đ Welcome to The Abundant Analyst: a tactical resource for analysts, program managers, and other early and mid career generalist roles in technology organizations. In this issue, I outline a common scenario faced by program owners (program managers, business analysts, other roles that own program outcomes) and suggest three ways to improve outcomes as complexity rises. Thanks for reading! Sam
As promised in Introductions, hereâs my $.02 on managing complexity as a program owner. If youâre struggling to navigate complexity in your role and would like to amplify your impact, read on. For those keeping score, this issue falls within the âGame Tapeâ content type, as defined in Introductions Part II.
The Scenario
You are a program owner leading a new program. It has a handful of engaged customers and is surpassing early revenue expectations. Internal stakeholders are getting excited.
While output metrics like revenue and gross margin are moving âup and to the right,â several key input metrics, leading indicators of future success, are trending in the wrong direction â a storm looms in the distance. Yet, leadership has learned of the programâs promising start and is interested in investing more.Â
So here you are: Youâve built the beginnings of what could be a successful program, but complexity is rising, as are expectations for you and the program to succeed. How do you ensure that you do not, as they say, âfumble the bag?âÂ
Hereâs an often-quoted phrase by Abraham Lincoln to frame the path forward:
âGive me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.â
Translated to tech-speak: We should invest most of our time in developing mechanisms that scale our impact (when chopping down a tree, sharp ax > dull ax > fist) then let them help us deliver results.
Here are three steps I take to scale my impact as a program owner:
Step back to understand goals
Create communication structures that force self accountability
Own your subject matter expertise
Let me unpack.
Step back to understand goals
What this entails:
Identify, what are the companyâs main goals this quarter?
Then, drill down a level: What are my orgâs goals and how do they support the company goals?
Drill down again, and then as many times as needed until you arrive at the program-level, asking yourself the same question, this time: âwhat are my programâs goals and how do they support the ___âs goals?â ( ___ being the next-lowest level entity)
By transitive property, youâve just aligned your program outcomes with the company goal(s) that youâre building towards. Ah, clarity.
Why do this:
Itâs easy to get lost in the day-to-day of program operations and lose track of the problem that weâre solving for our team, org, and company. Re-centering on the big picture has helped me to regain composure and focus on solving the right problems, rather than get lost in a specific solution that Iâm building.
Create communication structures that force accountability
What this entails:
Set up âcommunication pathsâ (read: ways people can talk to you), usually two, usually Slack/Teams channels:
One, for operators:
Use it for: day-to-day operations
Audience: you, operators, stakeholders who want this level of granularity
A second, for stakeholders:
Use it for: weekly/lower-cadence updates, important announcements
Audience: you, operators, stakeholders (incl. leads)
Set up recurring âtouch pointsâ (read: times when you communicate with people), usually two meetings:
One, for operators (more frequent)
Use it for: think of this like an agile standup with a structure and cadence of your choosing
A second, for stakeholders (less frequent)
Use it for: the closest thing youâll have to a Monthly/Weekly Business Review while youâre building out the program
Why do this:
Setting up communication paths creates a two way street between you and program stakeholders. Great communication is a prerequisite of good outcomes, let alone great ones.
Setting up regular touch points does a few things: It provides a designated environment for Q&A and discussion, time boxes interactions with stakeholders so you can spend most of your time doing your primary job, and lets senior-level stakeholders rest assured of a future update at a scheduled time and date.
Widely communicating these paths and touch points forces self-accountability. Even when things arenât going well and youâd rather avoid a stakeholder meeting, the meetingâs preexistence makes it stickier and harder to miss, dodge, or cancel.
Own that you are the subject matter expert
What this entails:
Though the least tangible, this third point is important; itâs about ownership. Iâve struggled with this. If you are leading an initiative that is building something new, you are almost always the subject matter expert for that initiative, regardless of your seniority. Itâs important to internalize. Losing confidence in your subject matter expertise usually leads to a steep, downwards-sloping curve in terms of measured program outcomes over time. You wouldnât have been given this opportunity if you couldnât do it well. Enough said.
Why do this:
The program wonât achieve optimal results without a leader who takes complete ownership. Itâs scary to fully commit, but thatâs a key component of what distinguishes great operators from the rest â complete ownership of their outcomes.
So thatâs a framework that I use when Iâm beginning to feel in over my head as a program owner. By following said framework, you are:
Confident that your program is focused on solving the right problems for the business
Able to easily communicate with operators, stakeholders, and leads in a way that everyone expects
Earning trust from operators, stakeholders, and leads because you have proactively told them what to expect from updates and when to expect them
Grounding yourself in the reality that you are the subject matter expert and are capable of leading a highly-effective program
With this foundation in place, Iâve found it easier to lead in high-complexity environments. Let me know what you think in the comments â what did I miss?
Take care,
Sam
Appendix:
Cover Image: âLaying foundationâŠâ https://lccn.loc.gov/2017734776
In-Text Image: âLumbering. Heard County, Georgiaâ https://lccn.loc.gov/2017794365
What are your preferred ways of managing complexity in similar scenarios?