WEBVTT

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I'm Dan Diaz.

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Look after Customer Success

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and partnering at Transparent Choice.

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We are a software provider with a focus

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for some years now on prioritization.

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And, um, latter is prioritization.

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Um, how, how prioritization can drive ROI, uh,

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with better portfolio management.

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So if you're here to drive,

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improve your portfolio performance

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and you realize prioritization is the way to do that,

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then you are in the right place

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because we are privileged to have, uh, Mr.

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Mike Hannon with us, um, expert in the field, friend

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of the company, longtime collaborator and partner.

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Um, Mike is, uh, going to, well, you know what, Mike,

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you tell us what you're here to do

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because you'll set better than me.

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Yeah. So I'm Mike Hannon.

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I've been doing this project portfolio stuff a long time.

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Uh, what, what I'm gonna share with you today is a mix of,

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uh, as Dan said, hopefully clever stuff,

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but also some stories of humility

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and how I had to learn some things the hard way,

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which ultimately is a great way to get to an even better,

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uh, solution, right?

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So if you're not familiar with this story of Goldilocks, uh,

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it's basically a, a, uh, what do you call it?

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A fairytale or a child's fable or something like that?

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Fairytale. Fairytale or a Yeah, I think so.

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Where, um, uh, you know, there's a little girl that being,

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that was being threatened by three bears or something.

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Now I'm goofing it up, aren't I?

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Anyway, the point is the ridge was either too hot, too cold,

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or just right, and, um, everything was either too little,

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too much or just right,

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and it was really hard to find the just right.

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And so, uh, there's similar story here

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that we'll share today about how

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to boost project portfolio performance.

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Okay? So let's dive dive into it.

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So it all starts with a dilemma.

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Uh, when I was a project portfolio guy in the hot seat

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and I was under pressure to drive up performance, uh,

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this was my belief.

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I needed a complex project portfolio management tool.

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I needed implemented well, I needed, I needed loaded

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with good plans and all sorts of other data

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that took quite some time.

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Um, gotta get everything properly prioritized, which

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of course, a HP and transparent choice are experts in.

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I didn't know anything about

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that from my PPM tool anyway yet.

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Uh, and of course, we have to keep it updated

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and we have to have everyone submitting time sheets,

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hitting the right project charge codes,

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or else all our data's gonna be off.

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And so spent a whole bunch

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of time trying to figure out how to get that working.

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And ultimately it did work.

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But boy, it was, it a heavy lift

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and it never really was quite as, um, useful as,

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as was promised, by the way.

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Ooh, by the way, uh, with the advent of scaled agile tools

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or agile at scale solutions, I think some

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of this got a bit simplified.

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Uh, for example, a lot of 'em don't even bother

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with time sheets and project charge codes.

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They just have dedicated teams,

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and we know how much people cost against, uh,

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their a hundred percent full-time salary against,

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uh, just a single project.

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So, okay, fine, but still, uh,

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way over complicated if you ask me.

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So on the other side, uh, when I got

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to work in a smaller organization,

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a bit more in startup mode

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or maybe, uh, early scale up mode, uh,

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we didn't need any of that, right?

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A few simple rules of thumb, Hey,

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what really drives our cadence around here?

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Let's get this machine humming

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and let's make sure I understand when we hit some glitches

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or stumbles along the way so we can fix it.

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Uh, and that felt great for a little while until we got

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scaled up so big that this no longer worked, right?

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So this sort of overly complicated and super simple,

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and yet I still needed something in the middle like

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Goldilocks to figure out like, how does this really work?

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So I figured there must be a better way.

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So some years ago I stumbled across

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what I thought was a better way.

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Before I dive into all that, I wanna make you all a promise.

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Uh, you're investing your, the most valuable thing you have

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with us today, which is your time.

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So the least I could do is promise to make it worthwhile.

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Uh, uh, I want to give you Goldilocks, right?

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Share a way to marry the speed

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and simplicity of the intuitive approach with the power

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and scale of the, uh, complex PPM approach.

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Why? So that any leader of any portfolio of any size

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can drive up their performance, uh, with just

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basic intuition and a modest investment in time.

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Uh, I think it could even be done in a matter

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of just a few hours.

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Um, but, you know, some things may, might be,

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need to be refined over time.

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Um, so yeah, just basic intuition

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and a modest investment in time.

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I'm very excited to, uh, get to that,

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and I promise I will by the end of the session.

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So let's start with a, a, a key concept.

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I'm curious if folks wanna pop in the chat, if any of you

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have ever seen either this special kind of traffic light

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or this thing from fluid

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dynamics called a fluid density curve.

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Take a moment to pop in the chat.

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There's any fluid dynamics experts out there,

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or traffic, uh, traffic engineers perhaps.

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Have I put everyone to sleep already?

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I mean, it was quite a niche question.

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Fair enough. Statistically,

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You might need a bigger audience to

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get a yes out of that group.

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That, uh,

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So suffice to say that, uh, if you've seen this,

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I got a y from Mike, very, uh, succinct, Mike, thank you.

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Um, if you've seen this traffic light, you,

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you can recognize it's not really the normal kind where

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that tells you to stop, stop and go in an intersection,

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but it's on an on-ramp to a highway, um,

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or a freeway or main thoroughfare.

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And the idea here is we wanna limit, uh, the, the congestion

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so that things can flow well.

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So in terms of flow density, we're trying

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to keep the density closer to the top of that peak so

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that flow could be maximized.

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And if we ever let too many cars onto the road, we, we,

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we've all felt what that feels like

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to be sliding down the right side of that tail

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when things aren't really flowing very well.

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But there's sure a lot of us

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out there trying to get somewhere.

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So if you take this concept to project portfolios,

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uh, the, the inevitable conclusion is, well,

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we're probably almost always on the

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right side of that curve.

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We probably need a solution kind of like that traffic light.

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And if, uh, if I have no other information

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and I need to take action fast, I take

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what I call the sledgehammer approach.

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And, uh, this is worth a quick story.

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I had a CEO of a small, uh, software company, uh,

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find me through a friend of an acquaintance, of a colleague

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of a friend kind of thing.

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So said, uh, you, you, you come highly regarded, Mike.

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We don't know each other and I'm afraid, I, I'm almost out

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of money with my startup, so I

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can't even afford to pay your fee.

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So I'm asking, um, with pretty please

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and a cherry on top, would you give me 20 minutes

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of your time to help me save my company

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even if I can't pay you?

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And I said, sure. Um,

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and long story short, I was thinking of

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that flow density curve I just showed

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and I said, uh, cut your initiatives in half.

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And he is like, well, that seems pretty extreme.

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Why would I do that? I said,

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so you can get things flowing again.

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He goes, how do you know things aren't flowing?

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I said, I, I don't, I just met you.

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Um, but you said your company's in di Straits

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and you need one piece of advice you can implement today.

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That might help. So that's, so that's all I can give you.

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And he goes, well, how, how do you know it's half

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and not 20% or 80% or some other number?

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I said, well, I don't, um, I don't know anything about you

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or your company other than you're desperate

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and you're willing to try anything and you can't afford me.

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So that's the best I can give you. It's my sledgehammer.

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Right? And long story short, he went

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and, uh, uh, tried it.

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Um, it turns out he did have, it was only maybe five

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or six initiatives that, uh, were all designed to kind

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of get him to the next level

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and leapfrog his primary competitor.

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Um, but truth be told, he would've been much better served

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to do something a bit more minimal first,

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even if the value proposition is nowhere near as strong,

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it's at least some way to start the revenue engine humming.

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And if you could just flow that

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to market first and get something going.

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So a lot of us have heard of all this with lean

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and, uh, minimum viable products and such.

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Um, but I take a flow lens to it

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and just say, uh,

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if you can actually get things moving faster, uh,

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by reducing your flow density, it might work.

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And it did. He called me a couple months later

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and said, yep, we got something to market.

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It actually was a bigger hit than we imagined.

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We're off to the races.

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The investors are not shutting us down.

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Um, thank you so much. And I said, okay, great.

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Please refer me out, um, as the, the way to, you know,

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give me some kind of re recompense.

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And he was kind enough to do so. So win-win.

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But that's the sledgehammer approach.

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And how many of us are really in such a desperate situation

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that we have to reach for the sledgehammer?

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Um, you know, for in, in his case, you know, he sort

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of had nothing to lose at that point.

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Hopefully, most of you are not in such a desperate

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circumstance, and you might want something a bit more

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surgical than a sledgehammer.

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So let's get to that.

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So to refine this concept on flow density a bit further,

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we're still gonna talk flow stuff.

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You can see, uh, in this picture marked with a letter A,

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if our goal is to flow water outta that bottle as fast

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as possible without altering the bottle

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and without altering the laws of gravity, um, or the,

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or the molecular properties of water.

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And all we did with our management technique is flip it

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upside down and, and hope for the best.

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We would get some flow, uh, the bottle would empty.

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And, um, as you can see, it comes,

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I should turn off the chat 'cause ASOC just

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asked me if I'm a hydrologist.

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Maybe I should, maybe that's my next career, asock.

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Um, so you will get flow, the result will happen,

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but it sure will take an unnecessarily long period of time.

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And that's to be expected since we haven't really applied

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any sort of management techniques at all, other than

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flipping it over and, um, trusting

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that gravity will do its thing.

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What you can see, of course, is there's a lot of movement,

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a lot of collisions, a lot of activity,

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and not a lot of flow.

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So similar to the flow density curve, we we're kind

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of on the far right tail, um, because of the bottleneck.

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So if I were to ask you all, like, if anyone wants

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to pop in the chat, uh, a better way to do this,

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I'll give it all a moment,

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Mike.

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Yeah, Mike says swirl, right? Exactly.

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Um, uh, and I swear Mike

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and I did not coordinate in advance, um,

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uh, a shock.

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You're too smart. Let's delete a shock's comment.

252
00:11:27.315 --> 00:11:28.635
Actually, let's, let's defer, let's defer his

253
00:11:28.635 --> 00:11:29.875
comment for, for just a minute.

254
00:11:30.535 --> 00:11:33.475
Um, and yeah, let the air in, right?

255
00:11:33.615 --> 00:11:36.195
So the key is we have this scarce resource called the

256
00:11:36.195 --> 00:11:38.055
bottleneck that has

257
00:11:38.055 --> 00:11:40.415
to let air in at the same time water is coming

258
00:11:40.415 --> 00:11:41.535
out if we want better flow.

259
00:11:42.395 --> 00:11:46.135
And so as Mike, uh, cleverly suggested spin it

260
00:11:46.135 --> 00:11:50.295
or Creative vortex, and indeed we can see that

261
00:11:50.295 --> 00:11:52.295
that is generating much more alignment.

262
00:11:53.065 --> 00:11:55.645
So we have everyone kind of working together.

263
00:11:56.265 --> 00:12:00.325
All the molecules are doing what we want with a minimum

264
00:12:00.385 --> 00:12:01.965
of management effort to get it started

265
00:12:02.745 --> 00:12:05.115
and, um, and keep it going.

266
00:12:05.855 --> 00:12:07.155
And indeed, as you can see in the bottom,

267
00:12:07.185 --> 00:12:09.795
that double the flow with one simple management change.

268
00:12:11.415 --> 00:12:14.275
Uh, and if we open the mic to a shock, which we won't,

269
00:12:14.655 --> 00:12:18.955
but, um, but if we let him present letter C, uh,

270
00:12:19.435 --> 00:12:20.435
I believe this is probably

271
00:12:20.435 --> 00:12:22.435
what he had in mind when he suggested the straw.

272
00:12:23.795 --> 00:12:25.455
And again, it's very similar to be in

273
00:12:25.455 --> 00:12:27.735
that we're just finding the best way we can

274
00:12:27.915 --> 00:12:31.295
or trying experimenting with ways to allocate

275
00:12:31.295 --> 00:12:33.855
that bottleneck resource to let air in

276
00:12:33.855 --> 00:12:35.735
and water out in better and better ways.

277
00:12:36.505 --> 00:12:38.205
And you can see we don't even need

278
00:12:38.265 --> 00:12:41.285
to apply any management effort to getting everyone aligned.

279
00:12:42.175 --> 00:12:44.515
Uh, we just trust that with gravity

280
00:12:45.175 --> 00:12:47.075
and, uh, a clever engineered solution

281
00:12:47.075 --> 00:12:49.995
that's also quite simple, right, in the form of a straw

282
00:12:50.825 --> 00:12:53.275
that we can allocate that bottleneck more effectively

283
00:12:53.615 --> 00:12:55.435
and get, uh, even better flow.

284
00:12:55.435 --> 00:12:56.835
And as you can see, it doubled again.

285
00:12:58.445 --> 00:13:00.665
So might this take us beyond the sledgehammer

286
00:13:00.665 --> 00:13:01.865
to something a bit more fine tuned?

287
00:13:03.875 --> 00:13:05.055
Yes. And so I, I,

288
00:13:05.175 --> 00:13:06.975
I learned about this thing called staggering,

289
00:13:07.335 --> 00:13:08.615
probably too late in, in my career.

290
00:13:09.135 --> 00:13:11.135
I wish I'd learned it many, many years earlier.

291
00:13:11.595 --> 00:13:14.735
But nonetheless, the simple concept, which if you're a, um,

292
00:13:14.895 --> 00:13:16.935
a veteran of Transparent choice webinars,

293
00:13:17.355 --> 00:13:18.535
or you've heard me speak before,

294
00:13:18.555 --> 00:13:20.415
you might find some of this familiar.

295
00:13:21.225 --> 00:13:22.885
Uh, I promise none, not much

296
00:13:22.885 --> 00:13:24.325
of this is gonna be repetitive just enough

297
00:13:24.325 --> 00:13:26.285
to get the concept across if you have not seen it.

298
00:13:28.085 --> 00:13:30.905
So the notion is if we, uh, have a project

299
00:13:31.445 --> 00:13:32.985
and we got some resources,

300
00:13:33.485 --> 00:13:37.905
and those resources have some area of specialization, um,

301
00:13:38.695 --> 00:13:40.425
then we might have this kind of approach

302
00:13:40.425 --> 00:13:42.985
where we can reliably knock out this project in seven weeks

303
00:13:43.495 --> 00:13:45.665
with, uh, sort of a simple handoff scheme.

304
00:13:46.445 --> 00:13:48.305
Uh, certainly you could apply a cross-functional

305
00:13:48.305 --> 00:13:49.505
team approach here as well.

306
00:13:50.475 --> 00:13:52.815
Um, but in my mind, all that would do would sort

307
00:13:52.815 --> 00:13:54.735
of blur the lines between A, B and C.

308
00:13:54.755 --> 00:13:57.375
The handoffs might not be as hard, and that's fine.

309
00:13:57.755 --> 00:13:58.935
Um, if we can collaborate

310
00:13:58.935 --> 00:14:02.695
and achieve a seven week result with, uh, three types of,

311
00:14:02.835 --> 00:14:05.095
um, experts, wonderful.

312
00:14:06.005 --> 00:14:08.465
The question is, what if we have three projects,

313
00:14:08.465 --> 00:14:10.385
not just one, and we're,

314
00:14:10.405 --> 00:14:12.265
and no additional resources to handle them.

315
00:14:13.085 --> 00:14:15.495
Well, if we apply the notion of the sooner we start,

316
00:14:16.115 --> 00:14:18.215
the sooner we finish, we'll just try

317
00:14:18.215 --> 00:14:19.415
and get everything started right away.

318
00:14:20.295 --> 00:14:23.795
And as you can see, even if this dilution

319
00:14:23.795 --> 00:14:27.235
of focus from a focus two week task for Resource A up here,

320
00:14:28.235 --> 00:14:30.895
uh, to a diluted focus approach here where they're jumping

321
00:14:30.895 --> 00:14:33.815
around, I'm still assuming it'll only take them two weeks,

322
00:14:33.815 --> 00:14:35.375
even though common sense tells us

323
00:14:36.045 --> 00:14:38.535
diluted focus will delay us much more than that.

324
00:14:39.755 --> 00:14:44.485
So even if our diluted focus does not delay us at all, uh,

325
00:14:45.065 --> 00:14:47.485
we can see that we have sort of built in delays here

326
00:14:49.505 --> 00:14:52.045
and everyone's highly utilized if you kind

327
00:14:52.045 --> 00:14:53.605
of expand this out well into the future.

328
00:14:54.245 --> 00:14:55.965
Everyone's fully busy all the time.

329
00:14:56.905 --> 00:14:59.965
And if you were the portfolio manager of this portfolio,

330
00:15:00.505 --> 00:15:03.365
and I was the one funding it, and I came to you

331
00:15:03.365 --> 00:15:06.565
and said, give me more completed projects, please,

332
00:15:06.585 --> 00:15:10.515
within 17 weeks, you would say, give me more resources.

333
00:15:11.505 --> 00:15:15.085
And as, uh, properly trained project managers, that's indeed

334
00:15:15.085 --> 00:15:17.765
what I did for, uh, the early part of my career.

335
00:15:18.345 --> 00:15:19.845
And it got me promoted and it worked.

336
00:15:20.735 --> 00:15:23.475
Um, and I would usually get more resources, right?

337
00:15:24.425 --> 00:15:28.865
But, uh, but then I learned there might be a better way if

338
00:15:28.865 --> 00:15:33.485
you compare the simultaneous, uh, to, if we were

339
00:15:33.485 --> 00:15:35.245
to stagger according to the bottleneck,

340
00:15:35.415 --> 00:15:40.055
which in this case the bottleneck resources, resource B, uh,

341
00:15:40.365 --> 00:15:43.305
it's almost like sticking a straw into the bottle, right?

342
00:15:43.305 --> 00:15:45.225
Because without any additional resources, we get

343
00:15:45.895 --> 00:15:47.385
four projects in,

344
00:15:48.165 --> 00:15:51.145
and the first one to get kicked off finishes far,

345
00:15:51.245 --> 00:15:52.425
far earlier than up above.

346
00:15:52.885 --> 00:15:55.425
So we get to cash, you know, cash that in,

347
00:15:55.425 --> 00:15:57.865
whether it's in revenue or, or other impact terms,

348
00:15:58.765 --> 00:16:00.425
and we can actually get more projects done

349
00:16:00.425 --> 00:16:01.465
without more resources.

350
00:16:02.005 --> 00:16:03.465
And oddly, as shown in the bottom

351
00:16:03.645 --> 00:16:06.935
or counterintuitively, uh, two thirds

352
00:16:06.935 --> 00:16:09.095
of our resource pool is one third idle.

353
00:16:09.905 --> 00:16:13.115
How could that be? So, uh,

354
00:16:13.655 --> 00:16:15.435
one key thing here is you have

355
00:16:15.435 --> 00:16:17.155
to have these project prioritized properly,

356
00:16:17.775 --> 00:16:21.005
which is why I turned to Transparent Choice some years ago.

357
00:16:21.805 --> 00:16:23.925
I had heard of the analytic hierarchy process

358
00:16:23.955 --> 00:16:25.125
that they are experts in

359
00:16:25.385 --> 00:16:27.445
and have great software solutions for,

360
00:16:28.745 --> 00:16:29.925
and thought, great, well, uh,

361
00:16:29.925 --> 00:16:31.085
my clients are having a hard time

362
00:16:31.085 --> 00:16:32.245
keeping their priorities straight.

363
00:16:32.825 --> 00:16:35.365
Um, therefore the staggering thing won't work so well.

364
00:16:36.215 --> 00:16:38.325
Let's get, uh, transparent choice into the

365
00:16:38.325 --> 00:16:39.405
mix to help solve that problem.

366
00:16:39.815 --> 00:16:43.025
Great. So sounds awesome.

367
00:16:43.185 --> 00:16:46.945
I thought I had found pretty, uh, effective path forward

368
00:16:47.365 --> 00:16:49.865
to the challenge of boosting project portfolio performance.

369
00:16:50.505 --> 00:16:52.665
I went into business as a consultant for IT and a coach,

370
00:16:53.285 --> 00:16:57.925
and, uh, in some cases I would run games like this, right?

371
00:16:57.925 --> 00:17:00.485
This gamified simulation showing that, uh,

372
00:17:00.485 --> 00:17:01.685
Justin playing a silly game,

373
00:17:02.275 --> 00:17:03.965
they can get this much more done.

374
00:17:04.025 --> 00:17:05.525
And if you were to extrapolate

375
00:17:06.475 --> 00:17:10.095
beyond Project four on the top there to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,

376
00:17:10.595 --> 00:17:13.015
you would basically get nine done in the same time

377
00:17:13.075 --> 00:17:14.175
as you got three done.

378
00:17:14.635 --> 00:17:18.805
So that's a triple right, A three x. So, wow, it's simpler.

379
00:17:19.265 --> 00:17:21.205
Uh, it's way faster. It's kind

380
00:17:21.205 --> 00:17:22.405
of like the straw and the bottleneck.

381
00:17:22.405 --> 00:17:24.445
Wonderful problem solved, right?

382
00:17:26.305 --> 00:17:28.705
Well, there's a harsh reality that I had to face.

383
00:17:30.135 --> 00:17:32.555
Uh, most organizations actually still find

384
00:17:32.555 --> 00:17:33.595
this a bit too difficult.

385
00:17:33.975 --> 00:17:38.375
The prioritization fights are, um, tougher, even with a HP,

386
00:17:38.375 --> 00:17:39.655
which solves a lot of that toughness

387
00:17:39.655 --> 00:17:40.655
and gets a lot more harmony.

388
00:17:41.275 --> 00:17:45.495
Um, you know, some people, uh, still find it too difficult

389
00:17:45.555 --> 00:17:46.935
to get everyone on the same page.

390
00:17:47.635 --> 00:17:50.405
And oh, by the way, my simple cartoon graphic is never

391
00:17:50.765 --> 00:17:53.285
anywhere near reality for most organizations,

392
00:17:53.865 --> 00:17:56.805
if I need at least decent project level plans,

393
00:17:57.505 --> 00:18:00.285
and if I don't have some of them, if some of them are bad

394
00:18:00.785 --> 00:18:05.005
and I'm basing the entire resource flow model on a,

395
00:18:05.125 --> 00:18:07.565
a few bad projects in the mix, then those,

396
00:18:07.805 --> 00:18:09.765
those few bad apples can really, uh,

397
00:18:09.765 --> 00:18:11.205
poison everything, right?

