Lee | The Practical PMO

Good decisions require great prep work.

I help execs make better choices by explaining every choice with:

- What they’ll gain
- What they’ll lose
- How long they have to decide
- Who else has already bought in

If I think about work on the weekend I:

- Set a 10 minute timer
- Write everything I’m thinking about
- Once timer goes off return to weekend mode

Before you write a work email, think:

“Would I like this email to be forwarded?”

My favorite part of project management is helping people with their exec presentations.

90% of the time it’s about:
- Fewer slides
- Not just reading the slide
- Clear reason why exec should care

Good: We need an SOP

Great: We wrote an SOP

Incredible: We automated the process instead of documenting the confusing steps.

Deadlines need to be practical.

I am not frantically refreshing my email at 11:59PM to confirm something arrived by EOD.

I make things due when I have time to take action on the results - like by 12PM next day.

“By EOD” is such a vague deadline.

I make things due when I have time to take action on the results - like by 12PM next day.

Projects can help you get promoted.

But they also can be a huge waste of your time and cause you to miss your day job metrics.

Project Management Tip:

The best meeting titles give CONTEXT.

People are busy, let them know in the meeting title how you plan on using their time wisely.

Meeting names are a missed opportunity.

❌”Meeting”
✅ “45-min Project X Brainstorm (+Preread)”

Sitcoms tell an entire story in 22 minutes.

Your meeting is probably too long.

How to maintain work life balance:

If you get a new project added, say:

“I can make time for this if we deprioritize X. Does that align with your goals for me?”

Before scheduling a meeting, ask yourself:

“Is this the best use of everyone’s time?”

Before rolling out internal changes, answer:

Am I asking the team for feedback, or am I telling them what is changing and when?

Hint: Asking is always better than telling.

I help people filter my emails.

Subject line: “Project Name” …..

It’s the little things that show I care.

Decision speed drives meeting frequency:

Fast-paced = Frequent short meetings
Slow-paced = Infrequent long meetings

How to have fewer Friday meetings:

Block your Friday calendar with:
“Focus Time: Ask before Scheduling.”

It isn’t perfect, but it’s a start.

Form > Email > Meeting

1) Write out your questions
2) Type them in a form
3) Email link to form

Now you have a structured set of responses.

I am blown away by the incredible variety of birds you encounter on a regular basis!

Instead of thinking of your coworkers as people with unlimited time to help you, think of them as contractors whose time is valuable.

Think of this next time you book a meeting.

This is my favorite one yet! Great photo :)

Email before sending a meeting request.

I would rather waste two minutes of someone’s day asking if they are the right person to join a call than invite them to a useless meeting.

Team burned out? Try this 👇

1) Eliminate, consolidate, optimize meetings
2) Ask them to list all their tasks
3) Rank from least to most draining
4) Partner with them to fix the draining tasks
5) Ask how to avoid burnout in the future

I used to send thank you notes to every member of my project teams.

Now I send “impact” notes to their boss.

Find ways to praise people’s work.

Project plans are forecasting tools

Use them to see if you are wasting future time.

Daily standups are for the team’s benefit.

If the team says they are a waste of time, listen to them and find another way to stay aligned.

Use your project plan to forecast how much work you still have left to do. Then ask:

Are there better ways to use this time?
If yes, cancel the project.
If not, keep going.

As a project manager I focus on:

- Minimizing meetings
- Maximizing async tools
- Overcommunicating wins

Treat everyone like their time is valuable.

How to own a mistake at work:

Before you tell your boss, ask yourself:
1) When did you realize it was a mistake?
2) What is the current impact of the mistake?
3) What is the future impact of the mistake?
4) What have you done to fix it?
5) How can your boss help?