You can track the performance of projects in many cases to the amount of face to face contact that takes place during the life of the project. E-mail is an amazing tool that helps to deliver messages at a lightning pace, and often this gives people the impression that face to face contact can be minimised. Many times have I seen people sitting in the same office reciprocating with e-mails whilst both are seated - and it's an ongoing conversation! Looking into someone's eyes when you have a project update meeting can tell you so much more that by just reading an e-mail. I accept that there is a justification for efficiency, but is the balance right in your organisation? Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' http://www.smartspeed.co.uk

When you look back at the end of a working day - what do you see? Do you see a whole raft of accomplishments that will help to improve your business performance, or a load of inconveniences that only served to hinder? If you do spare a couple of minutes at the end of the day to review these annoyances you can often start to find patterns emerging. When you find a pattern you can then do something about it. One of the best ways to do this is to use the '5 Why' tool to delve down into the root causes of the problem and solve it once and for all. It never ceases to amaze me how many other problems just disappear at the same time - obviously they are symptomatic of the original problem. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' http://www.smartspeed.co.uk

When a discussion around improvement is taking place it is pretty easy to see who is interested in taking part and who is not. One of the most interesting discussions that takes place is when you turn around the discussion to the people who we need to convince. Asking them 'how would you be better off from doing this?' or 'what could you get out of this?' are two questions that usually throw up some interesting answers. When people see the improvement as just a necessity that is going to make life harder for them we have an opportunity to discuss with them the positive aspects of the project, and if we can get them onboard (as usually happens when doing this) we can find a better solution that really does leave them better off than when they started. Next time you find yourself getting stuck 'negotiating' an improvement feel free to try asking the above questions. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

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.

When paperwork piles up in the office it is usually pretty easy to spot (the desk looks less tidy for a start). When this pile up occurs on the computer system it is less obvious and appears to be less of a problem. This is until you need to find a file on the system and you find yourself trudging around the folders and files struggling to find a logical way to find what you want. Many organisations don't communicate where files are to be stored and as a result people lose time that could be used for more profitable activities. Information should flow around a business and not get stuck in the hands of a few people, or in intrays that help people to lose track of time. Find where your information gets stuck, and then re-design the way information flows - if you want a smoother running operation that is! Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk