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Volume 10, Issue 38;   September 22, 2010: The Politics of the Critical Path: I

The Politics of the Critical Path: I

by

The Critical Path of a project or activity is the sequence of dependent tasks that determine the earliest completion date of the effort. If you're responsible for one of these tasks, you live in a unique political environment.
A section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston in 2008

A section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston in 2008. This parkway was constructed above Interstate 93, which passes under Boston in a network of tunnels that comprise part of a project that was known as the Big Dig. The contractor responsible for construction near the area pictured was Jay M. Cashman Inc., which depended on information supplied by the Big Dig's management company, a partnership of Bechtel Corp. of San Francisco, and Parsons Brinckerhoff of New York. It is now known that prior to Cashman submitting its bid, Bechtel had been remiss in delivering necessary site information to Cashman, omitting important items and delivering other items late. Cashman went ahead anyway, and submitted a winning bid of $218 million. Before and during construction, Bechtel delivered additional information that caused Cashman to have to revise its plans numerous times and resulted in overruns of more than 60%. For the full story see the investigative report by the Boston Globe. Photo courtesy The Norman B. Leventhal Walk to the Sea.

When you're responsible for a task in the critical path of an effort, you can be subject to scrutiny and pressure that others are not. Preparing yourself for this environment helps in two ways. First, you'll perform better. More important though, political operators are more likely to leave you alone if they believe that you're prepared and able to deal with political tactics. So let's get prepared.

There are different ways to be in the critical path. Your task can be waiting, unable to begin or suspended, because it depends on other tasks not yet complete, or is waiting for something else not yet available. Or it can be already completed, having delivered something essential to another task that is in the critical path. These different states give rise to different politics.

In this issue, we examine what happens when a task is waiting for a resource, information, or a critical piece of infrastructure. In three weeks, we'll look at what can happen to completed tasks.

A task might be in a wait state for a variety of reasons. Some examples:

  • It depends on a deliverable from a previous task, and that task isn't yet complete
  • It needs the assistance of someone who isn't yet available
  • It needs some other unavailable resource
  • It needs information from a previous task, or a vendor, and that information isn't available.

Even if the task is unable to begin work, it's susceptible to pressure tactics.

Waiting for a deliverable or for information
If the task needs a deliverable from another task, or information not yet available, you might hear, "Assuming that they will give you result X, can't you start building from there? Then if they give you something different, you can always change it."
Cooperating is risky unless the item in question is absolutely predictable. Usually it's not predictable — it might be very different from what was expected. If that happens, "you can always change it" could become a very expensive and time-consuming strategy.
Waiting for people or access to resources
If lack of access Even if a task is
unable to begin work,
it's susceptible to
pressure tactics
to specific resources is the issue, political pressure usually takes the form of insistence on the equivalence of some alternate resource: "Use this/him/her instead." Rarely are the substitutes actually sufficient.
Accepting the substitute is usually unwise. If the substitute is a less experienced or less skilled person, the result can actually be negative progress.

To respond to these pressures effectively, demonstrate with plausible projections the real risks of using the suggested tactics. Then request appropriate contingency reserves to cover those risks. The size of those reserves might not persuade those exerting pressure to relent, but you will have achieved some level of political protection by making a solid case for a more prudent course.

In three weeks, we'll examine the fate of tasks that are already complete. Go to top Top  Next issue: Management Debt: I  Next Issue

303 Secrets of Workplace PoliticsIs every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

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This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.

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Most of us have to talk to other people at work. Whether to peers, subordinates, or superiors, sometimes we must convey information that can be complicated when delivered in full detail. To convey complicated ideas effectively, avoid suspense.
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Many idolize the no-nonsense manager who says, "I don't want to hear excuses, just make it happen." We associate that stance with strong leadership. Sometimes, though, it's little more than abuse motivated by ambition or ignorance — or both.
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See also Workplace Politics for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Mark Twain in 1907Coming July 16: Responding to Unwelcome Events
Unwelcome events have two kinds of effects on decision-makers. One set of effects appears as we respond to events that have actually occurred. Another set manifests itself as we prepare for unwelcome events that haven't yet occurred, but which might occur. Making a wrong decision in either case can be costly. Available here and by RSS on July 16.
A USA road sign indicating a winding road ahead, with an initial curve to the rightAnd on July 23: Microdelegation
Microdelegation is a style of delegation in which the delegator unintentionally communicates the task to the subordinate in such detail and so repetitively that the subordinate is offended. As a result of this delegation style, many subordinates feel distrusted or suspected of fraud or goldbricking. Available here and by RSS on July 23.

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