398
00:18:11.785 --> 00:18:14.325
So it was still too complex, even though I hated

399
00:18:14.345 --> 00:18:16.845
to admit it, and it took me years to admit it, um,

400
00:18:17.865 --> 00:18:19.045
and too hard to keep current.

401
00:18:19.995 --> 00:18:23.255
And often I would find clients get great results initially,

402
00:18:23.255 --> 00:18:24.615
and then abandon it over time,

403
00:18:25.355 --> 00:18:28.535
and it would drive me crazy, um, realizing that, you know,

404
00:18:28.535 --> 00:18:29.735
you were so close, you had it.

405
00:18:31.435 --> 00:18:33.695
So I thought I had found the Goldilock solution,

406
00:18:33.695 --> 00:18:37.015
but I was forced to accept the harsh reality that at least

407
00:18:37.015 --> 00:18:40.465
for most I had not, it was, I would say probably 80%,

408
00:18:40.925 --> 00:18:42.065
um, organizations.

409
00:18:42.885 --> 00:18:46.585
Uh, it didn't really help on a sustained basis.

410
00:18:48.045 --> 00:18:51.965
So I did, but what to do?

411
00:18:51.995 --> 00:18:53.765
Well, I did what any rational human would.

412
00:18:55.045 --> 00:18:57.065
Uh, I started by denying that it was a big issue.

413
00:18:57.185 --> 00:18:59.975
I spent a few years there, um, that was fun,

414
00:19:00.355 --> 00:19:01.655
um, for a little while.

415
00:19:02.395 --> 00:19:04.535
Uh, then I got angry about all my lazy clients

416
00:19:04.535 --> 00:19:06.215
that wouldn't put in the effort required.

417
00:19:06.395 --> 00:19:08.015
Of course, it was substantial effort,

418
00:19:08.435 --> 00:19:10.535
but I was kind of ignoring that little detail.

419
00:19:11.275 --> 00:19:13.455
Um, I bargained with myself,

420
00:19:13.675 --> 00:19:15.535
and some of that included, well,

421
00:19:15.535 --> 00:19:17.775
if I just did a little extra work for the client

422
00:19:18.275 --> 00:19:20.975
to help them through this heavy lift, then once they get

423
00:19:20.975 --> 00:19:23.335
to the other side, they'll just kind of coast down,

424
00:19:23.555 --> 00:19:25.535
you know, coast down the hill once they get to the top.

425
00:19:26.035 --> 00:19:27.975
Uh, of course, that analogy wasn't quite right.

426
00:19:28.555 --> 00:19:30.895
Um, I was constantly pushing the boulder up the hill,

427
00:19:31.155 --> 00:19:33.335
and if you're familiar with the Greeks, the Greek myth

428
00:19:33.445 --> 00:19:36.925
with Sisyphus, usually the boulder rolled back on top

429
00:19:36.925 --> 00:19:38.445
of me and I'd have to start over.

430
00:19:38.905 --> 00:19:42.125
So after a while, bargaining with myself got kind of tiring.

431
00:19:42.985 --> 00:19:47.125
Um, so hopefully you're all seeing like denial, anger,

432
00:19:47.135 --> 00:19:48.445
bargaining, and depression.

433
00:19:48.445 --> 00:19:49.725
Well, here's the depression part.

434
00:19:50.345 --> 00:19:52.725
Um, get depressed at the sad state of affairs.

435
00:19:52.785 --> 00:19:55.925
And I started blaming whoever I felt like blaming, uh,

436
00:19:55.985 --> 00:19:58.005
bad portfolio leaders, software vendors

437
00:19:58.005 --> 00:19:59.045
that overcomplicate things.

438
00:19:59.785 --> 00:20:01.765
Um, the agile industrial complex,

439
00:20:01.875 --> 00:20:03.845
project management Institute, whoever, right?

440
00:20:03.985 --> 00:20:05.765
For making this so difficult.

441
00:20:06.955 --> 00:20:11.455
Uh, and then of course, um, the final step

442
00:20:12.195 --> 00:20:14.375
really here is acceptance, right?

443
00:20:15.115 --> 00:20:16.335
So once I got to the point

444
00:20:16.335 --> 00:20:17.775
of saying, you know what, it is what it is.

445
00:20:18.555 --> 00:20:20.255
Um, I thought I had Goldilocks,

446
00:20:20.455 --> 00:20:22.815
but I I actually don't, at least not for the large majority

447
00:20:22.815 --> 00:20:26.125
of companies and organizations out there, that

448
00:20:26.125 --> 00:20:28.925
of course unlocks the, well, how might we overcome this?

449
00:20:29.845 --> 00:20:31.145
And so I started chatting

450
00:20:31.215 --> 00:20:33.465
with my friends at Transparent Choice about this problem,

451
00:20:34.695 --> 00:20:36.835
and we kicked a bunch of ideas around for some time.

452
00:20:37.855 --> 00:20:39.915
And then this gentleman, Dan showed up

453
00:20:40.855 --> 00:20:43.075
and he started influencing the direction of the product,

454
00:20:43.895 --> 00:20:45.515
and AI started coming around

455
00:20:46.375 --> 00:20:51.285
and, uh, boom, without me even realizing it,

456
00:20:51.355 --> 00:20:52.685
they had crafted something

457
00:20:52.685 --> 00:20:55.085
that I think truly finds the Goldilocks solution.

458
00:20:55.755 --> 00:20:57.735
And that's, uh, sort of the punchline, what we want

459
00:20:57.735 --> 00:20:59.375
to get you guys to today.

460
00:20:59.995 --> 00:21:02.255
Uh, we're gonna show you a brief demo of why we think,

461
00:21:02.915 --> 00:21:06.815
why I think that, uh, transparent choice has helped me.

462
00:21:07.315 --> 00:21:10.535
Um, once I, once I got to step five here, right?

463
00:21:10.895 --> 00:21:12.135
Accepted the reality and moved on.

464
00:21:12.715 --> 00:21:14.815
Um, well, there are some clever ways.

465
00:21:15.635 --> 00:21:20.195
So with that, I would like to turn the calm over to you,

466
00:21:20.415 --> 00:21:22.635
Dan, so folks can see for themselves

467
00:21:23.015 --> 00:21:26.275
and judge for themselves what Goldilocks might look like.

468
00:21:26.945 --> 00:21:30.235
Awesome. Cheers, Mike. All right, let's get this running.

469
00:21:33.235 --> 00:21:38.055
Okay, you can see the screen. We good?

470
00:21:41.185 --> 00:21:45.965
So We are gonna start here with,

471
00:21:46.305 --> 00:21:47.845
uh, a HP.

472
00:21:47.865 --> 00:21:49.965
So Mike mentioned a HPA little bit briefly.

473
00:21:50.615 --> 00:21:52.045
We're not gonna go into it in detail.

474
00:21:52.065 --> 00:21:56.645
We have like a regular webinar where a wax lyrical

475
00:21:56.645 --> 00:21:58.325
for some time about a HP.

476
00:21:58.665 --> 00:22:00.965
But in simple terms, a HP is a way

477
00:22:00.965 --> 00:22:03.885
of turning your strategic objectives into a number.

478
00:22:04.505 --> 00:22:08.235
So the, the point is, why do we do projects?

479
00:22:08.585 --> 00:22:09.955
Well, there's a bunch of reasons, right?

480
00:22:09.955 --> 00:22:13.155
We wanna make money, we wanna save money, we wanna deliver

481
00:22:13.925 --> 00:22:16.035
value to stakeholders, we wanna grow the business,

482
00:22:16.035 --> 00:22:18.515
we wanna be strategic, we wanna be good for the, the,

483
00:22:18.535 --> 00:22:19.875
the society and environment.

