Preview Chapter 1

The Skills to Succeed

“My business is to succeed, and I’m good at it. I create my Iliad by my actions, create it day by day.”
- NAPOLEON

Napoleon Bonaparte perhaps achieved more objectives with amazing success than anyone else in history. He undertook an effort to bring order to France in a time of post-revolutionary chaos. He led numerous battles and continuously emerged victorious, often against larger armies. He rose from relative obscurity to be the ruler of all Western Europe in but a few years, using an army that had never before and never since achieved such greatness. He implemented efforts to build alliances, eventually increasing his army to an unprecedented 600,000 strong. He created a civil code that is still in use today (and which was the inspiration for most other civil codes today).

Most importantly, he, and many others, documented how he did it.

It is through these countless documents and memoirs that we can get a sense of what made Napoleon so successful. As a result, we can gain a good understanding of the methods that brought him such success and the skills that made him rise above the pack. With that, let’s begin by examining the skills that Napoleon viewed as essential for any leader—particularly as it applies to project management.

NAPOLEON’S TIMELESS TOOLS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Before we begin, let’s remember that, to benefit from project management lessons, one does not have to have a formal title of “project manager.” On the contrary, anybody who must lead an endeavor, whether as a CEO, a sports coach, a film director, or any other type of leader, can benefit from these universal lessons. So, when we refer to project managers, we are referring to all leaders who choose to manage their efforts as “projects.” And, according to today’s experts, ranging from Tom Peters to the Gartner Group, management-by-projects is the surest path to achieving organizational (and yes, even personal) goals. Fortunately, the lessons from Napoleon’s rise and fall can show us how to be successful with this approach, both in our organizations and personal lives.

As our journey progresses, we’ll explore how Napoleon rose to power, how he grew his empire as much through shrewd diplomacy as through victories in battle, and how he lost it all with several costly mistakes—mistakes that many of us make in our daily working lives. We will examine the Six Winning Principles that guided Napoleon to repeated success, and we’ll look at case studies detailing where he went wrong. But first, we’ll begin with the basics, as Napoleon walks us through his philosophies on leadership. In this way, we’ll build a solid foundation before embarking on our journey. What follows are excerpts from Napoleon’s memoirs, as he contemplated the abilities and values that he felt made him successful: having developed solid skills, such as a good memory and knowledge of mathematics; upholding key values, such calmness and predictability; being visible to those you lead; and understanding the nature of politics.

A GOOD MEMORY

A singular thing about me is my memory. As a boy, I knew the logarithms of thirty or forty numbers; in France, I not only knew the names of the officers of all the regiments, but also where the corps had been recruited, had distinguished themselves; I even knew their spirit.

Napoleon knew, as most modern salespeople do, that a good memory is critical when building relationships. The best salespeople not only know their customers’ names, but know their customers’ family’s names, their likes, dislikes, hobbies, and any other bits of information that help build a relationship. Using the same approach, a project manager can develop better relationships with stakeholders, project team members, peers, and management.

A good memory is also valuable for team selection, for example, remembering certain nuances about individuals that would make them more or less valuable on one task or another. Remembering people’s past successes in general is important. All too often, managers only judge people by their most recent activity, ignoring all of their past accomplishments and capabilities. Likewise, it is critical to remember the factors that motivate each individual, as each person’s needs may be different.

Remembering things about people is only one benefit of having a good memory. Another is the ability to remember the small details that can make or break a project, for example some obscure fact that usually comes back to cause havoc later. The saying, “The devil is in the details,” holds true when talking about project management. Napoleon was known to peruse relevant data and detailed reports from the field throughout the night. It is to his credit that he was able to recall these small details on a moment’s notice, often giving the impression of spontaneous ingenuity (more on this later.)

Finally, an area that most project managers ignore is the art of giving presentations. Building your memory skills can go a long way toward avoiding the much-overused crutch of PowerPoint. There is nothing worse than giving a presentation with your back to the audience and reading bullets from a PowerPoint slide (other than perhaps having to sit through such a presentation). A good presentation should appear natural and energetic, with tools like PowerPoint used as props to illustrate key points through meaningful graphics, rather than the presenter merely narrating bullets that the audience can read for themselves (although handouts should always be given). The basis of any presentation should be built upon a good memory and avoid the overuse of notes and bulleted slides.

Perhaps Peter Norvig’s humorous parody of Abraham Lincoln giving his Gettysburg Address as a PowerPoint presentation illustrates this point best (you can see it on the Web at http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/). Norvig is the Director of Search Quality at Google Inc. and a Fellow and Councilor of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. His parody is included as part of Edward Tufte’s course on information presentation.

So, how can you improve upon your memory and utilize it as well as possible throughout all these activities?

In today’s day and age, people try all kinds of things to improve their memory, from herbal remedies to mental exercises. Probably the best way to remember things (as pointed out in numerous books and articles) is to use the association method, since we all tend to remember things by associating them with something, usually a word or visual cue. In effect, by doing this, we are subconsciously building anchors in our mind between the cues and the memories we associate them with.

Another method that helps solidify things in our mind is repetition (which is why actors and singers learn their lines by endless practice, and why advertisements use jingles and catch-phrases to stick in people’s minds). Through association and repetition, we can remember key facts that would otherwise be lost to oblivion.

Even with the above methods, there is no reason to leave things to chance when you can simply write something down, even if it’s a small “trigger” keyword (assuming you remember to look at what you’ve written). Today, we have all sorts of tools for keeping track of things, from appointment books to PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). In addition to calendars and to-do lists, all PDAs come with a memo section that is invaluable for capturing notes about people, projects, ideas, or anything else you need to recall at a moment’s notice. Of course, if you’re giving a presentation, it’s ideal not to rely on the use of notes, but if you do, index cards with brief trigger words are quite acceptable. All in all, it is hard to dispute that a good memory could do well to serve any leader, whether in business or otherwise, and fortunately there are many tools and techniques today that can help.

