My Secret to Running (Cool) Projects

How do you get to run cool projects?

This is one of the most common questions people ask me.

Gives me flashbacks to grad school and my first few years at KPMG.

I’d wonder when I was going to get to do something “important” that moved the healthcare system forward in a big and meaningful way. I often wondered whether I was wasting time and my talents.

Then as my career progressed I noticed that I was starting to be involved in some really interesting, progressive, and perhaps even “cool” projects serving some of the most important organizations in the world on their strategy and operations.

Throughout those years of working on “boring“ projects, I designed a simple 4-step formula that increased the impact that I was having on my projects to extraorinary levels.

After tweaking and adjusting it for years, that formula is better and I know for any problem that I could face that I have an outline on what needs to get done from problem to solution.

So today I’m excited to share my formula with you.

Whether you need to improve your project management skills, or you’re thinking about starting your own projects - my formula will help you to be efficient, so you can actually enjoy the process and reap the benefits of running successful projects regularly.

Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Planning for success

Planning happens before a project starts.

1. Set the Problem Statement - This is where most projects fail, though very few realize it. You need to set a measurable and date bound target for what the problem is and the scope of problem that you are considering. Just yesterday, I had this circumstance pop up where we were doing initial planning with a client and I asked the question, should we include the health plan with the hospital in the scope? The answer was no, and it drastically changed how we approached the solution.
2. Brainstorm options to fix the problem - Again, this is another place where I see folks fail. They either go into the project with a solution and don’t consider the other ways to solve the problem, or they head in with no solution at all. One of the keys here is to be organized. Think through a logical grouping of the potential solutions. Not for fun, but to help your brain verify that you have considered everything.
3. Prioritize the options - All of the options that you and your team consider won’t be viable for consideration. You will go through a process of elimination of those options just based on your experience and intuition. You will focus your project on testing one solution at a time. You can do this without doing any analysis. Experience and intuition is all that you need at this point.
4. Design tests for the preferred option - What needs to be true for that option to be the best option? That’s the crux of your project. What data do you need to prove that it is true? What would you need to see in that data? Now you’re well on your way to developing the solution.

This all happens before you start your project. Each of the next steps that I outline below end with an executive update and a decision by your stakeholders. That decision always involves a narrowing of the options for consideration for solution to the problem at hand.

Step 2: Hear from your stakeholders

As a project leader, your role isn't to make decisions on the solution but to offer advice, guiding executive leaders through a series of critical decisions. This process begins with a top-down perspective, outlining what is possible—initially presenting the potential actions without delving into the reasons behind their feasibility. This approach helps determine what could be done and assesses whether the actions are worth pursuing.

Interviews are an invaluable tool in project execution, yet many people lack the skills to conduct them effectively. Typically, these interviews should cover two main areas: broad questions and specific issues identified within your prioritized options. The primary aim of these interviews is to evaluate the viability of the considered options and to uncover any overlooked or emerging issues.

Your initial update to the executives should focus squarely on the outcomes of these interviews. It's crucial for them to receive firsthand insights from those directly affected by the project, presented without the usual speculation or spin. Each update meeting should progressively narrow the scope of the problem, refining the focus and advancing the project toward a successful resolution.

Step 3: Examine what is possible

The second update meeting further narrows the focus, beginning with an exploration of what is possible and why it might be achievable to seize the opportunities associated with the project. The conclusion of these analyses often presents a range of potential benefits that an organization could gain from resolving the problem. However, it's crucial to note that these benefits are not yet confirmed—they are possibilities that need further validation.

Three types of analyses are conducted prior to this executive update:

1. Financial Analysis - This is fundamental and addresses three critical questions: What is the current condition of the business? Which parts of the business are driving its performance? What is occurring in the areas identified as potential problems or solutions?
2. Benchmarking - This quantitative analysis involves studying the performance of competitors and comparing it to your project. It provides a clear metric-based comparison that helps in understanding where your project stands in relation to industry standards.
3. Case Studies - These offer more qualitative insights and focus on understanding why a particular project failed or succeeded. Each case study should concentrate on a single, narrow issue, even if multiple factors contributed to the project's outcome. The goal is to distill this down to the primary contributor to success or failure.

These analyses are crucial for informing the executive team about the feasibility and potential impact of the project, guiding strategic decision-making.

Step 4: Narrow to 2-3 options

The final update focuses on analyses that attempt to solve the identified problem. By this stage, you should have received all requested data and have a clear understanding of what will likely work and what won’t, based on insights from the interviews, financial analyses, benchmarking, and case studies. As you conclude the analyses of potential solutions, you should be able to narrow your options down to 2-3 viable strategies for resolving the issue in your project. Each option should be evaluated for its expected benefits.

Bonus step: Capturing benefits

Throughout the project, you will have also identified various opportunities. These should be closely aligned with the 2-3 selected strategies. At this juncture, your role is to collaborate with employees to transition these opportunities into tangible benefits. This involves confirming and refining the alignment of opportunities with strategic options, ensuring that they are practical and directly contribute to the project’s objectives.

Benefits that can be captured quickly are often categorized as quick wins. Clients will want to see these, so track these separately. The implementation of the plans cannot be vague. You must articulate exactly what to do, what are the individual initiatives that are being pursued and how they add up to the overall benefit.

In conclusion, the journey to managing impactful projects isn’t just about the mechanics of execution; it's also about embracing the growth that comes with each challenge.

My formula is a distillation of years of experience and learning from both the mundane and the extraordinary. It is designed to help you harness your potential and guide projects that not only succeed but also advance your career and contribute meaningfully to the industry.

Remember, every project, no matter how small it seems, builds your capacity for bigger, more 'cool' initiatives. Use this formula as your roadmap to navigate the complexities of project management, and you'll find that with each project, you're not just moving the healthcare system forward—you're also advancing your own ability to lead and innovate. So take this knowledge, apply it diligently, and watch as you transform ordinary opportunities into remarkable achievements.

Summary

• Planning happens before a project begins
• Validate your solutions with key stakeholders
• Use financial analyses, benchmarks, and case studies to begin to create ranges of opportunity
• Opportunity converts into benefits when agreeing them with stakeholders