484
00:22:20.225 --> 00:22:21.915
Lots of good reasons to do projects.

485
00:22:23.025 --> 00:22:25.595
Putting all those reasons into a structure

486
00:22:26.425 --> 00:22:30.555
that we can turn into a number is critical

487
00:22:31.015 --> 00:22:32.915
for the stuff Mike described,

488
00:22:33.025 --> 00:22:35.675
because while it's a bunch of kind of fuzzy feelings,

489
00:22:35.855 --> 00:22:38.275
you are never going to be able to use any kind

490
00:22:38.275 --> 00:22:40.475
of mathematical solution for making it better.

491
00:22:41.455 --> 00:22:43.915
So there's this first stage, very human right,

492
00:22:44.335 --> 00:22:46.195
why do we do projects in a framework?

493
00:22:46.775 --> 00:22:49.555
And again, Mike alluded to it, this is a human challenge

494
00:22:49.555 --> 00:22:51.755
because having a leadership group

495
00:22:52.665 --> 00:22:56.005
who are pulling in different directions means you are pretty

496
00:22:56.005 --> 00:22:57.685
much snookered from the beginning

497
00:22:57.915 --> 00:23:00.165
because you are gonna be pulled in two in,

498
00:23:00.165 --> 00:23:02.725
in many different directions, being told to do one thing

499
00:23:02.725 --> 00:23:04.485
by one person, one thing by another person.

500
00:23:04.865 --> 00:23:05.965
We see this time, and again,

501
00:23:06.465 --> 00:23:08.485
you can't successfully deliver a portfolio

502
00:23:08.825 --> 00:23:12.845
unless you have a clear direction from the executive group

503
00:23:12.865 --> 00:23:15.085
to define what actually success looks like.

504
00:23:15.625 --> 00:23:18.485
So this is where we, we go a HP, right? Define success.

505
00:23:18.505 --> 00:23:22.565
And there's a, there's a, some nice gamified ux, um, around

506
00:23:23.435 --> 00:23:27.325
turning that sort of approach into, uh, data.

507
00:23:27.775 --> 00:23:30.325
Again, we'll, we'll go, we'll do that on a, a, a,

508
00:23:30.405 --> 00:23:32.605
a software demo, uh, another time.

509
00:23:33.265 --> 00:23:35.765
But the point is, we build a structure

510
00:23:36.425 --> 00:23:41.025
and then what we're gonna do is get this quantification.

511
00:23:41.845 --> 00:23:45.105
So the point is, we talk about getting a, a, a value

512
00:23:45.145 --> 00:23:46.245
for all our projects, right?

513
00:23:46.745 --> 00:23:48.965
All the good stuff Mike talked about is made easier

514
00:23:49.545 --> 00:23:53.285
if every, you know, project in that queue has a number

515
00:23:53.635 --> 00:23:55.325
between zero and 100 saying

516
00:23:55.325 --> 00:23:56.805
how valuable it's to your organization.

517
00:23:57.185 --> 00:23:58.925
So all those kind of wooly, fuzzy factors,

518
00:23:58.925 --> 00:24:02.205
they're all in here, but they've been turned into data.

519
00:24:02.865 --> 00:24:04.605
So they are quantifiable.

520
00:24:04.985 --> 00:24:06.845
And, and if we roll back to where Mike started,

521
00:24:06.955 --> 00:24:10.445
this is a bit like, uh, that, that, that stoplight

522
00:24:11.105 --> 00:24:12.245
to get onto the, the freeway.

523
00:24:12.395 --> 00:24:13.965
This is saying, what is valuable,

524
00:24:13.995 --> 00:24:15.245
what should be going on next?

525
00:24:15.865 --> 00:24:17.205
So actually, it's not just a queue

526
00:24:17.655 --> 00:24:19.525
where you wait your turn and then you go on.

527
00:24:20.315 --> 00:24:23.645
It's, uh, it's, it's actually prioritized queue.

528
00:24:23.645 --> 00:24:25.325
If you're an ambulance, you go first.

529
00:24:25.985 --> 00:24:27.285
If you're a bus, you go second.

530
00:24:27.945 --> 00:24:29.885
If you are carrying, you know,

531
00:24:29.885 --> 00:24:31.325
someone important, you go next.

532
00:24:32.225 --> 00:24:34.965
The, the, the idea is that it goes backwards.

533
00:24:35.065 --> 00:24:36.685
So you're getting the most important vehicles

534
00:24:36.715 --> 00:24:37.885
onto that road first.

535
00:24:38.585 --> 00:24:40.085
Uh, and it's the same with your portfolio.

536
00:24:40.105 --> 00:24:43.205
You're getting the most important projects, vehicles

537
00:24:43.205 --> 00:24:45.005
for value onto the right first.

538
00:24:45.985 --> 00:24:48.965
So we are quantifying our portfolio.

539
00:24:49.345 --> 00:24:51.725
We are coming up with pretty charts to do it.

540
00:24:52.225 --> 00:24:53.805
Now, there might be folks

541
00:24:53.805 --> 00:24:54.925
out there that have done this before.

542
00:24:54.925 --> 00:24:57.685
You've got a weighted spreadsheet, uh, that, that, that,

543
00:24:57.685 --> 00:24:58.765
that gives you a number.

544
00:24:59.705 --> 00:25:01.925
The critical difference, you know, we believe in terms

545
00:25:01.925 --> 00:25:03.045
of a HP and, and,

546
00:25:03.045 --> 00:25:06.165
and working through the, the, the approach we've built is

547
00:25:06.165 --> 00:25:10.815
that you are building buy-in to that number so

548
00:25:10.815 --> 00:25:14.995
that when people actually see this chart, they're not going,

549
00:25:15.665 --> 00:25:16.835
yeah, but that's nonsense.

550
00:25:16.985 --> 00:25:18.315
Yeah, but I don't believe that.

551
00:25:18.585 --> 00:25:20.475
Yeah, I'm just gonna ignore it and do my own thing.

552
00:25:20.825 --> 00:25:23.315
They're kind of going, you know what, this makes sense.

553
00:25:23.735 --> 00:25:25.555
We, we, we went through a proper process.

554
00:25:25.665 --> 00:25:28.635
This is fair, this is structured, this is a good answer.

555
00:25:29.175 --> 00:25:30.635
So we need to then commit to

556
00:25:30.635 --> 00:25:33.235
what comes next and what comes next.

557
00:25:33.465 --> 00:25:37.955
Well, this is where we start getting into the kind

558
00:25:37.955 --> 00:25:39.115
of AI solutions.

559
00:25:39.145 --> 00:25:41.275
This is where we start with our kind

560
00:25:41.275 --> 00:25:43.475
of Goldilocks hat back on of saying,

561
00:25:43.855 --> 00:25:46.515
how can we provide something that is sophisticated

562
00:25:47.175 --> 00:25:49.675
but not massively complicated to use?

563
00:25:50.335 --> 00:25:54.485
So we've built here a scenario that just said, pretty simply

564
00:25:55.615 --> 00:25:57.245
stretching the metaphor a little bit,

565
00:25:57.245 --> 00:25:59.605
but how can Goldilocks get as much porridge in her bowl

566
00:25:59.605 --> 00:26:01.165
as possible without overflowing it?

567
00:26:01.825 --> 00:26:04.925
Um, and, and, and what she's, what she's gonna try

568
00:26:04.925 --> 00:26:07.045
and do, she's, she's got some constraints here.