THE POWER OF MATHEMATICS

To be a good general, a man must know mathematics; it is of daily help in straightening one’s ideas. Perhaps I owe my success to my mathematical conceptions; a general must never imagine things; that is the most fatal of all. My great talent, the thing that marks me most, is that I see things clearly; it is the same with my eloquence, for I can distinguish what is essential in a question from every angle.

Mathematics probably isn’t high on most project managers’ and leaders’ lists of important skills to build. Yet, almost all phases of a project, from project selection, to task estimates, to risk analysis, to decision-making during project execution, require some sort of mathematical skills.

For project selection, knowledge of Return-on-Investment (ROI), Internal-Rate-of-Return (IRR), and other selection techniques is essential. For cost estimates, it’s important to be able to calculate costs accurately, including variations based on risk factors. For quality analysis, it’s critical to understand statistical sampling and control charts. For proper decision-making, it’s important to understand risk probability and be able to perform decision-tree analysis. In general, planning should not be based on hunches, but as much as possible, on calculations and actual facts.

During project execution, you should be able to calculate where you should be versus where you are in terms of budget and schedule. A tool such as Earned Value Management can help you determine this as early as 15 percent into the project (a good book on this is Earned Value Project Management, by Quentin W. Fleming and Joel M. Koppelman).

For all of these needs—since many of us are not armchair mathematicians—it’s useful to keep a list of handy calculations and algorithms, most of which are included in any PMP (Project Management Professional) Exam Study Guide. A couple of good ones that include all of the calculations a project manager would need (among other tools and techniques vital to any project manager) are: PMP Exam Prep (4th Edition) by Rita Mulcahy; and Preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Exam, Second Edition, by Michael W. Newell. Type the most useful calculations into your PDA or notebook, and you’re well equipped for success.

The bottom line is that, as Napoleon has so astutely pointed out, whether selecting, planning, or executing a project, a great leader, and certainly a great project manager, cannot underestimate the value of building the mathematical skills necessary to make proper decisions. Facts and calculated estimates are always better than guesses and hunches.

COOL AND COLLECTED

The first qualification in a general-in-chief is a cool head–that is, a head which receives just impressions, and estimates things and objects at their real value. He must not allow himself to be elated by good news, or depressed by bad. The impressions he receives…should be so classified as to take up only the exact place in his mind that they deserve to occupy; since it is upon a just comparison and consideration of the weight due to different impressions that the power of reasoning and of right judgment depends…

I could listen to intelligence of the death of my wife, of my son, or all of my family, without a change of feature. Not the slightest sign of emotion, or alteration of countenance, would be visible. Everything would appear indifferent and calm. But when alone in my room, then I suffer. Then the feelings of the man burst forth.

In his memoirs, Napoleon was often surprisingly candid, such as in this case, revealing how he suffered internally while appearing cool and collected to others (a trait he often spoke of as being necessary for a great leader). Of course, this is an extreme example (and probably a great exaggeration), but the point is that a leader cannot appear to subordinates as vulnerable—or worse yet, unpredictable. People do not trust a leader who is inconsistent, irrational, or weak.

With this in mind, if problems arise, either with the project or with some external factor that could impact the team or the leader, it is important for the leader to show strength and confidence. Nothing can unravel a team more quickly than a leader who overreacts or becomes disillusioned. That is not to say the leader should display false bravado or inappropriate cheerfulness, merely a solid, even temperament.

<< CALLOUT: Nothing can unravel a team more quickly than a leader who overreacts or becomes disillusioned.>>

In addition, Napoleon points out the importance of categorizing and weighing news, not only according to its rightful value, but also after considering potentially varying impressions of the same news. There may be unseen benefits in what appears to be bad news, and there may be dangers lurking behind seemingly good news. Overreacting to either good news or bad news can take away from the true picture, and can have an unpredictable impact on the morale of a team.

For example, a leader may want to rejoice when a major milestone has been achieved (and certainly there is some benefit to celebrating small victories), but until all the loose ends are resolved and the expected value has been delivered, the project is not over. The team must still maintain focus.

Likewise, a leader may go on a tirade upon hearing that a team member forgot to do something or that a stakeholder issued a complaint, or may appear convinced that the project cannot succeed, but the fact is that these are merely triggers to see if a process needs correction or if communication needs to be improved. A negative or cynical attitude tends to spread throughout a team like a disease, and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Cooler heads must prevail.

So, next time you find yourself getting all worked up or disillusioned, take time to examine the facts from all angles. Keep things in proper perspective. Be sure to consider the impact of your reaction on your team’s morale and the potential effect on their behavior. Likewise, if you find yourself being elated by good news before the project is over, just be cautious that the team doesn’t misinterpret your elation as an opportunity to relax and lose focus. Most of all, don’t let your emotions, good or bad, get in the way of sound judgment.

GO AMONGST THE SOLDIERS

Nature formed all men equal. It was always my custom to go amongst the soldiers and the rabble, to converse with them, hear their little histories, and speak kindly to them. This I found to be the greatest benefit to me.

One of the things that made Napoleon so popular with his troops was that he was always visible. He’d frequently go to the front lines and mingle with the troops, first to inspire them, but second to get a sense of how they were feeling and what was on their minds. This goes back to building relationships by finding out the details of your team’s lives. Several companies in today’s business atmosphere have a “Be Visible, Be Seen,” policy for their managers (some companies call it “Management by Wandering Around” or MBWA—a term used at Hewlett-Packard and popularized in the landmark book, In Search of Excellence, by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman). As the correlation with Napoleon’s theories can testify, this is certainly a good approach to adopt.

