allPM.com :: Positive Leadership in Project Management Series: Oyakudashi by Frank P. Saladis PMP

Positive Leadership in Project Management Series: Oyakudashi by Frank P. Saladis PMP

Published on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 02:39 PM

I often look for ideas about leadership by reading and reviewing articles in magazines, newsletters, and other publications. Sometimes the connection of a subject to leadership is not always readily apparent and requires a little creativity. In other cases, the connection seems to be completely clear and (I hate to use the phrase) �?it's a no-brainer.�? An article I read recently by Kathleen Carr entitled �?A New World Order�? about the vision of the CEO of Tokyo based Ricoh Co., a technology company, made such a connection. Oyakudachi means �?walking in the customer's shoes.�? Most organizational leaders will agree that the success of their organization is directly tied to customer satisfaction and meeting customer needs. Unhappy customers seek other suppliers and if the customer base erodes too greatly, the result could be devastating to a company. To truly understand the customer, it is important to see things from their perspective. Many organizations call this being �?customer driven.�? Obtaining customer input, analyzing their needs, and then providing products and services that are easy to use, meet functionality requirements, are acceptably priced, and reliable are key success criteria and should be emphasized throughout any organization.In the project management environment the word “customer�? refers to two important groups – the actual customer who will receive and use the product of the project and the internal customer, the project team members and key stakeholders. In the project environment it is important to remember that the customer is the next person in the process . Many authors of project management books sand articles explain that project management is a series of processes that bring about a result. Many experts in project management will emphasize the need to focus on the process and not the end product. The process, if followed correctly, will produce the desired result. It is important to note that the desired result may actually be different from the planned result. It is the desired result, defined by the customer, that the project team and project manager should be attempting to deliver. How do you get to the desired result? Follow a proven process that includes requirements definition, validation of requirements, acceptance of requirements and change control while looking for opportunities for improvement both in the process and in the product.

Getting back to the statement that the customer is the next person in the process, it is important for the project team members to view themselves as both customer and supplier. Each activity assigned to a project team member will produce, in most cases, a deliverable. This makes the person responsible for the activity and the deliverable the “supplier.�? That deliverable is then handed off to the next person in the process who will use the deliverable to complete the activity assigned. This makes the person receiving the deliverable the “customer.�? The customer completes his or her assigned activity and becomes a supplier handing off their deliverable to the next customer. This process is repeated many times throughout the project. The supplier provides a deliverable to a defined customer; the customer processes the deliverable, performs their activity and then becomes a supplier to the next customer. The key here is to establish expectations and acceptance criteria between each customer and supplier. This is where oyakudachi comes in. Learn to walk in the customer’s shoes by first asking what the customer needs. Once an understanding and agreement has been established, the supplier should be able to see things from the customer’s viewpoint. This practice, if introduced early in the project and supported by the project manager and project sponsor, should improve quality, enhance communication, and most likely accelerate the completion of the project.

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Most project managers will agree that customer satisfaction determines project success and success is far more than managing the triple constraint. It is also important to consider the satisfaction of the project team members who are all customers in some way. The customer – supplier model, when applied to projects and supported by the key stakeholders should encourage higher and higher levels of team performance and greater levels of quality. An added benefit might be greater pride in the work performed and a feeling of true satisfaction among team members who have learned the importance of communicating expectations before actually beginning the work.

Oyakudachi is a word worth remembering. It will give a project manager a greater sense of “worldliness�? while encouraging teamwork and better quality. It will make a difference in how projects are managed and provide leaders with a new perspective about just who their customers are.

© 2006 allPM.com

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Frank P. Saladis (PMP) is Senior Consultant with International Institute for Learning, Inc. He has been involved in the development of standardized Project Management Guidelines (PMGs) for the AT&T Corporate Information Technology Services (Corporate ITS) organization and is the author of the Project Evaluation Review Process (PERP). He is the President of the NYC PMI Chapter.

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