569
00:26:08.005 --> 00:26:09.345
So she's got limits, right?

570
00:26:09.395 --> 00:26:11.665
She's got a limited amount of different types of resource

571
00:26:11.665 --> 00:26:13.105
that, that she can have to draw upon.

572
00:26:13.965 --> 00:26:17.995
But what she wants to do is get the most value possible.

573
00:26:18.855 --> 00:26:23.115
So, and now often when people talk about maximizing value,

574
00:26:23.545 --> 00:26:27.195
it's a little bit like, you know, b******t bingo.

575
00:26:27.195 --> 00:26:28.675
It's, it's sort of one of those words that

576
00:26:28.675 --> 00:26:29.795
that's used quite liberally

577
00:26:29.795 --> 00:26:31.315
that doesn't actually mean a great deal.

578
00:26:32.015 --> 00:26:34.635
Um, or at least it doesn't mean the same thing to, to, to,

579
00:26:34.635 --> 00:26:35.875
to different people around the table.

580
00:26:37.135 --> 00:26:38.875
And again, the, the point of a HP is

581
00:26:38.875 --> 00:26:40.515
that value means the same thing to everyone.

582
00:26:40.525 --> 00:26:41.595
Value is actually a number.

583
00:26:42.015 --> 00:26:44.615
And in this case, value is a number with two decimal places.

584
00:26:45.515 --> 00:26:48.975
So the point is that you are creating value

585
00:26:49.355 --> 00:26:52.975
by picking the right combination of projects to get this to,

586
00:26:52.995 --> 00:26:54.695
to, to, to deliver the maximum value.

587
00:26:54.955 --> 00:26:57.535
So this is sort of, you know, almost to Mike's point,

588
00:26:57.535 --> 00:26:58.735
this is equivalent of the straw.

589
00:26:59.235 --> 00:27:02.935
So this is trying to, uh, get the right set of projects

590
00:27:02.965 --> 00:27:05.335
that mean no single bottleneck is gonna break

591
00:27:05.525 --> 00:27:06.535
your portfolio.

592
00:27:07.395 --> 00:27:09.485
Because of course, you can see here, right?

593
00:27:09.485 --> 00:27:10.565
These are my bottlenecks

594
00:27:10.785 --> 00:27:13.245
and I've got a couple that are looking pretty full.

595
00:27:14.115 --> 00:27:16.485
Okay, that's fine. We can work around those, we can, we can,

596
00:27:16.545 --> 00:27:18.565
we can respect that in our delivery cycle

597
00:27:18.695 --> 00:27:19.725
three that are pretty full.

598
00:27:20.265 --> 00:27:23.405
But the point is, normally they would be more than full.

599
00:27:23.545 --> 00:27:25.885
And obviously graphically you'd struggle to represent

600
00:27:25.885 --> 00:27:29.405
that on a pie chart, but we all know the reality if that, if

601
00:27:29.405 --> 00:27:33.245
that is 120% full, everything is gonna start to fall apart

602
00:27:33.515 --> 00:27:34.885
because all of a sudden you've,

603
00:27:34.885 --> 00:27:37.485
you're gonna ruin your flow even before you started.

604
00:27:37.505 --> 00:27:39.005
You're going to ruin your flow

605
00:27:39.235 --> 00:27:41.525
because you know, someone is gonna drop it

606
00:27:41.545 --> 00:27:43.285
and they're not gonna drop it 'cause they're incompetent,

607
00:27:43.285 --> 00:27:45.565
they're gonna drop it because they've got too many projects.

608
00:27:46.225 --> 00:27:48.605
So we have to have a car park, we have

609
00:27:48.605 --> 00:27:49.645
to reject some projects.

610
00:27:50.065 --> 00:27:52.365
And having the honesty to say we are not doing everything,

611
00:27:52.785 --> 00:27:56.085
but I think is critical in terms of, of being able

612
00:27:56.085 --> 00:27:57.885
to deliver value from your portfolio.

613
00:28:00.715 --> 00:28:04.735
So, and I think, as I said, all this, you know,

614
00:28:04.735 --> 00:28:07.015
there's an AI component to this, which is effectively,

615
00:28:07.275 --> 00:28:10.015
you know, the algorithm will help you pick the right

616
00:28:10.015 --> 00:28:12.815
project, click the button, apply constraints,

617
00:28:13.515 --> 00:28:17.855
and you're getting really quick scenarios, um, stood up in,

618
00:28:17.875 --> 00:28:20.415
in seconds so you can start to sort

619
00:28:20.415 --> 00:28:21.535
of play with the parameters.

620
00:28:22.225 --> 00:28:26.215
Maybe you are able to, to, you know, do some wiggle room

621
00:28:26.215 --> 00:28:27.575
around these, um, constraints.

622
00:28:28.115 --> 00:28:30.455
And hey, Dan, real quick, yeah, for, for folks

623
00:28:30.455 --> 00:28:32.415
that might already be familiar with good prioritization

624
00:28:32.415 --> 00:28:34.895
techniques such as a HP

625
00:28:34.895 --> 00:28:38.825
or whatever, this may not look, uh, quite new yet,

626
00:28:39.365 --> 00:28:41.585
but the, the punchline's coming.

627
00:28:41.725 --> 00:28:43.745
So stay, stay, stay engaged, everyone,

628
00:28:43.745 --> 00:28:45.465
this is, we're super excited about,

629
00:28:45.765 --> 00:28:47.385
Is that what you, your way of saying hurry up.

630
00:28:47.525 --> 00:28:49.025
But, uh, yeah, this

631
00:28:49.025 --> 00:28:50.185
Is, we have plenty of time.

632
00:28:50.285 --> 00:28:52.385
I'm just, you know, this

633
00:28:52.385 --> 00:28:55.865
Is newish for us, but we are trying to sort of, as I said,

634
00:28:55.865 --> 00:28:57.905
make it really easy to then take all that sort

635
00:28:57.905 --> 00:29:00.025
of data goodness, and turn it into actions.

636
00:29:00.325 --> 00:29:01.905
The so what from prioritization,

637
00:29:02.095 --> 00:29:04.665
because the theme with, with this that we've, you know,

638
00:29:04.685 --> 00:29:06.665
the journey we've been on with prioritization says

639
00:29:07.505 --> 00:29:10.185
actually adding value is, you know,

640
00:29:10.185 --> 00:29:11.505
prioritization's the right thing to do.

641
00:29:11.545 --> 00:29:12.785
I think we can all feel that,

642
00:29:13.005 --> 00:29:16.345
but actually plugging it in, making it deliver value is,

643
00:29:16.365 --> 00:29:20.065
is critical in terms of turning the potential into ROI.

644
00:29:20.885 --> 00:29:22.385
So yeah, punchline, right?

645
00:29:22.685 --> 00:29:25.585
So we have built some of these optimized,

646
00:29:25.585 --> 00:29:26.905
we've optimized our backlogs

647
00:29:26.905 --> 00:29:28.065
and maybe we've done this across a

648
00:29:28.065 --> 00:29:29.105
couple different portfolios.

649
00:29:29.565 --> 00:29:32.345
So we've got, you know, a classic sort of setup here.

650
00:29:32.345 --> 00:29:35.865
We've got the business and we've got it backlog.

651
00:29:36.005 --> 00:29:38.905
So value means different things for those different folks,

652
00:29:38.925 --> 00:29:41.245
but they both deliver value in their in own way.

653
00:29:42.435 --> 00:29:43.615
And they've both optimized

654
00:29:43.615 --> 00:29:45.535
what they think they can get done in their own way.

