Mind Templatization

I was in Bangalore couple of weeks ago for facilitating a learning program. During the break, I headed to cafeteria for my lunch and found myself in a long queue. As I was waiting for my turn, someone tapped my shoulder.

"Hey Sekhar", I heard a familiar voice from behind.

I turned around to see Rana, one of my previous batch PMP students.

"Hello Rana, how are you?” I greeted him.

"I am good sir. Do you have any company?" he asked me

"No, I was just trying to have a quick bite before the class resumes" I replied

"Can I join you, then?" he didn't give me much of an option

We got our lunch plates and found a comparatively empty table.

"So, what are you up to these days?" I didn't remember talking to him in about 6 months

"I took up a Project Manager role with infrastructure team" he answered the question in mind

"Nice...Welcome to the club" I was happy that a student of mine has become a PM

"Sekhar, I am looking for some guidance. Tell me, how I can become a good project manager?" he quizzed

"Well, there is no secret formula. It’s the ongoing learning and experience that will translate you into a more successful one" I gave my simple response

"That I understand. But shouldn't there be a starting point towards the right direction?" he was persistent

"What do you mean by right direction?" I wanted to understand his thought process

"You know, I understand the methodology defined in the PMBOK. I understand the tools and techniques. Additionally, I have attended lot of other PM related programs also. What else I need to do to be a good project manager" he sounded sincere

“Tell me one thing. You are a PMP certified. So, tell me, what does it mean to be a PMP certified, to you? What should be the difference between a PMP guy and a non-PMP guy?” I asked

“Well, I would think, PMP guy should have more knowledge than a non-PMP guy. He should be methodical, process driven and should have a standard approach while managing the projects” he replied

“Are you saying, non-PMP guys don’t have to do that?” I asked

“No, I am not saying that. I am just saying, PMP guys must be good because they possess certain credential. But otherwise, even non-PMP project manager should also be good at process, should be methodical as well as should have standard approach while dealing with the project challenges” he was on the money

“Right! Irrespective of the credential, for someone to be a good project manager, there has to be certain benchmark. I call that benchmark, Mind Templatization” I introduced my phrase

“What…What did you say?” his was puzzled

“Before I elaborate it, define project management for me, Rana" I asked

"Formal definition or informal definition?" I could sense the cunning pleasure in his voice because I used to make my PMP students remember the formal definitions from PMBOK.

"Give me a formal one" I wanted to see how much he remembered

"Project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently" he gave the-pretty-close-to-picture-perfect definition.

"Looks like you still remember your PMP classes" I was impressed.

"Yes, Sir! Keeping myself fit for the project management marathon" he was proud of himself

"Good for you. So, how do you interpret that definition, Rana?" I started my pitching

"I would think the important pieces are knowledge, skills and techniques. Which is why I am focussed on continuous learning" I liked his seriousness

“Fair point…! But, if you ask me, I would say Project Management is a MINDSET. By doing PMP or any other certification or learning program, you are acquiring knowing and learning few techniques. But that’s just the starting point. You then need to use that knowledge and techniques such that when you play the role of a Project Manager, you can tune your mind to get into the skin of that role” I continued

“And, how am I supposed to do that. More importantly, what do you mean by Mind Templatization?” he asked the expected question

“Rana, have you ever experienced the phenomena of driving on a familiar road while you are on phone or having intense discussions with a co-passenger or lost in your thoughts and suddenly learnt that you have covered lot of distance and you didn’t even realize” I looked at him for his reaction

“Oh…yes, that happens quite often” he was quick

“What’s funny about that scenario is, even though your mind was absent from the road, your hands and legs still managed to drive the vehicle in the right direction without missing a turn. It’s simply because, your mind has templatized that road. It registered and familiarized itself with all the turns, speed breakers and traffic signals such that, even subconsciously, it can still guide you towards the right direction” I continued

“I understand what you are saying. But, how are you connecting this to project management world?” he was still puzzled

“For someone who is considered to be a good project manager, his/her mind should work like a template. One should be able to tune the mind such that, for any scenario, it automatically thinks of scope, time, cost, quality, risk, resources, communication and monitoring & controlling. Even subconsciously, you should have solid project management thoughts. So, in my opinion, starting point towards the right direction is to be a good subconscious project manager” I took a pause

“I think, I am getting your point. Perhaps an example will help” he was genuine

“Okay, let’s consider the below email that I was marked on from one of my Project Managers” I showed him an old email from my BlackBerry

“So, if you were to send this note, how would you do it?” I asked him

“Since you gave me just couple of minutes to think thru, I think, I would probably mention the due date by when Steve and Bob need to respond. I would also talk a little bit about what is AJAX-104 deliverable so that they get the context” he responded

“Fair enough! Valid points! Now, let’s templatize your mind. Think of this email from the perspective of Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Risk, Resources, Communication and Monitoring and Controlling and tell me what else you would add” I pressed

“Interesting! Let me think thru. Scope of point of view, I have already mentioned that I will talk about AJAX-104 and regarding the Time…” he was cut short

“Wait…What about the scope of involvement for those resources” I interrupted him

“Oh…right! I would have to talk a little about what those resources are going to work on” he added

“Right. So, the point is, for each of those variables, you think about each one’s perspective. Scope from the perspective of Steve and Bob, the Project Manager and the resources. Similarly think about rest of the variables” I added

“Making sense…! Okay, from Time point of view, like I said, I need to give an expected date of response to Steve and Bob. That’s what I would like to know. From Steve and Bob perspective, I guess, I need to tell Steve and Bob for how long those resources would be engaged on the project, and perhaps, I might even have to tell them, if the resources are going to be needed on full time basis or part time basis. And, if part time, basis, how many hours per week are they expected to work on this project. WOW, just by being a little structured, I could make the email more meaningful” he took a pause

“Right! Now, if you continue the same thought process (aka Templatization), your email may look like this” I showed him another copy

“Wow…this sounds interesting…just by Templatizing my mind with 8 project elements, and thinking thru them for each scenario and project, I can really be more productive and communication with stakeholders would be so much simpler! But here is my dilemma; If I templatize my mind, wouldn’t I lose my creativity?” he asked a smart question

“Great question…! The answer would be no. You don’t need to be creative to define the problem statement. You just need to understand it. All PMs know about the six (6) standard project constraints. Your solution to those constraints can be creative. Mind Templatization is only going to remind you each time that, you need to think about those standard project management constraints. Which solution will you apply for which of the situations is still left to your creative discretion! If Templatization can help you draft a better email, imagine what else it can do for you in a complex project scenario” I concluded my case.

“Sekhar, this is very interesting piece of information. So, if I get good at implementing the Mind Templatization concept, I would be a good project manager, right?” he was now pushing me

"Well, you are right in the sense that, one needs to be really good with this starting step. But that’s only 30% of what you need to be, to be a good and successful project manager" I suddenly derailed his flow

"What...? The PMBOK, the hard earned PMP, and this Mind Templatization is only 30% of what I need to know? You must be kidding me" he jumped on me

"At least, in my opinion, that’s what I would think" I could sense the frustration in his body language

"Then, what's the other 70%, Sekhar?" he was almost demanding

“Buddy, it’s time for my class. Let’s chat about that tomorrow” I stood up with my empty plate

“No…please give me some hints about that 70%” he requested

“Heard about Behavioral Project Management…!?” I shouted walking towards the elevator