One thing to be cautious of when wandering around, though, is not to micromanage. There is a tremendous difference between being visible and micromanaging. It is one thing to mingle, to ask how things are going or if there is anything you can do to help. In this way, you are in a position to remove any barriers your team is facing. It is another to hover over people’s backs and nitpick about what they’re doing wrong. Better to ask if help is needed.

If you can tell that a correction in course is needed, clarify the objective either privately or generically to the team (if you feel the team could benefit from the clarification). Training could also be suggested as needed. Another way to get a point across is to schedule a joint working session where you can work with the team member (or team) to accomplish something; meanwhile, they’re learning from you during the session in a noncombative way.

The bottom line is that there are three primary purposes for mingling with your team: to build relationships with them (which in turn builds trust), to see if there are any barriers that you can remove for the team, and to get a sense of the team’s morale. It is important not to let micromanagement undermine these goals.

THE FUTILITY OF TYRANNY

Rule cannot be despotic because there is neither a feudal system, a mediatory body, nor a precedent on which it can act. As soon as a government becomes tyrannical, it must suffer in public opinion and will never regain confidence. Therefore, a Council is necessary for unforeseen cases, and the Senate is most suitable for this purpose. In my opinion, there is no such thing as despotism pure and simple. Ideas are relative. If a sultan has heads cut off at his pleasure, his own head is in most danger of all, for that very reason, of suffering the same fate.

Although Napoleon was perceived by many to be tyrannical in his own right (he was strict, but always observed caution regarding treatment of his soldiers and staff), even he knew that, in truth, power is given and not taken. With this in mind, a project manager or leader cannot let the position go to his or her head. Power must be earned by building trust and respect. Trust and respect must be earned by actions and fair treatment of others. That is true power.

As for ambition, although a sense of purpose is good, one can become overly ambitious, tossing all good judgment aside to achieve that purpose. Even Napoleon realized the dangers of absolute power, and suggested some sort of Council (in his case, the Senate) for keeping things in check. Of course, in business, we have executive boards and various leadership councils for this purpose.

Following this principle, a project manager would be wise to appoint a core team, especially for large projects, to insure that all things are considered and to balance out ideas. It’s quite easy to come up with an idea and be so sure it is correct until someone points out the dangers or some new perspective.

That said, there can still, ultimately, only be one leader. It is ineffective to lead by committee. Full consensus cannot usually be achieved, and operations can become stagnant. The leader must consider the opinions and perspectives of the core team, yet must be able to make the final decision if needed. That is not to say that the team should not work together first to solve a problem, nor is it to say that the leader should run amok against the wishes of the team. As Napoleon pointed out, any leader who uses a position of power to act against public opinion is in danger of losing that power.

<< As Napoleon pointed out, any leader who uses a position of power
to act against public opinion is in danger of losing that power. >>

The issue of a leader having the ultimate authority is a tricky one, and some may point to modern democratic governments where a senate and/or some other ruling body has the power to veto or even remove a president or prime minister. For example, let’s examine the United States government’s system of “checks and balances.” The President can veto bills approved by Congress; the Supreme Court can declare a law passed by Congress or an action by the President unconstitutional; and Congress can impeach the President or Federal Court justices and judges.

This is indeed a valid precaution against any one individual or group running amok (although it’s not foolproof), but with the exception of a public company with an executive board and shareholders, there is nothing close to it in the corporate world, and there probably never will be. The best we can do is get as close as we can to a situation where everybody must answer to somebody.

In the leader’s case, as Napoleon pointed out, becoming tyrannical serves no one, and will usually lead to failure, either through recognition of such by superiors or peers, or lack of support by subordinates. The most enlightened leaders will implement a 360° feedback system, where the leader gathers feedback from peers, subordinates, and his or her manager, then compares it with his or her own self-evaluation and makes adjustments accordingly. There are countless software products available on the Internet exclusively for this purpose (as will be evident if you do a search on “360 feedback.”) Of course, a simple Zoomerang survey would work quite adequately. Zoomerang is a valuable, inexpensive tool that allows you to tailor and send surveys via the Internet. It collects and categorizes the results for you, and you can download them as needed. Zoomerang is available at www.zoomerang.com.

That said, even with all of the best intentions and listening to the feedback of others, sometimes a leader faces a dilemma when the apparent right decision is an unpopular one. How far to go in pleasing the majority versus making the right, but possibly less popular, decision, is another tricky subject that we will explore next.

POPULARITY

What is popularity? What is gentleness? … One must serve a nation worthily, but not take pains to flatter the people. To win them, you must do them good. For nothing is more dangerous than to echo people’s opinions and say just what they want to hear. When afterwards, they do not get all they want, they get restless and believe you have broken your word. And if you oppose them, they hate you in proportion as they think themselves deceived.

The first duty of a prince is doubtless to do what the people wish, but the common people scarcely ever want what they say they do. Their will and needs should less be expressed by them than felt by the ruler…

My policy consists in ruling according to the will of the great majority. In this way, I believe one recognizes the sovereignty of the people. In order to end the war in La Vendee, I made myself a Catholic, as a Mussulman I managed to establish myself in Egypt, and as an Ultramontanist I won all hearts in Italy. If I were ruling a Jewish people, I would restore the Temple of Solomon…

At first glance, Napoleon’s words appear to conflict with one another: Be aware of public opinion, but don’t merely echo it in your decisions; perceive what is best for the people, rather than listen to what they are saying. So far, this seems consistent and understandable. Napoleon is admitting that it is vital to be aware of public opinion, yet he is cautioning not to blindly follow it. Just because the great majority feels a certain way does not mean that they are correct. Yet, Napoleon goes on to say that his policy is to rule according to the great majority.

Is this an inconsistency, or is Napoleon merely throwing the public a bone, echoing the Roman sentiment for keeping the masses happy with bread and circuses? Examining deeper, it appears instead that Napoleon is saying that, yes, it is vital to be aware of public opinion; it is even valuable to cater to public opinion wherever possible, yet it is equally important not to blindly follow public opinion, as the public is not always aware of all circumstances, nor are they always correct.