655
00:29:46.195 --> 00:29:47.775
And we can have different scenarios

656
00:29:48.065 --> 00:29:49.935
where one gets more than the other,

657
00:29:50.675 --> 00:29:52.815
but let's build this base case out,

658
00:29:53.355 --> 00:29:54.735
divide up those constraints,

659
00:29:55.855 --> 00:29:57.515
and actually then bring it back together

660
00:29:57.575 --> 00:30:00.395
and say, right, we are not gonna get all this done.

661
00:30:00.695 --> 00:30:01.995
We can't get all this done at once.

662
00:30:02.015 --> 00:30:03.475
And, and we've gotta do some of that kind

663
00:30:03.475 --> 00:30:04.515
of staggering goodness that

664
00:30:04.515 --> 00:30:06.555
that might took us through in the beginning.

665
00:30:07.455 --> 00:30:08.795
So yes, we've got our list,

666
00:30:09.335 --> 00:30:13.075
but actually what we want to do is we want to do some ai.

667
00:30:13.095 --> 00:30:14.435
So I'm, I'm pressing the button live,

668
00:30:14.435 --> 00:30:17.115
which it's a bit like working with children and animals.

669
00:30:17.175 --> 00:30:19.635
You should never work with a live, uh, algorithms.

670
00:30:19.635 --> 00:30:21.555
But I did it anyway because, you know,

671
00:30:21.555 --> 00:30:22.795
andray, here we go, it works.

672
00:30:23.135 --> 00:30:27.475
Uh, so we've just analyzed 147,000 different permutations in

673
00:30:27.475 --> 00:30:29.155
terms of how we can put the Lego set together.

674
00:30:29.615 --> 00:30:31.515
Uh, it's come up with a bunch of different ones that work

675
00:30:31.515 --> 00:30:32.875
and it's given us the, the, the favorite.

676
00:30:33.935 --> 00:30:36.715
And it's just dropped it here into a simple kind

677
00:30:36.715 --> 00:30:38.435
of graphical view that says, look,

678
00:30:39.055 --> 00:30:40.355
you gave me all these projects.

679
00:30:40.695 --> 00:30:41.875
I'm telling you when to start 'em,

680
00:30:41.875 --> 00:30:43.315
I'm telling you when, when, when they'll finish.

681
00:30:44.175 --> 00:30:46.195
And this is going to then give you

682
00:30:46.195 --> 00:30:49.275
that staggered straw up the bottle type return.

683
00:30:49.465 --> 00:30:52.075
Because what you're able to do is say, look,

684
00:30:52.175 --> 00:30:54.915
you can start these ones now, but don't start these ones.

685
00:30:55.175 --> 00:30:56.875
So you've got your optimized portfolio,

686
00:30:56.975 --> 00:30:58.755
but you know, it's not gonna be bang,

687
00:30:59.075 --> 00:31:00.155
everyone starts the race together.

688
00:31:00.295 --> 00:31:04.235
So this is a bit like you imagine, I think of this as sort

689
00:31:04.235 --> 00:31:05.555
of like a marathon or something.

690
00:31:05.615 --> 00:31:09.035
You know, you don't want the elite runners stuck behind,

691
00:31:09.575 --> 00:31:11.355
you know, the guy wearing a novelty outfit.

692
00:31:11.815 --> 00:31:13.635
Um, and you don't want everyone just

693
00:31:14.315 --> 00:31:16.795
trampling each other starting at the same time.

694
00:31:17.375 --> 00:31:19.755
You want 'em to go off in, in reasonably, uh,

695
00:31:19.755 --> 00:31:21.115
manageable little cohorts.

696
00:31:21.255 --> 00:31:22.875
So, so they can actually, you know,

697
00:31:23.255 --> 00:31:24.475
run as fast as they can run.

698
00:31:27.065 --> 00:31:29.405
And the upshot of this is that you can then

699
00:31:30.195 --> 00:31:32.725
feed this into your, you know, your,

700
00:31:32.725 --> 00:31:35.565
your Microsoft delivery, your Asana, your PPM,

701
00:31:35.725 --> 00:31:37.325
whatever it is, you, you know,

702
00:31:37.325 --> 00:31:40.245
that's your goldilock solution for, for managing projects

703
00:31:40.345 --> 00:31:41.605
and, and crack on and do it.

704
00:31:42.025 --> 00:31:43.605
Um, and you can iterate.

705
00:31:44.145 --> 00:31:47.205
So as reality changes, you can update your plans,

706
00:31:47.665 --> 00:31:50.165
update your schedules, um, and, and, and, and,

707
00:31:50.265 --> 00:31:51.565
and go around the cycle again.

708
00:31:52.145 --> 00:31:54.285
And because it's driven algorithmically,

709
00:31:54.315 --> 00:31:57.565
this is not a complicated, you know, exercise

710
00:31:57.565 --> 00:31:59.405
where it takes you ages to do this balancing.

711
00:31:59.425 --> 00:32:02.885
You are pushing the button, getting the outcome

712
00:32:03.825 --> 00:32:05.765
and working with that.

713
00:32:05.825 --> 00:32:07.565
And, and what we are actually sort

714
00:32:07.565 --> 00:32:10.765
of working on right now is, is also then making

715
00:32:11.595 --> 00:32:14.885
this almost like a kind of scenario based approach.

716
00:32:15.505 --> 00:32:17.165
So I think I alluded to it here,

717
00:32:17.985 --> 00:32:19.775
we've got different scenarios built in.

718
00:32:19.875 --> 00:32:21.575
So it's not just about saying,

719
00:32:21.595 --> 00:32:23.175
here's the best answer we can come up with.

720
00:32:23.365 --> 00:32:26.255
It's about providing your executives with choice.

721
00:32:26.835 --> 00:32:29.975
So here's maybe base case, base case works.

722
00:32:30.035 --> 00:32:33.095
You can get base case, base case will deliver you, you know,

723
00:32:33.285 --> 00:32:34.735
this Gantt chart

724
00:32:35.755 --> 00:32:38.535
and this is a financial exercise, here's a here and this p

725
00:32:38.535 --> 00:32:41.005
and l, this set of financials coming from your portfolio.

726
00:32:41.625 --> 00:32:43.805
Uh, and we, we know we can reliably deliver it.

727
00:32:43.965 --> 00:32:47.485
'cause we're not talking about fairytale, uh, kind

728
00:32:47.485 --> 00:32:49.725
of business plans with too many projects,

729
00:32:50.445 --> 00:32:53.615
but maybe actually we want something different.

730
00:32:53.795 --> 00:32:56.655
So maybe what we want to do is steal a little bit

731
00:32:56.655 --> 00:32:59.495
of resource here from the it backlog, the BAU work

732
00:32:59.875 --> 00:33:01.495
and pump it more into the growth portfolio.

733
00:33:02.255 --> 00:33:03.775
'cause you know, that's, that's

734
00:33:03.775 --> 00:33:06.175
what we wanna do is maybe some shortcuts we can take over

735
00:33:06.175 --> 00:33:08.935
here, which we think are reasonable risks to absorb.

736
00:33:10.135 --> 00:33:11.835
And then we're talking about a different return.

737
00:33:11.855 --> 00:33:13.515
The, the growth profile will look different

738
00:33:13.515 --> 00:33:15.355
because we've got more growth projects, not

739
00:33:15.355 --> 00:33:17.755
because we're saying yes to stuff we can't deliver,

740
00:33:17.855 --> 00:33:20.725
but we're saying, why don't we do something different?

741
00:33:21.025 --> 00:33:24.605
And we're offering choice based on data, which again,

742
00:33:24.625 --> 00:33:26.725
is our, that's our Goldilocks solution.

