About Harlan Kilmon, PMP

Once, having the initial meeting for a major, long-term engagement, one of the assigned participants for the project was a bit early for the meeting. Before anyone else came into the room they said to me, "Nothing is going to change. No matter what you do, nothing will change. No matter what [Name] wants, nothing is going to change."  This particular project was extended 2 times due to "lack of progress" and at the end, nothing really substantive had changed.  Everyone on the teams did their best, I felt sufficient and well-intentioned, but nothing really changed.  The issue is that the CEO/Owner of the company simply ignores any performance that does not lead to direct technical discovery and thus, direct line to revenue. If any employee(s) spend any time from direct production they are treated as "wasting time" or being "unproductive or unfocused."  So, even though the intentions and future outcomes of this project were laudable, it was not "safe" for the employees to actually pursue those improvement goals. 

It is not an uncommon experience for business owners, team leaders, and team members to wonder why their well-voiced intentions don't "seem to work out". Corporate statements and team charters express aspirations for "quality, effectiveness, customer-forward, etc." but "nothing seems to happen."

There are often disjoins between the points-of-view of management and employees. Management may communicate that the new computers distributed to the workforce will "enhance productivity" but the employees hear the message, "You will get to do more work for the same pay."  Alignment of the goals and intentions must have a "safe path" in order for participants to fully invest and pursue new and alternative ways of work/behavior.