Does this mean that a leader should follow his or her instinct, even if it seems like the world is opposed? Again, the answer is no, as Napoleon has already warned us of the dangers of going against public opinion. It is the rare case indeed that a leader has been successful going against public opinion in the interest of doing what is right (U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s decision to temporarily close banks during the Great Depression to allow time to regroup would seem to be an example of this).

It seems instead that, when the right decision appears to be over the heads of your audience (which, to a project manager, may be peers, subordinates, or customers), the answer, and certainly the safest solution, would be to first verify that you are indeed right and they are indeed wrong, and then, assuming that to be the case, to convince them of that. To verify if you are right, it is important to hear the viewpoints of others (this is where the core-team approach comes in handy). It is also important to consider the long-term consequences, and potentially damaged relationships that could occur (as success in business, as in life, is all about relationships).

If, after all is said and done, and after having reviewed the dangers, you still believe that your decision is correct, the next step is to convince people that they are wrong and you are right. This is the equivalent of convincing a conservative market that they need a new, disruptive technology (one that forces them to do things differently and enter a new paradigm of behavior). Not doing this, and attempting to force the decision, is a risky endeavor.

Fortunately, there are several valuable tools available for creating a compelling case for an unpopular decision:

• High-tech marketing guru Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm model, for marketing disruptive technologies (in which he suggests fully walking through a hypothetical scenario to test the idea’s value and effectiveness, finding a champion to back and test the idea, and marketing to increasingly broader audiences using past successes and peer-group pressure to convince them—the “chasm” represents the gap between the early adopters and the early majority)
• Information design guru Edward Tufte’s approach to presenting data and information, as detailed in his books (particularly Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative, in which he illustrates how scientists could have convinced NASA not to make the ill-fated decision to launch the space shuttle Challenger, by clearly showing causality in a simple, graphic manner)
• Change management gurus Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman-Anderson’s “Transformational Change” model (as detailed in their books Beyond Change Management and The Change Leader’s Roadmap, which stress the need to address the people issues and consider stakeholder perspectives when introducing a paradigm-shifting change)

These tools are not mutually exclusive, as each illustrates a unique point when trying to turn an unpopular decision into a popular one. Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm” model addresses the marketing perspective, Tufte’s model addresses the presentation perspective, and the Andersons’ Transformational Change model addresses the people issues involved. Any leader or project manager would be wise to study all of these approaches.

At this point, some project managers may be asking how this applies to them. After all, they are merely implementing a project. The problem comes in when the project is introducing a product or result that is unpopular. Unhappy or unconvinced people, whether they are customers, peers, or team members, can be one of the most disruptive barriers to successful completion of a project. It is the project manager’s responsibility to remove barriers to success, and therefore the project manager must address these issues in whatever way is possible. These tools can help, and they will be covered in more detail later in this book.

Another thing that can help insure stakeholder buy-in is to create a compelling vision of the end state of the project’s desired product or result. Although circumstances were certainly with him, Napoleon did this effectively when he created a vision of an organized and free society instead of the post-revolutionary chaos that existed. In the next chapter, we will explore this in more detail.

Meanwhile, to answer the question posed by Napoleon, “What is popularity? What is gentleness?” when one is faced with leadership decisions? It is listening to public opinion; keeping the great majority happy; and maintaining good relations with customers, peers, and subordinates, while at the same time:

• Recognizing when a change is needed, even when they themselves may not see it
• Doing sanity checks to insure that your thinking is sound
• Convincing them that the change is needed

Doing this effectively is the mark of a true leader, and one that will be remembered throughout posterity.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The lessons to be learned from Napoleon’s career are timeless—just as applicable to a modern-day project manager or business leader as to a military general in the nineteenth century. From the value of a good memory and mathematical skills; to the importance of being calm and visible; to the virtues of making difficult, but informed, decisions and selling them accordingly, Napoleon’s advice is as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago. And now, with this solid foundation behind us, we can begin the next leg of our journey and see how Napoleon used these skills and philosophies to become the ruler of all Western Europe—and how we can use the same skills to assure success for our projects.

MARCHING ORDERS

Develop a Good Memory

• Increase your memory through association, repetition, and use of a PDA or memo system. It will help you to:
  • Build relationships by remembering people’s names and interests
  • Select the right people for your team by remembering their background, work habits, strengths, and weaknesses
  • Motivate your team by remembering people’s individual needs
  • Recall small details that can come back to haunt you later
  • Make better presentations by avoiding the overuse of PowerPoint as a crutch

Harness the Power of Mathematics

• Calculate—do not guess. Increase your mathematic skills by taking statistics classes and learning useful algorithms. This can help you:
  • Select the right projects, based on calculated costs and benefits
  • Produce accurate estimates that consider risk and probability
  • Judge quality using statistical controls and measures
  • Determine the impact of adding resources, by calculating the additional communication channels required
  • Plan for potential problems using risk probability analysis
  • Make better decisions using risk and decision-tree analysis
  • Predict cost and schedule overruns as early as 15 percent into the project using Earned Value Analysis

Stay Cool and Collected

• Remain cool and collected at all times. This can help you:
  • Promote a positive atmosphere
  • Avoid unnecessary panic by your team
  • Inspire others to act the same way

Go Amongst the Soldiers

• Adopt a “Be Visible; Be Seen.” approach. This can help you:
  • Inspire your team
  • Build trust by getting to know your team personally
  • Be available to address questions
  • Get a sense of how your team is feeling; their concerns and needs
  • Remove barriers that may be impeding your team’s success

Understand the Futility of Tyranny

• Don’t let a position of power trick you into thinking you can go it alone. Appointing a core team can help you:
  • Balance out ideas and gain various perspectives
  • Build trust and respect by demonstrating participative leadership
  • Become more efficient by sharing the leadership workload with others
    
