This is a really useful mantra:  ‘We Need a Scope and an Approach.’

I learned this from a good friend I was fortunate to work with for many years and who was very experienced at Program Management.  Before I was.

Conversations in big companies, especially conversations with a lot of smart people, get complicated.  There’s a lot to consider, lots of factors, lots of trade-offs.   Different parties’ incentives can work at cross purposes or even directly against the mission.  It’s commonly quite difficult to reach a decision.

My friend used the mantra to cut through all this complexity … and sometimes all people’s BS.

‘We need a Scope and an Approach,’ he’d say.

Now this assumes, metaphorically, we’ve decided what Hill to Take.  So if we’re gonna Take the Hill, What are we doing (Scope) and How are we going to do it (Approach)?*  Are we sprinting up, traveling with only what we can carry?  Are we making a base camp?  Or several?  Do we need special equipment?  Climbing gear?  Oxygen cylinders?  What?

It’s all execution at this point.  When you get to the Scope and Approach moment, you’ve already answered Why we’re taking the Hill.  But you need to execute.  And more programs fail, in my view, because of poor or apathetic execution than because of poor strategy.

The mantra helps us focus and carve out the path forward.  It’s critical for Mega-Programs and Projects and useful for personal goals too.  Especially the How, the Approach, when we’re trying to raise the bar and do something new.  That’s when we need a Scope and an Approach.

-Chris