Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

There is a type of project that will not only create a product, but will also cure all ills in an organization. “Get well projects” exist largely in fantasy.

There is a type of project that some of us know as a “get well project.” Such are usually found in organizations that have major problems. The get well project will not only create a new product or service, but it will also cure all the major problems.

Got problems? Find a get well project.

Easier said than done. This is largely because get well projects rarely exist in reality, but are the objects of fantasy and wishful thinking.

Get well projects are easy to identify. They begin with a description of current problems in the organization. Such problems occur over time and can be traced to poor management. They end with a description of a new product or service that has nothing to do with the current problems. It is this dissociation that characterizes the project. Unrelated but major problems will go away.

Sorry. Doesn’t happen. Problems grow slowly. Solutions to such also occur slowly with time, patience, and diligence. That is a major appeal of the get well project: it wipes out all problems quickly and without effort.

Hmmm, solving problems quickly and without effort. Yes, that is the stuff of fantasy.