Sometimes when you are in the middle of a project it becomes hard to keep your focus on what you are meant to be doing, I mean really meant to be doing. You've been through the initial stages of a project and you have converted the requirements of the project into a nice series of milestones and actions. Then you get into the project and often it can turn into a mechanical piece of work, and the focus on what you need to be achieving gets missed. I write this because I have seen this happen time and time again, re-focussing on the result that is required is essential so that we can choose the next steps effectively. If you are into the 'plan - do - check - act' method of improvement you will know what I am talking about, plans change. One of the most effective ways to keep this focus is to update your project plan in a rolling fashion. Choose a horizon that is suitable for your project(s) and a time frame when to update. Some people like weekly, some monthly - it la

When a business is struggling to deliver its products or services one of the first areas you can review is the way in which resources are allocated. The method that is used can reveal a lot about how effective the resource is used, and hence how efficient the delivery of a project can be. OK - I'll stop saying resources - people and machines is what I am talking about. Do you know how much available capacity you have at this moment in the business, what about next week or next month? Coming up with simple ways to track commitments versus available hours can make huge differences in the ability for an organisation to deliver. Often the act of putting a tool in place for doing this can yield interesting insights in their own right that can help improve the business directly. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

At any one point in time there is usually a clear priority that needs to be addressed. This makes sense when you think about it. One particular task or objective that will give a higher payback on our efforts than any of the other items that are on our to-do list. We mainly continue on however working through our list of actions without paying attention to the level of payback, or impact, that could be generated. By doing this very short evaluation we can change the output of our day and keep ourselves focussed on what needs to be done. When discussing this with others the comment of '...but I know what needs to be done' is pretty common. I agree, most people do know what needs to be done. However, there is often a better sequence of activity and I can tell on which days I have considered this, and which ones I have not. Spend a couple of minutes to re-evaluate your to-do list, and see what the impact of the actions are - you might find a better way to tackle your work.