Vain Goals Talk

Motivational "business" books that talk common sense sell. "Have a goal, work on it, achieve it, celebrate". Wow, million copies sold. Other great books hardly sell at all and end up in discount bin. What idiots do not know you need a goal before you can achieve. The Dilbert comics is known for laugh at stupid vision statements. This is especially true in large companies. Why do you laugh? because you know they are stupid.

Just what "goals" you need to define? Other than "Have a successful, bugfree product that generate revenue." Employees have goals too: do enjoyable work, earn a living. Don't ask me for a goal every year.

I was asked to attend a company meeting with a roomful of employees to listen to each other's progress and status of some giant project. What a waste of time. An email of status will do. After long rounds of for-loop of project managers talk we were asked to watch a kids soccer video, followed by a speech from a motivational business strategy book author. So a bunch of 6-year-old kids surround a soccer ball and try to have a game. Some kid is even chasing a dog instead of the ball. It even tries to create laughter by having one kid finally able to lead the ball, but to the wrong goal. Cheap way to generate a smile, didn't work for me. The kids clearly do not have a strategy to win. It tries to make the impression that we are just like the kids when we are without goals.

The coach offered a chart with arrows leading to the winning kick. The kids didn't understand, and then the not-so exciting game went on with a disappointed coach. The author comes in, saying you need goals clearly communicated to acheive great results (scenes of World Cup players with GOOOOALs showed) or you look like a bunch of kids.

Look, we are not kids anymore. We don't play soccer (or work) like the kids do.
I didn't need to watch that video.

However, does the top-level project manager have a clear vision like the coach in the video? It is often NO. This is harder than a soccer game. It takes knowledge of hardware/software and knowledge of all moving parts. It is not just assign impossible tasks to some poor guys at the bottom of the coporate ladder.

It is not just putting timelines where the only possibility is success either. It is not drawing diagrams about parts that you don't know anything about either.

The successful project is SMALL, meaning small team and small scope. Focused. Then you build bigger projects with proven components. You should be absolutely sure certain things are possible before doing. Hire "architects" who actually know how to code and not just producing impressive diagrams. Endless talk and year long cranking out useless documents get you nowhere. Start working! Get prototypes out fast. Get everyone understand whole process. Use solid technology and not flaky new technology unless you know it will work.

Stop talking. Get Moving. Make the "architects" actually do the work.