Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
Sticky Steps TM - ‘Takes the
terror out of planning!’
TM
A learningbyte from All Change! The Project
Leader’s Secret Handbook by
dr_eddie_obeng@pentaclethevbs.com
This presentation is best viewed as a slide show.
It lasts just under four minutes. You can advance
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Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
"Any one who does not realise that the true nature of
planning is to continuously gain and maintain
perspective and that the true nature of co-ordination and
control is to spread and use the perspective amongst
stakeholders, and that the two things are two separate
processes will find it difficult to consistently succeed with
change leadership or the delivery of projects."...
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
Change comes in several flavours. Sometimes
you are doing ‘More of the same in
different/more demanding conditions, but you
have the core experience at other times You
know where you are, but need to find out
where to go and that's demanding. At other
times you know where to go but you don't
know how to get there And there is my
favourite flavour, when you don't know
where you are, don't know where to go but
you know that you can't stay here!
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
The last three are the hardest to plan. How do
you plan when you have decided the approach
or method but not the exact outcome (Called
Movie Change) or when the goal is agreed but
not the method (Quest Change) or when all
you know is that you have a problem or an
opportunity but are unsure of what the
outcome should be or what the method you
should use should be or sometimes even why
you are trying to deliver the change! (my
favorite - Foggy Change).
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
I have invented a method of planning
which works even if you don’t know
WHAT you are trying to achieve or
HOW you are going to achieve it. It
will give you a time-scale, highlight
resource requirements and can even
give you an approximate cost!
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Would you like to use a simple planning
method that works effectively for all the open
types of project change?
You would?
TM
I call this planning method Sticky Steps
because it uses Sticky ‘post-it’ type notes.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
The first thing you do is to write on a flip
chart the following two phrases:“ In order to have “…
“We must must have”….
Just follow the example on the next few
screens.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
“VIRTUAL FLIP CHART “
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Copyright Obeng 2000
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but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Then you take a sticky note and write on it your best
guess of your change or project outcome or objective.
Now pretend that it is say, six months on and the change
or project has been completed. How do you feel? Great I hope!
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now we will pretend that we are in a discussion
reminiscing (looking back in time) on the things we had
to do to achieve the outcome we were after...
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
“ VIRTUAL FLIP CHART”
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
Developed new ways in
which to work together
WHAT?
across the organization
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
VERY IMPORTANT: Start each post it with a verb ( a
doing word) in the past tense. Do not use bullets but
write out clearly the exact description of the actions
which MUST have been carried out in the past.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now you have identified the overall aim (‘the big
What’).
Now you can guess the large steps that you must have
gone though.
What MUST you have had to have done to achieve this
objective? (Big hint - The ideas should fit easily into
the sentence as if it were a conversation)
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
Developed new ways in
which to work together
across the organization
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Found out which processes
we currently run and
establish if they are good
or bad
Brought my colleagues up
to speed
Brought my boss up to
speed
Followed through the
business to establish the
chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Once you have created your list of the things you MUST
have done you need to sequence them in order of
action.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Developed new ways in
which to work together
across the organization
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Found out which processes
we currently run and Followed through the
establish if they are good business to establish the
chains of activities we
or bad
routinely carry out
‘Earlyish’
‘Lateish’
Brought my boss up to
speed
Brought my colleagues up
to speed
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now take the original sticky step and move it out of
the way on the flip-chart.
Take the first (early or easy) step from the list and
place it where the original sticky step was .
