Project Charters Bridge Cultures
Delivered at the PMI NJ Chapter International Project Management Day Seminar
Recorded November 2, 2006
Presented by Alex S. Brown, PMP. Find out more about Alex at http://www.alexsbrown.com/.
About Alex S. Brown, PMP
Two Most Political Words: Yes and No
- These words are political in any culture and any language
- They are NOT simple or easy
- US-Japanese company provides many stories and examples
- You can overcome cultural problems and differences
What does “Yes” mean?
- “I agree”
- “You have my complete support”
- “You have my authorization”
- “I am listening”
We need to know what “Yes” means!
- Project managers cannot be left wondering if they have authority
- Teams need to know their objectives
- Executives need to delegate project delivery
Topics for This Session
- Definitions
- How charters bridge culture
- Authorizing a project
- Negotiating using a charter
- Charters and organizational maturity
What is a project charter?
- Document issued by sponsor
- Authorizes existence of the project
- Provides project manager with authority
- Provides authority to apply resources to activities
- Should provide ROI and other detail
Definition from PMBOK Guide 3rd Edition
Authority, Authority, Authority
- Authority is required
- ROI and other details optional
- Documentation optional (?)
- Charter can be VERY short
How Charters Bridge Culture
- Written document explaining proposal
- Brought before a committee including both U.S. and Japanese executives
- After discussion, charter is either approved or rejected
- Eliminated questions and uncertainty
Use of Silence
Key part of the meeting
“Let the decision emerge from the silence”
Benefits for Japanese Staff
- Better at writing and reading English
- Less jargon in written proposals
- Acronyms spelled out
- Can read at own pace and translate for each other
- Formal meeting
- Opportunity for group discussion and decision
Q: Different process to bridge cultures?
“Is there a difference between the charter you would put together to bridge culture gaps and a regular charter? Because to me they seem like the same thing.”
Benefits for Japanese Staff
- Better at writing and reading English
- Less jargon in written proposals
- Acronyms spelled out
- Can read at own pace and translate for each other
- Formal meeting
- Opportunity for group discussion and decision
Benefits for U.S. Staff
- Get a clear, official decision
- Decision recorded in meeting minutes
- Anyone can follow the process
- Replaces misunderstood commitments based on hallway conversations
Charter Template
- Keep it simple and short
- Minimal information
- Title
- Description
- Objectives
- Size
- Criticality
- Risk of Doing
- Risk of Not Doing
- Interdependencies
Project Charter Process
- Idea
- Opportunity Document
- Chief Officer and other approvals
- Present to executive committee
- Approved opportunities are projects
The Charter Answers Key Questions for Negotiations
- Who gave you the authority?
- How much authority did you get?
- Why is this so important?
- Any negotiator, naysayer, or skeptic will ask these questions
Cultural Negotiation Obstacles
- Hard to get to “no” in Japan
- Can be hard to get follow-through on commitments
- Charters allow everyone to “save face” because they clearly come from above
- True conflicts brought back to executives to solve
Q: Is silence only for US staff?
“You were talking about the delay in a meeting. They do not answer a question, and there is a long silence in a decision. Does that seem to be the case because you are American project managers and they are Japanese, and they need time to think, versus if they were in Japan with all Japanese committee members, the Japanese project managers with the same culture, would they make a decision faster versus the delay?”
A father and son…
Photo by Peter Hermeling (Pinkvelden)
Son wants to go to Tokyo
Photo by Jan Nunnink (BigBabou)
Who will run the farm?
Photo by Nico van Geldere (vangeldere)
Q: Do you use translation services?
“What is the role of translation services within your job? Do you use it?”
Charters Demonstrate Organizational Maturity
- Document decisions to authorize projects
- Clear starting point for planning processes
- Tie projects to organizational strategy and plans
- Control authorization of projects and allocation of resources to them
Benefits of a Formal Process
- Executives decide early
- Start-up of new projects is controlled
- Authority is clear and well-documented
- Audit, financial, and governance controls are satisfied
- Portfolio of projects balanced and prioritized
Process Can Overcome Culture
- Concrete, written procedures less open to interpretation than informal tradition
- Repeated, consistent procedures eliminate uncertainty
- Procedures can create a new, shared culture
- Formal decision and sign-off eliminate misunderstandings
When does “Yes” mean “Yes, You Have Authority”?
When it is documented and approved in the charter!
Any organization will benefit by improving their project charters
Q: What is the role of informal communication?
(Question inaudible over the noise)
“You’ve been talking … informal communication … brainstorming … opposition … how would you do that?”
Contact Information
Contact me anytime with questions about project management:
Alex S. Brown, PMP
alexsbrown@alexsbrown.com
http://www.alexsbrown.com
Real-Life Projects, Inc.
http://www.rlprj.com
Project Charters Bridge Cultures
Delivered at the PMI NJ Chapter International Project Management Day Seminar
Recorded November 2, 2006
Presented by Alex S. Brown, PMP. Find out more about Alex at http://www.alexsbrown.com/.
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