This Focused Performance Weblog is a "business management blog" containing links and commentary related primarily to organizational effectiveness with a "Theory of Constraints" perspective. TOC is noted for its applications in Project Management and Multi-Project Management (Critical Chain) and Operations Management (Drum-Buffer-Rope), as well as in Marketing, Strategic Planning and Change Management (TOC Thinking Processes). If you are on an archive page, current postings are found here.
The scale of an idea is not in proportion with the scale of the workforce needed to generate it. That is, an idea is the result of quality of minds, not quantity of minds. A small, diverse group can think of a big idea just as – or probably better – than a big like-minded group could. [...] Creation, on the other hand, is proportionately scaleable - meaning it often requires more people and equipment for bigger jobs. As the project scope increases so too will the number of people needed to service it. In this case, a client needs to select the best creative supplier who is also competent at the full scope of the project. This is where clients get sucked in to thinking bigger is better because there will always be capacity if the project grows.
It's not only a belief in "bigger is better," but also "more is better," that gets organizations into trouble. More ideas are better if they are used as a pool of opportunity that is carefully considered and pulled from as capacity allows. More (or bigger) ideas amount to less, however, if they are acted on prematurely, without regard to what the organization can realistically accomplish.
This is the raison d'etre of portfolio and pipeline management. These processes serve as essential filters between the tactical ideas associated with a strategy and the project and resource management necessary to understand their size and understand the organization's capacity and capabilities to deliver them effectively. When I get involved with clients in the realm of "multi-project management," addressing the use of the pipeline is as important as the issues of individual project execution and control.
If you think your project organization suffers from trying to do too much, I'd be interested in hearing from you regarding the symptoms that define that suffering. Use the comments or contact links below.
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