OK, so I’m sure it’s not the most shocking headline you’ve ever read….but I have to talk about this.  Looking back on my experience in the classroom (which was a total accident in the first place) I am astounded at the similarities between it (teaching) and project management.  Actually, if I take it one step further, I’m just generally amazed at how much I LEARNED being a teacher.  Perhaps it was my youth.  Perhaps it was my open mindedness to the students.  Perhaps it was just how much I actually enjoyed it.  I really can’t put my finger on it…..but I’ll say this with 100% confidence:  I learned more about myself, my abilities (or lack there of) and the need to find the right people to lean on to get things done than in any other position I’ve held.  It propelled my ability to organize a group of people to complete a task to extraordinary heights and it sent my confidence to lead soaring to new levels.  To coordinate the efforts of a large group of people to make something real is what I truly enjoy and I had no idea until I was tossed in front of a room of 23 people for the first time.

If I step back a bit to discuss the “accident” comment in the first paragraph…..

In 2001, I had been working for an IT company in Omaha, NE that had some real potential.  I worked in system and network design and I was learning a ton from my peers.  The owner was extremely cool (I looked up to him) and I thought life was grand.  Turns out – the owner was drinking more than selling and things took a turn for the worst…..I was out of a job.  I spent the next couple of months being very selective with my interviews and trying to find “THEE” job.  It never panned out the way I thought it would.

One night, a good friend I had made at another company (oh by the way – keep your eyes out for my post about networking, I’m gonna tell you how I made thousands in college….just by making friends….once it’s done I’ll post the link here)…..OK – I digressed.

Like I said, one night a good friend of mine that I hadn’t spoken to in quite some time gave me a call.  He had no idea I was out of work.  It was near the holidays and a teacher at his college had walked out, for personal reasons I’m not privy too, but it left a class of 23 without an instructor.  It was a class on networking (CompTia’s Net+ to be exact).  He asked me if I would be interested at all and felt that I would be a good fit.  I’m traditionally outgoing and don’t mind speaking in front of a group…..but teaching?  First – I thought the money would be (enter word here) and secondly I had ZERO experience.  Who the H-E-double hockey sticks is going to hire me to teach…at 23…with NO experience????  Well….it’s good to have friends.  I interviewed for about 20 minutes and was hired on the spot from my friend’s recommendation by the dean of the college.  It was a Friday afternoon and I had until Monday to have the curriculum down and ready to teach.

I spent that afternoon at the school gathering all the materials I could for the class.  Of course the book, the former teacher’s notes, handouts, tests that had already been taken, etc.  I had no idea what I was going to do come Monday, but I leaned on my friend.  He told me to just be myself, give a good introduction, let the class know that regardless of how disappointing the situation is that we’re going to make the best of it.  All of a sudden – I felt about 1000 lbs off my shoulders.  This I could do.  For some reason I pictured this image of myself with a oddly trimmed beard and perfectly round glasses acting all intellectual…..NOT ME (well not really anyway).

I decided over the weekend that I wasn’t going to teach at all on the first day.  I was going to get to know everyone, what they liked to do, what their strengths were, where they grew up, etc, etc.  Well, the first day came and went and overall – I think it went pretty well.  I could sense some disappointment and uncomfortableness with me – but that was natural.  Heck – I felt the same way.

After the first week, I talked with the director of the technology dept about the approach I can take to teaching.  I explained to him that I don’t have any traditional teaching experience and that I only know how to learn by “doing” and that I thought it would be best for the class if I could take that approach.  It turns out – I could pretty much change the curriculum as I wanted.  So I did.

I developed a methodology that I think worked very well….and well….it was all I knew how to do.  I lectured, of course, when it made sense – but it was as much of an interactive session as possible.  For the most part, I divvied out responsibilities to the class putting each person or persons in control of various roles to get the “project” done.  I would assign the system admin role to someone.  The PC tech role to someone.  The support role to someone.  The analyst role to someone and so one.  I had no idea at the time, but it was actually my first experience as a PM.  It worked…..astonishingly well.  People were learning so much by using hands on techniques rather than just reading and taking tests.  I honestly was amazed at what folks were learning and I was learning with them!  Yes – I created assignments that I didn’t even know how to do.  I served in a consultant role to the group, bringing in experiences and pointing them in the right direction.  It was pretty cool – and as it turned out, sprouted a career change.

In 2007, while working for a vendor in banking operations – lockbox processing to be specific – we went through a merger with one of our stiffest competitors.  It was one of the most challenging processes I have ever encountered, as most mergers are.  Our company had been growing, our leaders were young and dynamic and our employees and customer base were family like.  We built our foundation on providing superior service with a superior product and boy was it evolving.  Then came the merger……….

The company I worked for several years and counting was setting the bar, as far as I knew, when it came to implementations and integrations of lockbox processing systems.  No task was too big, no conversion was too tricky…we had all the right pieces in place and all the right processes.  It was a well oiled machine that ran off of friendly service, easy to understand pricing models and dynamic project processes.  I have still to this day worked for a company that so smoothly adapted to change during a project life cycle.  Everyone knew there role, everone knew who to go to get things done. 

Growing up in Nebraska, I likened our successes to the Tom Osborne era of Husker football.  Leadership that had been in place for a very long time, turnover was nearly non-existent and everyone just knew how to do “it”….whatever “it” was. (if you aren’t familiar – Tom Osborne is known for having a staff and processes in place on his football teams that have hundreds of years combined experience together.  Few members of his staff left his side during his 25 years as football coach of NU)

After the buyout, things changed drastically.  Naturally, there was no need for 2 presidents, 2 vps of sales, 2 vps of service, etc, etc – so there was some fat trimming done there.  This signaled to many that it may not be a merger at all – but rather – a buyout of our customer base, our distribution channel and folks were on the move.

Our new leadership was quick to come in and not only ignore our current processes, but also begin implementing procedures we had never had to follow before.  We had a fixed pricing model for service, the new model was time and materials.  We had no PMO with no “formal” processes or documentation, the new model had a PMO and countless processes and documentation requirements.  We had an ability to change very quickly the scope of a project, the new model was turtle slow and allowed for little or no flexibility……or at least so it seemed.

Turnover was rampant as folks were leaving left and right out of frustration for the lack of understanding where we came from by the new company.  Many felt that feelings and ideas were completely ignored and there was a general sense of forced upon change with no ability to provide input.

In the end, there were two different vice presidents from the new company that came in and tried to steer the ship….but to no avail.  The turnover was too great and the customer base that came with our company was furious at the changes too.  How is it we all of a sudden bid our services costs at one price, only to turn around and bill MUCH more than that?  Well – because we went from a fixed pricing model to time and materials and no one…and I mean NO ONE….had a (enter word here) clue how to estimate time and materials.  On top of it all, we moved much slower and were beginning to provide poor service. 

The purchasing company decided to make a risky, yet very strategic move and brought back a valuable resource from the original company.  The previous vice president of service came back to help out, lead the entire group of people that were part of the original company and was made an executive committee member of the new larger company.  This instilled confidence, trust and most of all a sense of ownership back to the employees.  A familiar face to get us back together.  In addition, proper training was provided for all the new processes (and old ones that came back and/or stayed) and everyone had a say….or at least was led to believe so.

All in all there some huge lessons learned and the old model and new model could actually work in harmony and make things better than they ever were.  A hybrid of the two companies processes was about to happen and it began to pay off big time.  Better documentation provided better clarity to “what” was being done, which in turn provided a better ability to bid out services, which in turn provided an ability to service the customer better, which in turn made customers more happy….OK – you get the picture.  In addition, if there were changes in scope, we could now charge for those whereas before, we had no proof that the scope had changed.  It was very clear what was bid, when it was going to be done and how long it would take.  Any variation of this agreement would require change documentation, in favor of either side (the customer or the company). 

With the fixed pricing model and minimal documentation – we were at the mercy of our customers.  Our customers were like family….they were very close to us and we got along great….but just like some family members we have – they would take advantage.

I guess the real point of this entry points back to the title “Processes can evolve!” (notice the exclamation point!).

If both companies come in with open minds, move carefully, yet swiftly and avoid the “forcing” of policies and procedures without due diligence….there is a high probablity of success, especially if both companies were successful individually (which was the case here).  It’s a matter of playing to everyone’s strengths and taking the best of all worlds into consideration.   I think both companies in this situation had fault to claim and I imagine that is the case with most mergers.  If leadership can omit the paranoia from the general population of the company (easier said than done) and get folks to realize that most are not out to be malicious – but rather to do good, sound business – there can be great benefits in a merger similar to this.  Doors can open for employees from both companies, new things can be learned and ultimately the experience will pay off big time in a persons career…….