    
• Implement a 360° Feedback process. This allows you to:
  • See how you are perceived by others
  • Make needed adjustments to your style
  • Grow as a leader and manager

Exercise Caution with Popularity

• Listen to public opinion, but recognize when a change is needed
  • Do sanity checks to insure that your thinking is sound
    
    
• If the proposed product of your project is unpopular, confirm the idea is a good one, then implement tools to sell it to the public. Consider the marketing, presentation, and people angles. This can help you:
  • Ensure that you are implementing the most effective solution
  • Decrease resistance to your initiative
  • Maintain relationships that are crucial for ongoing success
    

Preview Chapter 2

A Compelling Vision

“… Sprung from the lower ranks of society I became an emperor, because circumstances, opinion, were with me.”
- NAPOLEON

Napoleon had it easy. He had an ambitious vision of a free and united Europe unconstrained by monarchy—and that vision gelled perfectly with the desires of the French people. In the chaos following the French Revolution, with rebels and royalists still battling, the people were more than ready to accept someone who could give them a sense of order and hope, and yet still meet their needs for equality. And this was precisely what Napoleon offered. After all, it was Napoleon who once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.”

In order to fully appreciate this phrase, it’s important to understand that the word “hope” does not signify unsupported optimism or dreaming of the impossible. Rather, it implies a sense of expectation. And in order to give people a sense of expectation, you must give them a clear vision of what will come—a picture they can grasp.

Of course, a vision without a purpose—a need to fill—is compelling to no one other than its creator. Therefore, any vision of a desired end state must have a purpose—a problem or need that it is meant to address. In Napoleon’s case, the need was clear and shared by all. As project managers, we are not always so fortunate. Therefore, we must work that much harder to define and communicate the problem, and to craft a very clear picture of the future.

But even with a problem to solve and a clear vision of what the end state should look like, we still need a strategy—a way to get from the problem to the desired result. As the saying goes, a vision without a strategy is a hallucination, so we need to develop a solution to the problem—ideally several alternate solutions from which the best can be chosen.

So overall, we’ve defined three elements of a compelling vision so far:

• A problem to solve—a need to fill, giving rise to a purpose
• A strategy to solve the problem
• A vision of the future—a clear picture of the end state of the solution

But these three stages also need a basis for reliable and consistent direction. If this problem-solution-vision combination serves as the ship’s compass, then guiding values are needed to serve as the rudder. Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner recognized this in their recent book, Full Steam Ahead!, where they touted the importance of having “a significant purpose, clear values, and a picture of the future” as the key ingredients of any compelling vision. In Napoleon’s case, the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity—the battle cry of the French Revolution—would serve as the rudder that would guide his actions (at least for a while).

For the time being, Napoleon had all of the necessary elements for success; he had a problem to solve, a strategy to address it, a vision of the future, and guiding values to live by. We can learn much by examining each of these in more detail. We will begin where we should always begin when establishing a vision—with a problem to be solved.

THE PROBLEM TO SOLVE: POST-REVOLUTIONARY CHAOS

Napoleon said in his memoirs: “My throne was raised by the unanimous wishes of the French people.” Indeed it was. In order to understand the problem that so rapidly needed to be solved, it is important to understand the environment at the time. In the late eighteenth century, the French people were tired of injustice and inequality after years of being ruled by a royal and privileged class, so they rebelled. This led to the overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty (in particular, Louis XVI). You may know this as the French Revolution.

The storming of the Bastille prison by the revolutionaries on July 14, 1789 marked a symbolic victory against tyranny, but chaos persisted for several more years. Although the revolutionaries formed a new government, royalists, backed by the kings and queens of other countries (who were not about to see an antimonarchy precedent set in France), posed a serious threat. Even more threats came from revolutionaries who favored total anarchy, and from those who grew impatient with the slowness of change.

By 1793, a new government was formed in France, led by a ruthless left-wing extremist, Robespierre. Not only did he have anyone suspected of being a royalist beheaded, but he began murdering even the moderate left. All over France, people rebelled against the new government, bringing France into further turmoil. Eventually, his own people sent him to the guillotine, and the Terror (as this era was called) was over.

The Arrival of Napoleon

In 1795, a new constitution was created, and a new government, called the Directory, was formed. They were faced with two difficult goals. First, they needed to protect France’s newfound freedom by heading off the persistent royalist plots (many aided by England). Second, they needed to bring a sense of order to this chaotic environment—an environment torn apart by civil war between royalists and revolutionaries. And the people wanted order. They needed order. After years of suffering the whims of a privileged monarchy, and later the ruthlessness of an unbalanced extremist, consistent rules would’ve been a blessing. Unfortunately, this weak and unpopular government wasn’t up to the task. Enter Napoleon Bonaparte.

Up to then, Napoleon had earned a good reputation in the French army, deftly defeating France’s adversaries one by one, beginning with dislodging the English from an important Mediterranean port, Toulon. Napoleon had also won respect in that battle. When his superior officer wanted to postpone an attack due to bad weather, the French government offered Napoleon the chance to assume command and issue an immediate attack. He declined, saying that he had full confidence in his senior officer and instead would convince him of the need to go forward. Napoleon did exactly as he promised, and the battle was won. The senior officer went on to sing Napoleon’s praises, writing to the Ministry of War of Napoleon’s intelligence, bravery, and character. Eventually, through a combination of rousing victories, word-of-mouth, and clever propaganda, Napoleon worked his way up the military and political ladder.

In 1799, a few members of the government secretly identified Napoleon as the only man capable of saving France. The only way to do this, they said, was though a coup. Napoleon, after assuring that the most influential military figures approved, agreed to their plan. The coup was successful and a new government was formed. This government would be a Consulate of three members, with Napoleon as First Consul (a few years later, the 3.5 million people of France who voted would unanimously elect him to this position for life).

