I think I am most excited about the start of a project, where we get to shape it and prime it for success.
Most projects go through a roller coaster of emotions (Emotional Cycle of Change, or ECOC) starting up high:
1. Uninformed Optimism: You don’t know what you don’t know, but you’re excited about things!
2. Informed Pessimism: Ack! Now you know more, and things seem to be going downhill!
3. Valley of Despair: You’ve hit the bottom: this can go two ways from here – up or out!
4. Hopeful realism: It’s when things start looking up, you feel more accepting of the change and the benefits it could bring
5. Informed Optimism: Here, you realise things are actually going to be alright – and you’re in a momentum of problem solving mode
6. Success: At the end of the ride, you’re back to the top of the emotional roller coaster.
I measure the success of my job, as a Project Manager, with a side order of Change Management, by how shallow and ‘unexciting’ I can make the ECOC.
There should never be a ‘Valley of Despair’.
It should just be a “Mild dip of Slight Unsureness’.* 🤨
I think project implementation should be like life.
We should just get on with the business of doing our jobs and getting sh!t done.
We can get excited about the technology and what we are building, but we can do without other types of drama.
Husband says that I’ve had a “fun-ectomy” but my guess is that it’s what makes me good at my job.
Perhaps I should think about having a socially distance flirt with the binmen 😷 to inject some drama into our lives.
Let’s see how he likes “drama” then. 😉
*If there isn’t such a thing, there should be.
#nodrama
#projectmanagement
#zenhaoprotip
#changemanagement
#crm
#project