August 29, 2011 02:15 by
andrey
If you haven’t done so already, you should read Part 1 first as it gives context to where these methods come from.
Having specific best practices methods in place for managing your foreclosure investment project will ensure that your planning and management are thorough and consistent. Having a system is in place that you can use over and over again with predictable results is key having a stress free and profitable investment experience.
In continuing with our nine management methods, we pick up with number five.
5. PICK THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE ROLE OF PROJECT MANAGER
The project manager may not be you. It probably shouldn’t be you if you are extremely busy with a job and perhaps other responsibilities. Good project management is something that requires daily attention and care.
If you are not the project manager then the one you pick should definitely be by recommendation only. Work with someone who is experienced in managing projects with a strong track record of driving projects to rapid completion with good communication throughout the process.
A key point to remember about delegating the project management role is to be sure and let the person you choose do just that... manage the project. Micro managing your project manager will make them ineffective and ruin the whole point of having the project manager role delegated.
Simply check things periodically to ensure that all is on track and on budget. Unless intervention is required, let the manager do their job.
6. FOCUS ON DELIVERABLES RATHER THAN RESOURCES
The overall focus of your management methodology must be on reaching the project milestones. Achieving your deliverables is what will bring about a successful execution of your exit strategy and subsequently a successful project.
Another way of saying this is to focus on results on busyness or activities. Don’t focus on what you are doing and spending to much time on it but focus on creating a result with what you are doing that is geared towards moving on to the next milestone.
7. FOCUS ON IDENTIFYING AND SOLVING PROBLEMS EARLY, QUICKLY, AND COST EFFECTIVELY
There will always be unexpected surprises on every project... whether those are found in the property, created by a player on your team, or a change in your circumstance to just name a few. Simply know this, accept this, and have a plan for dealing with it effectively and efficiently.
In previous points it was mentioned to have a focus on results and to also have a strong communication plan. These to best practices used consistently will go a long way in helping an investor identify and solve problems early, quickly, and cost effectively.
Always focusing on progresses forces issues to come up because you cannot mark a “check” on achieving a milestone until you are truly there. Having a strong communication plan means that any surprises will be dealt with rapidly and properly.
Another point to consider is to empower your team with a level authority in solving problems within their area of work. Set a budget limit of say $100.00 and any issue that arises which can be solved for less than $100.00 then the team member has the permission to automatically go ahead and take care of it on the spot.
This will prevent and bottlenecking that could be caused by you or other members of the team on something trivial and easy to solve when initially discovered. Delaying a small fix and quickly become a large problem if it delays other work.
8. MEASURE PROGRESS PERIODICALLY
Periodically means daily if you are the project manager and once every 2-3 days if you aren’t. If you have been working with the same project manager for a while and they have completed many projects for you successfully then once a week could be okay.
At the end of the day though you must remember that the buck stops with you. You will ultimately own all failures and successes. It is your right and duty to double check on things. Don’t micro manage, this will only impeded good people from doing their good work, simply be sure to keep a pulse on the project.
As the wise saying goes: people respect what you inspect. Inspect that everything is being accomplished according to plan and on schedule.
9. USE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE AS A TOOL AND NOT AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR GOOD PLANNING
This is important to always remember. Tools and technologies are there to enhance yourself and your teams abilities but they do not replace fundamentals. Fundamentals such as good interpersonal skills, good decision making based upon earned value management (EVM), improvising along the way when surprises are delivered to you.
Always put priority on the human element and relationships while using technology to simply improve things such as time management, scope management, deliverables, and so on. Humans are what make projects successful... not just tools
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