should be spending between 10% and 20% of your time creating ideas for where additional value can be generated and asks workstream leaders to respond.

That offer should require them to make changes.

The concept is around more than just that initial ask. You’re also pushing people closer to transformation, slowly over time.

Think about a time that you were looking to buy something. Think about the uncertainty that you had in making that decision and how you slowly, but surely had to let go of roadblocks that you made up in your way before you made that final decision. In all likelihood, there was a constant reminder of the decision that you were trying to make.

The same idea will occur in your projects. Teams want to create value. But most of the value sits in areas where difficult decisions need to be made.

You need to be the one that continues to work through and push along people into making those difficult decisions.