The P.L.A.N. Collaborative Project Management Framework
— Transforming Organizations, Revitalizing Communities and Developing Human Potential
The following is adapted from a chapter in the Collaborative Change Library (Cady S.H., Gorelick C.K., & Stiegler C.T. Perrysburg, OH: NEXUS4change, Forthcoming 2020) by Cady, Matthews and Stiegler.
In his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, quotes psychologist Paul Rozin, an expert on disgust: “A single cockroach will completely wreck the appeal of a bowl of cherries ― but a cherry will do nothing at all for a bowl of cockroaches.”
Likewise, a poorly crafted collaboration plan will completely wreck any worthwhile cause ― but a worthwhile cause will do nothing for a bunch of poorly crafted plans.
A Plan describes a purposeful series of steps that engage the right people at the right times in order to ensure the right change occurs in an accelerated fashion with efficient use of human energy. The P.L.A.N. is a Collaborative Project Management Process framework for your Meetings, Workshops, Sessions, Events, Projects, Initiatives, & Programs.
The acronym P.L.A.N. represents a simple, yet highly effective means of accomplishing any type of project, framing the four key elements of project planning as follows:
P urpose & Outcomes ― the WHY? of your effort;
L eaders, Stakeholders ― the WHO? of your project or initiative;
A ction Steps & Execution ― the WHAT? of your work; and finally the
N eeds - your budget and resources ― the HOW? of getting to the desired impact.
At the core of the P.L.A.N. is its intent: Collaboration. As such it is built for use by groups, teams, and whole organizations. It is simple, understandable, and user friendly: An accessible and scalable tool that can be adopted across any system or organization. Used as designed, it can save time and money for the individual, team, or organization undertaking any project or initiative. The P.L.A.N. takes an evidence-based approach that builds on well established project management practice to achieve predictable results that are on target, with what was intended. Clarity in identifying these four elements will set the stage for success for any project program or initiative. Its simplicity and adaptability is the result of an effort to leverage the patterns and parallels inherent in more complex project management approaches. This means that intended robust results will be achieved – in-spite of unexpected issues and challenges that may evolve during your project.
It seems simple enough. Haven’t we all, at one time or another, had to play nice in the sandbox? So, if we’ve all been there, why does collaboration still serve to baffle and evade us? Collaboration requires cooperation; but, it entails much more. Collaboration is the most important; and yet, most overlooked aspect of project management and project planning. Why do leaders, facilitators, and project managers often lack in the focus on collaboration? Often this is because we spend too much time in the “doing” and not nearly enough time in the “planning.”
Who Needs to be involved?
While purpose is first, both in the acronym for this framework, as well as in guiding your effort, you cannot decide or create that purpose alone. The first step in planning your effort is to establish who needs to be involved and give input for your project. Whether you are the project sponsor assigning the team members, or the project manager delegated to solicit the team, the WHO is critical. Some projects are small enough, short enough, or so specific, that a team may not be warranted, however, there are always stakeholders: those who are impacted positively and negatively by your project, and those individuals who can and will positively and negatively impact your project. Leverage the power of many, by forming a team that can offer input and contribute to your success. Make a list of all sponsors and stakeholders and be sure to include them in the conversation (this is a must).
When selecting a project team, give careful thought to the ownership a person has and how they will contribute to the effort. They may be subject matter experts or closely involved with some aspect or have a stake in the project. Ensure that your team members that are responsible and accountable are “in-touch” or knowledgeable about the topic. If they are not, provide those insights to those with a desire to contribute.
While we won’t suggest that you have to seek out negative people or naysayers, note that these same people may be key stakeholders and should not be ignored. Collaborating with them may be critical later to get their buy-in and support of your project. There is also often important information in the negativity you may be confronted with. It may simply identify the areas of resistance to the intended outcomes of your project, or provide valuable inputs to how specific aspects of your project are being perceived. It also is worth noting that, in our experience, often those initial naysayers, who feel heard and have their input valued – can become your projects biggest champions!
Your project team should constitute a maximum possible representation of the diversity in the system you are looking to impact. We recommend that for larger projects, this group should be no less than six and no more than twelve individuals, not counting the project manager. A team of less than six poses the risk that one or two people dominate the process and conversations. More than twelve can result in people feeling limited in how they can contribute.
