Think Like Startup Founders
The article “Project Managers Should Think Like Startup Founders” by Ron Ashkenas in Harvard Business Review focuses on rethinking the traditional approach to project management. Ashkenas argues that most project managers concentrate on planning and execution, but this method often fails to consider critical assumptions, leading to misguided directions and late recognition of necessary changes. He suggests that large projects rarely follow a linear path, and the conventional planning and execution model doesn’t adequately address this reality.
To remedy this, Ashkenas proposes that project managers adopt a mindset akin to that of startup founders. This involves utilizing tools standard in the startup sector, such as a project canvas and customer development strategies. By doing so, project leaders can identify and address the most significant questions and risks early in the project before scaling to complete execution. This approach contrasts with the typical agile methodologies, which focus more on pivoting quickly and reacting to problems rather than preventing them from the outset.
Redefining Project Management
Integrating Startup Methodologies in Large Organizations
- Embracing a Lean Approach: Adopting startup methodologies like the project canvas can encourage a leaner, more focused approach to project management. This involves prioritizing essential features or goals and continuously refining them based on feedback, leading to more efficient use of resources.
- Customer-Centric Development: Customer development strategies can shift the focus from internal assumptions to real-world customer needs and feedback. This ensures that projects are more aligned with market demands and customer expectations.
- Enhanced Risk Management: Early identification of risks and uncertainties, a common practice in startups, can help large organizations anticipate potential issues and develop contingency plans, reducing the likelihood of project failures.
Balancing Planning with Flexibility
Achieving Agile Planning in Project Management
- Iterative Planning: Adopting an iterative approach to planning, where the project plan is regularly reviewed and updated, can help balance thorough planning with flexibility.
- Empowering Teams: Giving project teams more autonomy to make decisions can enable quicker responses to changes and challenges, akin to the dynamic environment in startups.
- Building a Responsive Culture: Cultivating a culture that values adaptability and learning can help organizations respond more effectively to changing project requirements and external factors.
Learning from Startup Culture
Beneficial Aspects for Traditional Business Settings
- Fostering Innovation: Encouraging a culture of innovation and experimentation, common in startups, can lead to more creative solutions and improvements in project management.
- Rapid Prototyping and Testing: Adopting rapid prototyping and testing methods can help validate ideas and strategies quickly, reducing the time and resources spent on unviable solutions.
- Resilience and Agility: Embracing the resilience and agility typical of startup culture can help project managers better navigate uncertainties and rapidly changing environments in traditional settings.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Promoting cross-functional collaboration, a hallmark of many startups, can enhance communication and cooperation among different departments, leading to more cohesive project execution.
Implementing these aspects effectively requires adopting new tools and methodologies and a shift in mindset and organizational culture to embrace more agile, customer-focused, and innovative approaches to project management.