His mission? To bring order to France; to protect the values of the French Revolution—Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity; and to craft a new and brighter future for France, where privilege by heredity would have no rank. This was the problem to solve—Napoleon’s reason for being. France was in desperate need of change, and Napoleon was the one to get them there.

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM: TOOLS FOR SUCCESS

This has been an interesting story, and clearly it illustrates the pressing need at the time. But, what of us, as project managers? How can we learn from this? First, let’s recall that Napoleon rose to power by addressing a problem—in his case, the post-revolutionary chaos of France. It is the same in business. A project, whether undertaken to provide a product, service, or result, exists to solve a problem, be it a gap in the market, a needed improvement, or to address a risk or fear.

The challenge for the project manager is to determine the specifics of the problem to be solved, with the ultimate goal of communicating the need the project is meant to address. This is often done as part of the business case for the project, and in theory should be done before the project manager is even assigned. However, in reality, the business case is often weak, if one exists at all. In this instance, it’s critical for the project manager to assist the customer with completing the business case. Not only does this help assure that the project is aligned with a true need, it helps motivate the team and get stakeholders on board as well.

For Napoleon, the problem was clear. But because we are not always so fortunate, we need a few tools to help us get to the bottom of the real problem. One tool for extrapolating the real problem is the application of the Five Why’s, popularized by Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline. In essence, it involves asking “why” five times until you get to the root of the problem. Another tool, as mentioned earlier, is the business case, often part of a request/governance system or portfolio management system. Ideally, the need should be tied to some fundamental business driver. This is where it helps to have some business acumen. An excellent tool for building business acumen is a small, but powerful, book written by Ram Charan, titled, “What the CEO Wants You To Know.” It explains business in its most fundamental terms, using a fruit vendor as an example, and should be mandatory reading for anyone in business, let alone project managers.

Another tool that is good to have, once the problem is identified and the need documented, is a mission statement. A mission statement is not meant to be an inspiring paragraph of fluffy words that everybody ignores (as spoofed in numerous Dilbert cartoons), but rather a statement of purpose. An effective mission statement should address the question, “Why do we exist?”—at least from the perspective of the project. This differs from a vision statement, which depicts what the end state is supposed to look like, addressing the question, “Where are we going?” The vision statement should be developed after the mission statement, since it’s hard to know where you are going until you know why you are going there.

As we have seen, there was no doubt about the problem facing Napoleon and his staff. As project managers, we need to get to that same point. Once we’ve identified and communicated the problem, the next step is to develop a solution. In Napoleon’s case, this meant first getting organized. This next step will often be the same for us as well.

DEVELOPING A STRATEGY: GETTING ORGANIZED

As we now know, before a vision can be crafted, there must be a problem to address, ultimately elaborated into specific requirements. In addition, there must be a solution to the problem—and this becomes the foundation of any vision. Napoleon’s solution was to first organize with his core team—the Consulate (which, in addition to Napoleon, included Emmanuel Sieyès and Roger Ducos). To begin with, knowing that quick and frequent communication was critical, they addressed the people of France with this simple initial statement, which also served to communicate the guiding principles of their regime:

People of France: Swear with us to be true to the Republic one and indivisible, founded on equality, liberty, and the representative system.

The Consuls of the Republic:     
Bonaparte, Roger Ducos, Sieyès

Note that the Consulate specifically mentions “the representative system” (the original battle cry of the French Revolution was “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”). This is a key point, in that without a strong representative system, a Constitution giving rights of equality and liberty would forever be in jeopardy.

Now, with the problem clearly identified and guiding principles communicated, the next order of business was to create a capable organization. Thus, the Consulate next assigned a Ministry of Finance, a Ministry of War, a Ministry of the Interior, and a Senate and Legislative body.

Momentum was key, and a financial system was the first order of business. Therefore, Napoleon declared, “Every day must be marked by one step forward in the creation of a general system of finance.” For motivation, Napoleon ordered that a plan be drawn up to place all flags captured from enemies under the dome of the Invalides (now Napoleon’s resting place), and that the chronology of each victory be captured and engraved on marble tablets. He also had the Ministry of War draw up a plan of operations for the new army. Things were getting in order quickly.

In the coming months, Napoleon’s administration would create the Bank of France and a new Constitution. They introduced the Constitution with this brief, but powerful statement, which managed to address the people’s fears, emphasize strong guiding principles, paint a picture of stability, and declare an important symbolic milestone—the end of the French Revolution and the beginning of the new future—all in six short sentences.

To the people of France: A constitution is submitted to you. It will bring to an end the uncertainties that attended the provisional government in all its dealings, exterior, military, and interior. The Constitution is based on the true principles of representative government, on the sacred rights of property, of equality, of liberty.

The powers it provides for are strong and stable, as they should be to guarantee the rights of citizens and the interests of the State.

Citizens, the Revolution is now anchored to the principles which gave it birth. The Revolution is finished.

The Consuls of the Republic:     
Bonaparte, Roger Ducos, Sieyès

Napoleon and his Consulate went on to implement further improvements, including the creation of the Legion of Honor and the establishment of educational reforms, such as uniforms for teachers and students and classes in letter, arts, and sciences. In 1804, the Code Napoleon was established, which introduced a civil code that is still in use today in France (and the inspiration of many civil codes worldwide). This code introduced principles such as separation of church and state, freedom of religion, no recognition of privileges of birth, rules of inheritance, divorce laws, and most importantly, equality of all in the eyes of the law. In essence, Napoleon organized things.

Choose a Core Team and Communicate Early

As project managers, there are many lessons to learn from Napoleon’s first steps of getting organized. First, Napoleon wasn’t alone. He had a core team to work with—The Consulate. However, as the First Consul and leader, he set the pace and was able to make final decisions. It is also wise for project managers to assemble a small core team, especially for large projects, as we had elaborated on in Chapter One.

