Leadership - Strategy - selecting
Strategy - selecting
Vision
When a lot of project options are being discussed it may be easy to loose sight of the main purpose.
So, just confirm that it meets the requirements for the vision by getting agreement.
Performance, time, cost and scope
You will need to check that the strategy that you choose will meet these criteria.
When you are looking at a vision you will not be producing anything as such so performance here is ‘will it meet the vision’.
Clearly, you will have time constraints in which to achieve the vision and the cost should not be exorbitant.
You may need to carry out some very early financial assessments on each strategy before a final decision is made.
The scope sets out the boundaries within which you wish to work.
Who or what else may be impacted if you go ahead with this strategy?
You may have confined your vision to a particular site, group or product (if it is a marketing vision).
Acceptable risk
Given the information that you have to date, will this particular strategy be low risk, medium risk or high risk.
Clearly, your perception of risk may direct you towards one and not another strategy.
Risk is covered in much more detail in ‘The Complete Risk management package’.
The risks may be perfectly acceptable if suitable contingencies are in place.
Acceptable consequences
Could unintended consequences generate new problems using this strategy?
Threats are 3rd party derived, risks can come from within.
You may wish to consider social and environmental issues.
The exact strategy chosen from an array of options may be dependant upon the business environment and the type and size of organisation.
Prioritisation
Naturally, the ‘project’ to achieve your vision may not be the only one that exists within the organisation, or indeed within your own remit so you will need to consider prioritisation. The business organisation may well have a pecking order in terms of how it will support the projects in terms of resource, and budget. Clearly, the Project Manager needs to know where this project will sit in the overall scheme.
Having established the projects priority one needs to review this at intervals.
The Project Manager doesn’t want any surprises later, for example, expected resource is unavailable as another project has higher priority, or even worse, resource you already had has to be redirected.
Project sponsor
To get final approval of your vision strategy it must be presented to the person who will give the go ahead.
This should be signed off in some fashion.
It would be useful if the Project Sponsor could attend key meetings and be available to make strategic decisions when required.
The Project Sponsor should be willing to give full support to the project.