What I do is easy

I was up to my old tricks again and Guerrilla Working at Accenture’s offices in Cobalt. I had been there for a meeting and had some time before my next appointment and so blagged a desk. As it was the start of the year, the place was very quiet and I had the choice of many. Being me, I chose to sit among the team I wanted to understand better and continue to develop a relationship with.

I was able to join their conversations, when appropriate and learn more about them as individuals. I was reminded of how Guerrilla Working is such a great way of engaging with people. We should all try it more often, me included.

While I was there, one of the people said how easy project management was. She couldn’t understand why people find it so difficult as it was, after all, just common sense. I noted that the trouble with common sense is that it is neither common or makes sense to many. She is a highly educated and talented individual and has no problem in arranging multiple tasks in an order and holding the complex interaction between these tasks in her head. Not everyone can do this however. It is a skill that many can be taught but for some it comes naturally. Project management is clearly a sharp tool in her toolbox.

Earlier the same day I had a coffee with David, a friend of mine who has been very supportive since I set up on my own. He is more technical than I am and I couldn’t do some of the things he does, yet in many ways the roles we get involved in are quite similar. We observe problems and opportunities, analyse them and break then down into their component parts, put them into a logical order to resolve and get on with it.

When we describe what we do this way it all seems very easy. Perhaps it is to us, or perhaps we have developed these skills over the years of experience we have had in our previous roles. What is clear though is that these things are not easy to everyone, otherwise we would not be required. Not everyone, especially when they are in the middle of something is able to break it down conceptually.

These are the sharp tools in mine and David’s toolboxes.