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
‘Park out of the way’
Developed new ways in
which to work together
across the organization
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
Found out which processes
we currently
run and establish if they
are good or bad
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Brought my boss up to
speed Brought my colleagues up
to speed Followed through the
business to establish the
chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now you repeat the same
actions as you did with
the original objective:You guess what actions
you MUST have had to
have done to achieve this
outcome
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Developed new ways in
which to work together
across the organization
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
Found out which processes
we currently run and
establish if they are good
or bad
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) ……. Followed through the
Followed through the
Brought my colleagues up
Brought
my boss
up to the
business
to establish
to speed
speed chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Recorded them
business to establish the
chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Discussed them with the
people involved with them
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Check these latest actions to see whether they could
be started tomorrow morning. That is, check if they are
TASKS which a single person can be accountable for and
knows how/what to do.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
If they can’t, then break them down even further using
the same sentence until a single person can be
accountable for the actions and knows how/what to do
(don’t go down to ridiculous levels such as ‘In order to
have found out my stakeholder needs I must have
....picked up the phone’.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
If they can, then move to another flip chart and draw up
a time schedule.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Steps - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
“Sticky
VIRTUAL
FLIP CHART 2“
TM
WHO
NOW
WEEK 1
SOON
MONTH 2
WEEK 2
MONTH 3
WEEKS 3/ 4
LATER
QUARTER 2
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now you have the time schedule drawn up you
can move the sticky step notes from the first flip
chart onto the schedule.
There will be the short term ones which will fit in
the 1st/2nd week & soon, and the high level ones
that will be done later on in month 2 or 3 or in Quarter 2.
A special point for QUESTS:- Use several colours of sticky
notes; one colour for each route of implementation. When you
come to schedule be sure to schedule your activities in
parallel.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
StepsCHART
- ‘Takes the
“Sticky
FLIP
“terror out of planning!’
TM
WHO
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
SOON
Discussed the activities
with the people involved
with them
Followed through the
business to establish the
chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Recorded
them
MONTH 2
Brought my boss up to speed
MONTH 3
QTR 2
Brought my colleagues up
to speed
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now you have the time schedule drawn up with
all the sticky steps notes attached, you can allocate
the names / skills / jobs needed to carry out the
activities.
This also identifies all the stakeholders who will be
involved in the project.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
“ FLIP CHART “
WHO
TEAM
LEADER
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
SOON
Discussed the activities
with the people involved
with them
Followed through the business
to establish the chains of
activities we routinely carry
out
Recorded
them
SECTION
LEADERS
MONTH 2
Brought my boss up to
speed
MONTH 3
MONTH 4
Brought my colleagues
up to speed
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now you can invite all the stakeholders to
help you formulate the actual schedule by
inviting them to repeat this planning
exercise together.
You wouldn't have known who to invite
until you did the initial planning yourself,
and they can add extra ideas and
suggestions.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM- ‘Takes
- ‘Takes
thethe
terror
terror
out
out
of ofplanning!’
planning!’
“ FLIP CHART “
Developed new ways in
which to work together
across the organization
“ FLIP CHART “
WHO
IN ORDER TO HAVE … ( VERB ) …….
Found out which processes
we currently run and
establish if they are good
or bad
TEAM
LEADER
WEEK 1
WEEK 2
SOON
Discussed the activities
with the people involved
with them
Followed through the business
to establish the chains of
activities we routinely carry
out
WE MUST HAVE…( VERB ) …….
Followed through the
business to establish the
chains of activities we
routinely carry out
Brought my boss up to
speed
Brought my colleagues up
to speed
Recorded them
Recorded
them
SECTION
LEADERS
Discussed them with the
people involved with them
BACK
BACK
NEXT
NEXT
MONTH 2
MONTH 3
Brought my boss up to
speed
Brought my colleagues
up to speed
MONTH 4
BACK
BACK
NEXT
NEXT
Re-run the Sticky Step planning activity
gathering new ideas and getting the
stakeholders to own their activities
within the time schedule.
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Now if you are a neatness freak or if you want to impress your
boss take the plan you have generated and feed it into some
computer software to create multi-coloured charts!
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
‘…one change leads to another!..’
I believe that the ability to effectively deliver change and
to manage projects are not only the most critical and
transferable management skills but they are also a
way for you to drive and lead your life as you wish in
the New World I hope Sticky-Steps keeps you
moving forward - one sticky step at a time!
Kindest,
Eddie Obeng
Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified
Sticky StepsTM - ‘Takes the terror out of planning!’
Sticky Steps - ‘Takes the
terror out of planning!
TM
A learningbyte from All Change! by
dr_eddie_obeng@pentaclethevbs.com
All Change! is published by the FT ISBN 0273 62221 8
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Copyright Obeng 2000
This material may be shared
but not sold or modified