In this episode, we discuss the core attributes of a good project manager. These people are humble, hungry, and masters at communication. They are strategic, focused, excellent problem solvers, and have mastered the art of moving things forward.
We are excited to discover, with you, the key commonalities and best practices that allow both public and private organizations from capital intensive industries to become stronger at managing their assets over time.
Learn more at: www.durablecapitalindex.com
Ben Parker:
Today, we're going to talk about the power of a good project manager. Welcome to the Durability Podcast. This is for those that are passionate about helping their organizations plan and prepare for the inevitable future. My name is Ben Parker, management consultant, chemists creator, entrepreneur co-founder, and member of the Durable Capital Group. I'm excited for you to join me as we discover what successful organizations do to build longterm durability. We explore the tactics and strategies that allow great organizations to combine the financial wisdom of asset management. The practical street smarts of the maintenance subculture with the real-world paranoia of managing risks to ensure their organizations last. We uncover what great leaders are doing from all types of capital intensive industries to make good decisions, build strong management teams, and prepare to meet the future in whatever form it comes. This is the Durability Podcast.
Welcome back to the Durability Podcast. I am excited to be here with you today. And today we're going to talk about project management. I know it sounds a little trite, but when you talk about all the key factors of getting things done once decisions have been made and things are ready to roll, there is nothing more valuable than a good project manager. And there are several key things that I have noticed time and time again, in different industries personally, from my background in the specialty chemical industry, building processing plants and production lines and labs. As well as in the industrial scale solar side, building large industrial power plants, where you see a whole bunch of different dynamics, decisions, communications, and coordination activities happening with different stakeholders, different priorities, and a variety of aspects of getting something done. And there is an art to good project management, and it requires a handful of really core skills.
And I think several things that just stand out to me that I want to focus on in a good project management program, as well as a good project manager is they're always strategically focused. In a way, they have the ability to keep their mind and hands in the large, big picture and in the small action item details. And I think both of those are critical. And the ones that do it well, that are best at what they do, you will find that they can communicate several different languages, whether they're talking to finance folks, executive stakeholders, that core focus on what the overall strategic mission of what has to get done is. As well as they can speak to the construction teams, the operators, the folks that are actually getting the work done. As well as vendors, customers, suppliers. And are able to navigate various tactical execution strategies with a overall strategic objective on time, on budget, and in a way that's going to help communication enhance the overall objective.
And some of the core things that I have noticed that those really good project managers have is they have a strictegic focused on stakeholders. They have a very unique mentality. They have this... The good ones anyway, in my opinion, are the ones that are humble and hungry at the same time. The ones that can not let pride or ego, many of them have strong egos, but their communication is in a way that does not put stakeholders, or vendors, or other people on edge. But pushes them to get the right things done at the right time. So they're always hungry. They have this desire to get things done, to be accurate in their budgets, to focus on getting the timeline dialed in. And they also have this really unique type of paranoia, which is actually, I think one of their super powers because they can look into the future of what might happen and go wrong.
And they're continually trying to vet out contingencies and make sure that they've got all the right questions asked to the right people. And you notice that they are actually vested in the success of the project. They take it personally in a lot of cases. Where they're really motivated to make sure they do a good job. But also to make sure that the players and the information gets to the right people at the right time. And so they have that vestment in success. And the other thing that's a real core trait of these types of individuals is their ability to focus on accountability with high integrity. And integrity to them is when you say you're going to do something, did you do it or not? And if you didn't, was it in your control or was it not? And if it wasn't in your control, how well did you communicate those needs in a timely manner to make sure that other people's needs are being met. Or if other people have adjustments they need to make, they can get that information as soon as possible.
And so that's just a highlight of effective communication with a strategic presence and an overall understanding of who the players and people are that they're working with. That they have an underlying respect for leadership, for the overall strategy of what needs to happen. But they are a core agent for change. That they also know that there will be some gray areas, that there will be times where they have to get creative about meeting their objectives in ways that maybe others haven't thought of before to get the job done in a way that's most appropriate. And they're not rigid. One of the things that a great project manager, one other superpower that I've noticed, is they don't lock up when somebody says, no, that's not possible, or that's going to be six months, or three weeks, or whatever the issue is.
They have a unique ability to focus on solutions and ways to get the projects done that are very inherent in making sure that they can execute on their project. So several key factors for good project managers are they're action oriented. They're great communicators, they're strategic. They know how to talk multiple different languages to different groups, not just actual languages like English, and Spanish, and German, and French. That's not a requirement, but the ability to communicate with different mindsets of people and different motivations of people, if that makes sense.
So the key action items that are important as you're looking at your teams and looking at how well you're doing at project management, that's a good place to start. What type of people do you have responsible for those projects? What kind of managers are they? And what types of things are they motivated by? And what principles help them execute on what they do?
And my experiences, many of these project management traits are actually trainable. They are things that people can learn. And a focused effort on improving their approach to project management can have significant impact in your organization. And one of my core learnings as you go through different business schools, as you look at different corporate trainings, whether that's executive education, whether that's a traditional, MBA type structure programs, or any number of professional certifications. Whether that's a professional project management certification or any other type of training, it's my experience that there's a core set of best practices that certain individuals are just really awesome at.
And if you take notice of what those principles and skills are there are things that you can incorporate. And impact your team to have significant change drivers in your organization, which inherently, builds long-term durability. So that's all for today. Go look at your project management practices, your team, and find ways to strengthen their core beliefs around what they do and how they do it. And the result will be a very significant impact in how you are able to deliver value to your organization. And how well you are preparing and planning for the future. Thanks again, have a fantastic day.
Hey everybody. I just want to share with you something that has been super effective at helping organizations to really kickstart the conversation around how they're going to build longterm durability into their management practices. And if you stop what you're doing right now, and go to www.durablecapitalindex.com, that's durablecapitalindex.com. You can sign up to take a very special assessment. This is the durable capital index assessment. It's a baseline assessment, and it'll show you exactly where you're at currently with fundamental best practices for building durability. And it will give you a very detailed feedback report that you can take and share with your team. So if you go to www.durablecapitalindex.com, sign up, take the assessment and share it with your team. And really start that conversation around building long-term durability into your organization.