Next, Napoleon met with his core team to draft a quick communication. At this point, the ultimate vision didn’t need to be part of the communication, merely a brief statement of purpose—a call to action. When managing projects, early and frequent communication is critical. In fact, according to the Project Management Institute, 90 percent of a project manager’s job is communication, and rightfully so. As Napoleon knew, people need to feel a sense of order, and this need is met by communicating frequently.

Establish an Organization

Once the core team is assembled, and stakeholders have been addressed, the next step is to establish an organization capable of carrying out the work to be done (and often contributing to defining the work as well). In Napoleon’s case, he needed an organization appropriate for managing a country. Because the need will differ by project, the organization may need to be tailored for each instance. For example, a project for developing a software product might require an Architecture Lead, a Testing Lead, a Quality/Configuration Lead, a Security Lead, or leaders for any other major areas of need. A project for designing a new building might consist of a Planning Lead, an Engineering Lead, a Construction Lead, an Administrative Lead, and so forth.

Develop Solutions

The next step is to begin developing solutions, with the assistance of the core team. We can assume that Napoleon and his staff spent hours going over the current situation and various plans and alternatives before deciding on the appropriate course of action. Their solutions would initially be to develop the Constitution and a system of finance, and then to rebuild their military. Later, other needs would be addressed. It is at this point that we too would work with constituents to review alternatives and propose one or more solutions. The ultimate vision hasn’t necessarily been established yet, but this process should get the team going in that direction.

Which brings us to another issue to consider at this stage: momentum. Remember, Napoleon stated that each day had to be marked by one step forward in the development of a financial system. He knew people sometimes tend to get lax just as things are getting organized. The project manager must be the catalyst for keeping things moving. This is also a time to use any sources of motivation, just as Napoleon had asked for captured flags to be hung in the Invalides, and victories to be engraved in marble tablets. This early in the game, it is not always practical or feasible, but it’s something to think about.

It’s also a good time to develop any administrative tools necessary for carrying out the project, just as Napoleon had asked the Ministry of War to develop a plan of operations, and had asked other leaders to develop appropriate plans, forms, and operating procedures. With the need defined, the team assembled, a solution chosen, and tools and procedures in place, the foundation is set. It is now time to begin crafting and communicating a clear vision of the end-state.

A VISION OF THE FUTURE: NAPOLEON’S VISION

We began this chapter talking about Napoleon’s vision of a free and united Europe. But this vision didn’t come out of nowhere. It evolved. An overall vision of a better and glorious France would’ve certainly been tempting, but much too broad to start with. In the beginning, he needed to focus on only a few important things, beginning with improving France’s economy. Thus, he began to build his vision for a more prosperous France. He concentrated on the 36,000 communes of France, with each commune representing 1,000 people. This gave him 36,000 points of measurement.

He called for his Ministry of the Interior to draft a spreadsheet of the status of these communes, listing them under the following categories: those with assets, those whose accounts merely balanced, and those in debt. He also asked that the spreadsheet include the situation among each commune, depicting the number of incidents and gravity for each major issue (what we refer to today in risk management as probability and impact). This would allow him to focus on only the critical issues, and establish a good set of requirements.

He called for the removal of mayors who were not in line with the reforms, knowing that alignment of all management was critical to success. He established an annual system of rewards for those who reached midterm milestones. He then was able to declare his short and long term visions. The short-term vision was to have no communes in debt within five years. The long-term vision was to make all communes prosperous within ten years (bringing those communes whose accounts merely balanced to the category of “communes with assets”). Here it was, clear, measurable, and realistic.

As the economy began to improve, and with systems in place to sustain those improvements, Napoleon began to focus on a broader vision. Specifically, he wanted to create a federation of nations and put an end to monarchy once and for all. Here he recalls that vision, which could, for all intents and purposes, be called a “United States of Europe”:

One of my favorite ideas was the fusion, the federation of the nations, which had been separated by revolution and politics. There are in Europe more than 30 million French, 15 million Spaniards, as many Italians, and 30 million Germans. I wanted to unite them all into one strong, national body. The accomplisher of this work would be awarded by Posterity with its most beautiful wreath, and I felt myself strong enough and called on to undertake this work. When this was done, people could devote themselves to the realization of the ideal, at present only a dream, of a higher civilization. Then there would be no more vicissitudes to fear, for there would be only one set of laws, one kind of opinion, one view, one interest, the interest of mankind. Then perhaps one could realize for Europe the thought of an amphictyony, a North American Congress…

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, through a combination of circumstances, deals gone wrong, and the lures of power, Napoleon lost his way, as we shall see later. But, the point is: He had a vision, and so must we.

Of course, our vision needs to begin realistically too, so we don’t want to create a pie-in-the-sky illusion. Remember, Napoleon built his vision over time. He started with specific goals and objectives, detailing not only how to get the communes out of debt, but what the whole situation should look like in five years. He then went on to establish his ten-year vision—having all communes profitable. As things began to fall into place, only then could he focus on the broader vision of a united Europe, and even that was only after fate, circumstance, or whatever it was, led to the assimilation of other countries into Napoleon’s empire.

Now, to create a vision of our own that can evolve and flourish over time, we should account for and consider some other factors. First, we, as project managers, must understand our role and limitations with regard to the vision, and at the very least, we must communicate it and insure that it’s realistic and measurable. Next, we need to assure that every team member and participant is truly working cohesively and in support of the vision. And to facilitate that, we must understand how to inspire team members with our own passion in the project. To help sustain the longevity of the vision, and thus the results of the project, we must also keep our eye on the strategic goals, and not just focus on short-term needs. Finally, we must establish a routine for monitoring the overall status of the project against the vision, and for insuring that the vision still makes sense. Let’s explore each of these areas in a bit more detail.

