Monday, October 6, 2014
"Too Much Organizational Written Policy Erodes Common Sense
and Critical Problem Solving”
-Mark Shireman
Policies
remind me of pride. Both are good things but too much of either one can put
your company into overdose.
Successful
firms must be careful setting too many or forthright details of policy unless
they want to spend all their time arbitrating disputes caused by these stated
policies verses furthering the interests of the client and moving forward.
Project
management requires extreme flexibility to deal with construction challenges in
an environment of changing schedules and conditions many of which are in no
one’s control. Too much stated policy can slow the process.
The
better way is to allow experience to develop a set of informal guidelines
joined by common sense and let this be your guide. Projects bogged down in detailed
policy manuals, charts and detailed job descriptions will soon lose their
flexibility.
A
detailed listing of policies might complicate the job of carrying your real
objectives. A better strategy might be to identify relationships in all
policies and look for a combination that can make progress toward the goals.
A
good management strategy is one that can see relationships that no one else has
seen. Project management set in the middle of a continuous stream of operating
challenges followed hopefully, by a flow of options to deal with these
challenges. Books of written policies will offer very limited help.
