A VARIATION ON THE LAZY PROJECT MANAGER S WEEK

A VARIATION ON THE LAZY PROJECT MANAGER'S WEEK

Dee Carri, a friend of mine, invented the following variation of the Lazy Project Manager's week.

Monday

As well as doing everything else on Monday, why not write the status report on Monday as well? Dee told me about this. She writes it and pins it to the wall. She says "This is what I want to be reporting on Friday, and once I've written the report I don't like to change it. You can be sure I'll move heaven and earth rather than go back and have to edit that report."

Tuesday “Friday

If you write the report on Monday, then there is nothing to do on the other four days but follow the Lazy Project Manager's day.

Some people like to do the goal setting and the status reporting in the one meeting, but I don't think this is a good idea. It tends to blur the distinction between a target and an achievement. People say things like "I didn't quite get that done by then, but don't worry it'll be ready in the next few hours." Note that in this situation you already have a slip on your hands. By separating the two things there is no ambiguity, fuzziness or confusion about what was and was not achieved.