Purpose & Outcomes?
Identifying the purpose, the mission of your project, its credo or calling, the WHY you do what you do must be done with your team and involve the input and voices of your stakeholders. In its most fundamental state it may be because your boss, the senior leadership team, the board, or some other managing or governing body said you have to do the project. That’s OK. Write that down. But think further. What might be their purpose in assigning this project? While the mandate of a project may be very clear in what the board, your supervisor, or your leadership team has asked – your team must own the deeper purpose of your effort to be most successful.
Developing a compelling purpose and outcomes must be focused on the end results, the impact and difference your project will make. Here are the three seemingly simple steps that we find your team must explore to get to your purpose:
1. Start with a list of outcomes and benefits. What are they?
2. Ask “In order to do what?” to translate action items that are likely showing up on your benefits list into outcomes statements.
3. Ask, “If all of these outcomes are achieved, what is different for us? What shifts?” Develop a general one to two sentence statement describing that difference in a way that each of your team members can own and repeat at the drop of a hat. That difference is your purpose.
To distill purpose from outcomes and separate outcomes from action items that must be completed to get to those outcomes, you might think of the following logic chain:
Note that we often list outcomes as purpose. It is easy to get these two mixed up or use them interchangeably. Think of outcomes as items you can assess, check of as “achieved” or completed toward a next step. In contrast, your purpose tends to be a higher level intention, an impact that is difficult to measure, but is clearly accomplished by detailing the outcomes your project has achieved. The exception to this rule is that sometimes one of your outcomes is so clearly in focus that it becomes your purpose. Ask yourself, “How are those we serve better off (i.e., significantly different) because of what we are doing? How will the organization be different? How will the organization be better?” Does that feel a little lofty? It should! Remember, you are defining the mission for the project you are committing to accomplish.
What are the Action Steps that get Purpose done?
To ensure clarity in action requires clarity in intention. Create a concrete set of purposeful actions to take in the short-term with phases for the long term. Assemble a list of all the steps needed to accomplish your project. Include team members, stakeholders and timelines, and document, document, document. Use a timeline or other tool to track the steps. We recommend you consider a collaborative roadmap that connects your P.L.A.N. to the workstreams of individuals and teams completing action steps in their area of expertise and or responsibility.
When in doubt whether an action is truly necessary, or just part of the way you or your organization has always done things, ask “Why” to refocus on purpose, and “In order to what?” to stay connected to your outcomes. Remember, it is easy to get lost in your PLAN-ning and confuse outcomes with action steps. Again, the test to differentiate between the two is placing each in a sentence with the phrase: “in order to.” For example, “We have to complete [i.] in order to achieve [x.]. Your [i.] is an action step, while the [x.] is a desired outcome.
What do we Need to get to Impact?
Ensure you have the resources needed to complete the actions and achieve the purpose. This is your reality check: What are the materials & tools, talent and personal, policy & procedures, approval & authority, budget & funding, as well as attitudes & behavior we need to get to our intended co-created impact? One way to keep track your needs is to identify the five Ts:
1. Time (hours, deadlines, etc.),
2. Talent (staffing and personnel),
3. Treasure (budgets and funding),
4. Ties (connections and networks) and
5. Tolerance (attitudes and behaviors).
Congratulations, if you have read this far, you have tackled the basics. Using the P.L.A.N. successfully involves some getting used to and making a choice to adapt it as part of your routines. Start by leveraging the P.L.A.N. framework for our meetings to try it out. Our users tell us that they clearly see the value of the framework when they plan each meeting in terms of:
- What is the Purpose of this meeting?
- Who needs to be there to Lead the meeting and who needs to be present for us to have an effective conversation and make the decisions that need to be made?
- What is our meeting Agenda?
- What Needs to be in place to have a successful meeting from room set up to video conferencing?
Go ahead! Try it.
Check out NEXUS4change’s webinar series of 30-min. high-impact change tool talks. Check our events page [www.NEXUS4change.com/events] for more on the power of Design Teams, the Change Formula, Collaborative Roadmaps, Appreciative Benchmarking and more.