“Big” projects impress CEOs

A friend of mine just became a new employee. In this instance the word “employee” is loosely defined since the job is on contract. Asking if it would turn into full-time employment, my friend just answered that “everyone is on contract today.”

According to consulting company McKinsey & Co., about 90 per cent of white-collar jobs are in jeopardy today. Consequently, there’s increasing pressure on the white-collar worker to demonstrate clearly, precisely and convincingly how he or she can add value.

Having spent my career in an agency environment, I’ve learned it isn’t the day-to-day activity that gets noticed, but the “big” event or the innovative ad campaign that wins praise from the CEO.

One can see how you can also apply this “project” concept to a corporate environment, particularly in human resources. Ask yourself how much of what you currently do can easily be automated? What project have you been involved in that’s been noticed by the people upstairs? Can you easily become replaceable with a contract worker?

Attaching yourself to a significant project can make you visible, and provide you with a voice. The project could become the company’s proudest, breakthrough moment and even changes the core competency of the organization.

Take, for example, the revival of the Volkswagen Beetle. Perhaps the original mandate was to recommend features that consumers would likely look for in a car.

However, the team probably discovered that nostalgia was the company’s greatest asset and therefore recommended the reintroduction of the Beetle. Not only did this project revive the company’s glory and generate additional revenue, it also increased sales of all Volkswagen models.

The key is to identify a project with potential and then maximize the opportunities from it. This may mean stepping beyond your job boundaries, scoping the entire organization for inefficiencies. Ask yourself if the troubled area could be remedied with results that would have a substantial effect on the company’s profitability and reputation. Take it one step further: could this project make a positive contribution to the company’s history? Will it have a lasting impact 10 years from now?

A client of mine once said that the key to success within a company is gaining a reputation as the “problem solver.” He had risen through the ranks of a very large computer company by volunteering for the messy jobs. He volunteered to launch a product that had little planned market potential. He turned it into a major seller by redefining the benefit of the product and identifying a whole new market segment that the company hadn’t previously targeted. A once quiet business-to-business company had suddenly stumbled into the consumer market. A high-profile television campaign raised the visibility of the project, and before long, the company had become a household name.

Next, he chose to manage a money-losing department rather than one that was more stable. Why? Because he had an opportunity to fix the many problems within the failing department. He turned an obscure area of the company that no one cared about into a star performer. Those results made everyone believe that the company could achieve the impossible.

Once you’ve found that ideal project — one that has an opportunity to have a significant emotional and economical impact for your company — begin discussing the “challenge” with colleagues. Ask them whether they think the situation is a major issue, how they think it affects the corporation. Build employee support before taking it to your boss. Once people have begun addressing the issue, it’s easier to recruit resources to solve it.

Don’t ask for a large budget, at least not initially. The bigger the budget, the more the accountability and the higher the expectations will be. With a small budget, you can be freer to think and be creative without the constant demands for results.

Assemble a dynamite team that feels as passionate as you do about the project. Select people with strengths that complement your weaknesses. It’s also advisable to include external professionals who can offer expertise in a specific area. These outsiders not only bring a legacy of best practices, but are also unclouded by your corporate culture. True innovation stems from doing something that’s never been done within the company. Only by looking at a problem in a whole different light is that possible.

Recognize that you will never be totally independent. Company politics may impose obstacles and restrictions if a project is deemed high priority. Therefore, keep a low profile until you begin to see results and feel secure that the project will ultimately achieve your objectives.

This does not mean that you should keep the project a secret. On the contrary, you need to show a little to as many people as possible. This will do two things. The feedback will help you improve, correct and perfect while garnering widespread support for your project. Once someone feels that their input is being used, they begin to feel a sense of ownership. They’ll begin to support and lobby for your project, and help you overcome obstacles.

Recruiting the believers and selling your project should be a top priority. The idea is to put the team in place to manage the project, to generate corporate support for it and to successfully launch it. The rollout is the height of the project: the product launch, the new customer service computer system, winning the best-managed company award.

Then you walk away. Once a project has hit its stride, its appeal begins to fade. At that point, you want to hand over the project and begin looking for another one. Soon the tech people will figure out a way to automate your project, reducing the need for person-power. You’ll be back where you started.
Moving on to the next big project will ensure your reputation as a maverick innovator, and keep you in good standing within the company.

After all, you’re only as good as your last project.

Chris McCarten is a founding member of Myriad Marketing Inc., a Toronto-based corporate communications and event management company. For more information visit www.myriadinc.com.

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