Wednesday 23 January 2008

And then it became strategically important!

So you've recognised the project. You can see the gap. You know it would work because you've seen it elsewhere, and you know you can do it, because you're a confident and hard working chap or chapess. But no-one wants to know. At least not those in those seats of power or even mini power. They've never heard of it before, can't he bothered or have to many other 'urgent' things to do. No matter you push on. You wander the empty corridors of petty power (or petty people) seeking anyone who might take up the cause. And finally you do.

Slowy things get mentioned, get talked about, it moves on to agendas of people you haven't heard of. Sometimes your name even gets mentioned but of course this is now becoming important. They probably need a consutant, and someone with a senior mmanagement responsibility. If you're somewhere half good they might even ask your opinion. They might ask you to be on the project board.

Then you arrive at project board and there are lots of people there, some of whom you can't quite work out the purpose of. The project rises in status but now it is properly important – a key bullet point in your department / organisation strategy it probably needs a strategy. And if it needs a strategy, if it is important there are a whole range of people who feel they should have a say. Papers appear – a lot of them not very good because these people don't know about the project they just know they should have a say because they too are important and important people should have a say about important things.

And the something dies inside you. Actually it's not quite worth this. It's not worth the fight to stay involved or repeat the information a dozen times. If they want to learn it all themselves, if they feel that they knew it all along then perhaps it's best to leave them to it. So you fold away your project plans, take all those great books home again and watch the unfolding of a very important project.

No comments: