Why is it so difficult for us to say "no?" I’m not just talking about project managers, I mean everyone – but let’s focus on those engaged in project and portfolio management for a moment.
As a project manager working with a client team, an exec team, a content creation team, and all the other outlying groups that keep a project going, I was often asked by one or another of the group members to add here or tweak there. If it was reasonable and didn’t have any overt negative consequences I would usually say OK. Big mistake, as it turned out. I inadvertently set a precedent of always saying yes, and so when one of the creatives suggested what he felt was a very cool addition to the spec and I said "no" he 1) flipped out, and 2) took it personally.
I believe it’s incumbent on a good PM to let the team know at the outset of a project that all request and suggestions for improvements are welcome, but that few will be acted upon. Each request would have to face the following questions (at a minimum):
1. Will the change add significantly to the outcome of the project? Just because it’s cool doesn’t mean it’s necessary.
2. Will the change adversely effect resource allocation, costs, or completion time? If the answer to any of these is ‘yes’ the next question has to be:
3. What can we give up to incorporate this new aspect or element?
The upshot is we all want to be the good guy and our instinct is to be agreeable and say "yes" to everyone. The fact is that in any work management process we need to include our instincts as a viable project management tool, and carefully review the project for any and all potential ramifications of a requested change. Then, make the thumbs-up/thumbs-down decision based on the results of that review.
How do you handle the yes/no issue?