The Nature of Project Management and Vision

First, how can we as project managers—and our leadership team, if applicable—create a compelling vision if the project is usually assigned by way of a charter?

The answer is: We won’t always have the opportunity to create the vision, but we can—and must—understand and articulate it. If we don’t understand the problem that is being addressed, the rationale for doing the project, and what the end result is supposed to look like—by way of customer-driven requirements—then we won’t be able to relay it to our team, and we’ll be fighting an uphill battle to get them and our stakeholders on board.

How can we get this data? There are several ways. Much of it should be found in the business case that was used to accept the project in the first case. If there isn’t one, it may be a good time to institute a formal request and approval process, requiring the requestor to state the problem that the project is meant to address, any tangible or intangible benefits, and any known risks. This is useful anyway for determining which projects to undertake (many organizations have a formal portfolio management and governance process to address this). The problem can also be confirmed via surveys of the user community, management, and the project’s sponsor, or via a series of meetings (just make sure the project’s sponsor agrees as to the people that should be consulted). This will insure that the project is meeting the needs of all stakeholders.

In some fields, design samples or mock-ups are used to toss around for comment and feedback. This is ideal, in that the vision can be fine-tuned based on people’s feedback. However, to avoid a runaway project (what we call “scope creep”), an agreement must be made in advance as to how many times it will go back and forth before agreeing on the scope of the vision.

Finally, to insure that the parameters of a vision (i.e. supporting goals and objectives) are optimized for success, they should abide by certain basic rules. Let’s recall again Napoleon’s goal of improving France’s economy. Notice that this goal is qualitative and not quantitative. Goals state what we want to accomplish in general terms. Objectives, which support the goals, are more detailed. In Napoleon’s case, his key objectives (getting the communes out of debt within five years and making them all prosperous within ten years) observed the modern-day rules that we refer to today as SMART. That is, they were Specific, Measurable, Aligned (with the goals and overall vision), Realistic, and Time-Bound. The bottom line is that, just like Napoleon, our vision, goals, and objectives should follow these basic guidelines.

Team Cohesion and Vision

Let’s also recall that Napoleon knew the importance of insuring that the management team was on board with his vision. He offered incentives for those who embraced the vision, and dismissal for those who didn’t. As project managers, we don’t often have that amount of latitude, nor is it the best method we have today for doing this, but the point is that it’s critical to have your leadership team buy into the vision, and Napoleon knew that.

Of course, just because Napoleon had expected his managers to support his vision, it would be incorrect to assume that he had made his all of his decisions in isolation. Quite the contrary. As his secretary Baron Fain said, in his memoir, Napoleon: How He Did It: “… After his rise to commander-in-chief, he feared nothing so much as revealing the opinions of his bygone youth, and his policy in this respect went so far as to cultivate and even to seek out men of opposing opinion.” In other words, he made sure he had buy-in from others, before expecting his managers to follow his lead (at least until his later years, when the trappings of power took hold).

One way we can insure buy-in is to make sure that our vision is inclusive to begin with—that it considers the needs of all stakeholders. Books such as Dean Anderson and Linda Ackerman Anderson’s Beyond Change Management and Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline suggest using a “Whole System Model” that considers the vision from the perspective of all stakeholders, with the ideal situation being a cocreated or shared vision. Kaplan and Norton echo this in their landmark book, The Balanced Scorecard, which suggests tying vision and strategy to four perspectives: Learning and Growth, The Business Process, The Customer, and The Financial Perspective. These books should be the foundation for anyone looking to craft a truly inclusive vision. Indeed, Napoleon could have benefited from them, especially later in his career.

Fundamentally, it’s a matter of awareness, which Napoleon did excel at, so no doubt he would have admired these studies—especially since they provide an organized, systematic way of keeping others’ perspectives in mind. The key point is that, just as it’s important to be aware of changing circumstances and external events, it’s critical to be aware of how a project impacts people, systems, and the future. Otherwise, there are a million ways that an otherwise well-run project could meet resistance and be seen as a failure, even if it ends up on time and on budget. Project management is much more than just about managing the triple constraint of time, cost, and scope. Ultimately, it’s about people.

Passion and Vision

Speaking of people, there is nothing that makes a vision more compelling and a team more cohesive than passion. If a vision is based on some passionate need or drive, or is meant to ease a deep-seated fear, it is automatically compelling. In Napoleon’s case, he knew all too well what the French people were feeling after the revolution. He had been there himself in Corsica, so was able to play to the people’s feelings.

I was born when my country was dying. Thirty thousand Frenchmen disgorged upon our shores, and drowning the throne of Liberty in a sea of blood—such was the hateful spectacle that offended my infant eyes. My cradle was surrounded, from the very day of my birth, by the cries of the dying, the groans of oppression, and the tears of despair.

At age twenty, Napoleon wrote the above letter to General Paoli, a former family friend and freedom fighter on Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace. At the time of the letter, Napoleon was a young soldier just returning from holiday, and Paoli was in exile. The letter went on...

… Our compatriots, weighed down by the triple chain of soldier, lawyer, and tax collector, live despised—despised by those who wield the power of government.

Napoleon wrote the letter seeking feedback about a campaign of protest he intended to begin. It is no surprise then that Napoleon, who practically grew up fighting oppression, was passionate about the mission of fighting monarchy, or that he was able to inspire others to this mission. It is the same in business. When undertaking a project, is there some passionate need or fear that the project addresses? Can one be identified (and not fabricated)? If so, then it can be a powerful tool for making a vision compelling. If you can show people an example that clearly illustrates the need, all the better. As John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen said in the book, The Heart of Change: Real Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations, “People change less because they are given analysis and facts about why change is needed and more because we show them a truth that influences their feelings.”

What they are really saying is that emotions motivate people more so than statistics. One way to help t