So you’ve studied the reports you as a PgM/PM have to get working. You figured out how it works, how it doesn’t, and you got people to take responsibility to fix it.
So what’s the Seventh “R” of Reporting? Revision.
It’s time to fix things.
Admittedly that’s a given, but it’s also where everything comes together.
- You ran the reports to keep them going. The first “R” – Report.
- You researched to understand how all the parts worked and what they meant. That’s the second “R” – Research.
- You tied all the pieces together. That’s the third “R” – Relate.
- You got the big picture. That’s the fourth “R” – Reveal.
- You saw the likely-painful issues. That’s the fifth “R” – Regret.
- People stood up to fix things starting with you. That’s the sixth “R” – Responsibility.
This is all you need to fix things.
- Because people took Responsibility you have a team to fix it.
- Because people know Regret they know why they must do it and what it means.
- Because you have the big picture Revealed, you know how it all works.
- Because you related all the pieces, you understand all the processes that were Related.
- Because you looked into what made things what they are, that Research has paid off.
- Finally, because you ran that Report you’ve been watching it since the beginning you understand it and can see the impacts.
So get to it.
Now I’m not going to act like it’s easy. In fact I can’t tell you much about what you’ll have to do. Your situation is going to be different from mine, from your co-rowkrers, from your friends. But what I can remind you is that you have all of the above.
You have all the tools you need to fix things. The reason in fact I detail the process as much is so you realize you have those tools, and inded allies when you’re done with it. It ensures you don’t end up with a vague awareness of your issues and no idea what to do. Instead you can see what is truly wrong and terrible and then go and fix it.
But I call this a revision. Because you will revise it again and again and again. This is just revision one.
So a few bits of advice:
- Document the heck out of everything you can. This is for both those who come after you and yourself.
- Ensure the information is spread around. Have meetings, demos, classes, pass on the above documents.
- Regularly review the way the report you’re fixing is working. Just in case.
So good luck. Oh, we’re not done yet, but we’re close . . .
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.