The Google dictionary definition (OxfordDictionaries.com) of firefighting in business is incomplete. It defines firefighting as, "the practice of dealing with problems as they arise rather than planning strategically to avoid them." I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot saner that what I've experienced. I've found it to be more like: "the practice of applying temporary fixes to urgent problems, rather than resolving them permanently, whilst being continuously interrupted by other problems, many of which had received temporary fixes earlier, but which have erupted into flame again." Avoiding problems strategically is indeed a preferred alternative, but in true firefighting mode, we have no time for that. We just smother the flames as best we can and move on.
Planning strategically to avoid problems is a way to avoid falling into firefighting. But in firefighting mode, by definition, we can't plan strategically, because we're too busy fighting fires. So how do we get out of firefighting mode once we're in it?
Begin by realizing that when any part of the enterprise finds itself fighting fires, something about the enterprise culture is likely among the root causes. And unless the enterprise culture is your responsibility, don't try to change the culture. We never do well when we try to do someone else's job. (See "Stay in Your Own Hula Hoop," Point Lookout for June 27, 2001, for more) So what can we do?
The general strategy is to be the best, most effective firefighter you can be. Let's begin with some tactics you can use immediately.
- Plan the next 30 minutes
- In a In a fire-ridden environment,
making longer-term plans is a
waste of time and resourcesfire-ridden environment, making longer-term plans is a waste of time and resources. The general chaos will undo any longer-term plan before the email or text announcing the plan even gets read. - Having no plan at all is trouble too; so do make plans, but only for the immediate present. Example: for meeting agendas, allocate time to each item. Another: Decide to spend the next 15 minutes focused on just this one problem.
- Let some fires burn
- Firefighting mode persists, in part, because the people fighting the fires can't get far enough ahead of the fires to extinguish them. Trying to extinguish all the fires thus prevents extinguishing any of the fires.
- Focus your resources. Free up resources, and reduce the risk of additional distracting fires, by dropping objectives that have limited impact on other objectives. If any of these objectives are already in flames, let 'em burn if you can.
- Set backfires
- Wildland firefighters sometimes set backfires to deprive the wildfire of fuel, thus limiting its spread.
- Take a hard look at objectives that seem to be progressing, but which aren't absolutely essential. Regard them as fuel that could burst into flame at any moment. By abandoning these objectives proactively, you limit the chances of additional fires, and free up resources for fighting the fires you already have.
We'll continue next time with some tactics that require just a little preparation. Next issue in this series Top Next Issue
Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts is filled with tips for executives, senior managers, managers of project managers, and sponsors of projects in project-oriented organizations. It helps readers learn the subtle cues that indicate that a project is at risk for wreckage in time to do something about it. It's an ebook, but it's about 15% larger than "Who Moved My Cheese?" Just . Order Now! .
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Related articles
More articles on Project Management:
- Project Improvisation as Group Process
- When project plans contact reality, things tend to get, um, a bit confused. We can sometimes see the
trouble coming in time to replan thoughtfully — if we're nearly clairvoyant. Usually, we have
to improvise. How a group improvises tells us much about the group.
- Managing Non-Content Risks: II
- When we manage risk, we usually focus on those risks most closely associated with the tasks at hand
— content risks. But there are other risks, to which we pay less attention. Many of these are
outside our awareness. Here's Part II of an exploration of these non-content risks, emphasizing those
that relate to organizational politics.
- Wishful Interpretation: II
- Wishful "thinking," as we call it, can arise in different ways. One source is the pattern
of choices we make when we interpret what we see, what we hear, or any other information we receive.
Here's Part II of an inventory of ways our preferences and wishes affect how we interpret the world.
- Unresponsive Suppliers: I
- If we depend on suppliers for some tasks in a project, or for necessary materials, their performance
can affect our ability to meet deadlines. What can we do when a supplier's performance is problematic,
and the supplier doesn't respond to our increasingly urgent pleas for attention?
- The Risk Planning Fallacy
- The planning fallacy is a cognitive bias that causes underestimates of cost, time required, and risks
for projects. Analogously, I propose a risk planning fallacy that causes underestimates of probabilities
and impacts of risk events.
See also Project Management and Project Management for more related articles.
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- And on February 5: On Shaking Things Up
- Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. General skills are necessary, but specifics are most important. Available here and by RSS on February 5.
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