743
00:33:26.785 --> 00:33:28.285
So some execs might like

744
00:33:28.285 --> 00:33:29.485
their porridge a little hostile than others.

745
00:33:29.545 --> 00:33:32.445
So we, we, we can have that kind of inherent in, in, um,

746
00:33:32.945 --> 00:33:34.325
the user experience.

747
00:33:37.055 --> 00:33:38.955
So the, I see the pump, the, the, the,

748
00:33:38.955 --> 00:33:41.275
the chats been pumping away and I've been yaking on.

749
00:33:41.615 --> 00:33:45.435
Um, I think I've come to the end of my, uh, my product demo

750
00:33:45.435 --> 00:33:47.795
unless there's anything, anything from the chat we want

751
00:33:47.795 --> 00:33:49.835
to kind of dive into if I've forgotten anything.

752
00:33:50.385 --> 00:33:52.595
Yeah, let me, let me just throw my own little punchline,

753
00:33:52.975 --> 00:33:55.275
Dan, since obviously I'm pretty excited about this.

754
00:33:55.855 --> 00:33:59.995
Um, the notion that you can just feed a few basics about,

755
00:34:00.855 --> 00:34:04.195
uh, your resource constraints without having every single

756
00:34:04.515 --> 00:34:06.035
resource loaded and leveled and,

757
00:34:06.455 --> 00:34:10.395
and strewn across multiple, um, resource level loaded

758
00:34:10.415 --> 00:34:13.795
and leveled project plans and resource histograms and,

759
00:34:14.175 --> 00:34:17.395
and then checking whether those resource profiles are

760
00:34:17.675 --> 00:34:20.315
actually likely to play out in reality or not.

761
00:34:20.415 --> 00:34:22.515
And then having all those debates, uh,

762
00:34:22.775 --> 00:34:24.955
you're just channeling your intuition in a,

763
00:34:25.055 --> 00:34:26.675
in a few key spots here.

764
00:34:27.295 --> 00:34:31.435
And then asking the computer to run through a bunch

765
00:34:31.595 --> 00:34:32.835
of simulated scenarios.

766
00:34:33.365 --> 00:34:35.995
Kinda like if you, if you've ever seen where, um, hey,

767
00:34:35.995 --> 00:34:37.635
these two sports teams match up

768
00:34:37.975 --> 00:34:40.235
and we did a computer simulation model

769
00:34:40.235 --> 00:34:41.635
where they might play a thousand times

770
00:34:42.375 --> 00:34:44.755
and one team wins 592

771
00:34:44.755 --> 00:34:46.435
of those thousand times or whatever, right?

772
00:34:46.435 --> 00:34:47.475
Mm-Hmm. It's sort of like that.

773
00:34:47.655 --> 00:34:50.115
So, uh, over time you can kind of see patterns

774
00:34:50.115 --> 00:34:52.755
and probabilities and trends likelihoods

775
00:34:53.255 --> 00:34:57.035
and go with go with that as long as your intuition validates

776
00:34:57.065 --> 00:34:58.515
that that seems about right.

777
00:34:58.985 --> 00:34:59.995
Yeah. And, um,

778
00:34:59.995 --> 00:35:02.075
and you don't need all these complex resource models

779
00:35:02.215 --> 00:35:03.595
and project plans, et cetera.

780
00:35:04.535 --> 00:35:06.235
That's a really good point you make, Mike, is that

781
00:35:07.015 --> 00:35:08.605
the kind of concept here is

782
00:35:08.605 --> 00:35:10.725
that you're approaching portfolio management from

783
00:35:11.285 --> 00:35:13.405
a top down perspective, not from a bottom up.

784
00:35:13.785 --> 00:35:15.405
So if you start in the weeds

785
00:35:15.625 --> 00:35:18.445
of real detailed resource up project plans,

786
00:35:19.165 --> 00:35:21.425
you'll simply never get to a point

787
00:35:21.425 --> 00:35:24.105
where it rolls up into the goals of your organization.

788
00:35:24.845 --> 00:35:27.665
So we very much, you know, believe in the philosophy,

789
00:35:27.665 --> 00:35:29.425
you start with the goals, you start with those,

790
00:35:29.475 --> 00:35:33.465
those high level value objectives in your a HP model, um,

791
00:35:34.125 --> 00:35:36.785
or in the different a HP models for different portfolios.

792
00:35:37.385 --> 00:35:39.845
And you start by then coming downwards

793
00:35:40.105 --> 00:35:41.525
and answering the next question of

794
00:35:41.525 --> 00:35:42.725
where should my resource be?

795
00:35:42.995 --> 00:35:44.325
What projects should I be doing?

796
00:35:45.305 --> 00:35:47.765
And it's only when you get into the teeth of execution

797
00:35:47.835 --> 00:35:50.605
that you start taking on that extra weight of detail.

798
00:35:50.825 --> 00:35:52.245
And if you go straight to that detail,

799
00:35:52.265 --> 00:35:54.845
you are gonna have no flexibility in order

800
00:35:54.845 --> 00:35:56.925
to have the agility needed to get project

801
00:35:57.645 --> 00:35:59.005
resource in the right place for your strategy.

802
00:35:59.995 --> 00:36:01.805
Yeah. I have another interesting point.

803
00:36:02.025 --> 00:36:03.965
Um, if you remember my diagram

804
00:36:04.215 --> 00:36:07.445
where we staggered based on resource B mm, right?

805
00:36:08.045 --> 00:36:09.645
Resource B is sort of the natural pacesetter

806
00:36:09.645 --> 00:36:11.565
or drum B for the portfolio.

807
00:36:12.395 --> 00:36:15.085
Well, what if you don't really know who your resource B is?

808
00:36:15.875 --> 00:36:17.885
What if your intuition, you know, you look around

809
00:36:17.885 --> 00:36:19.645
and you just see everyone's so busy everywhere,

810
00:36:20.345 --> 00:36:21.965
it looks like there's bottlenecks everywhere

811
00:36:22.785 --> 00:36:24.805
and, uh, you know, you,

812
00:36:24.805 --> 00:36:27.325
you have no insight into what's really

813
00:36:27.345 --> 00:36:28.445
the natural pacesetter.

814
00:36:28.675 --> 00:36:32.355
Yeah. Um, this, this new, uh, a HP

815
00:36:33.015 --> 00:36:35.595
AI model will actually run a bunch of scenarios

816
00:36:35.595 --> 00:36:37.355
to help you see where your

817
00:36:37.355 --> 00:36:38.915
bottleneck probably is going to be.

818
00:36:39.435 --> 00:36:42.275
E Exactly. So this, then when we kind of look back

819
00:36:42.275 --> 00:36:46.395
to the optimization, uh, view here, um, you, you can see

820
00:36:46.395 --> 00:36:48.395
for example, the, the, the little pie charts at the bottom

821
00:36:48.415 --> 00:36:49.795
are calling out, right?

822
00:36:49.985 --> 00:36:51.595
What, what, what, which bits

823
00:36:51.715 --> 00:36:53.275
of your resource model are breaking first?

824
00:36:53.885 --> 00:36:55.115
Which bits are you packing in?

825
00:36:55.115 --> 00:36:57.395
Now, this is all kind of dummy data, so it's probably not

826
00:36:57.395 --> 00:36:59.715
as, uh, it's probably a bit more uniform maybe than,

827
00:36:59.715 --> 00:37:01.235
than reality where you tend to have one

828
00:37:01.235 --> 00:37:02.395
or two clear bottlenecks.

829
00:37:02.655 --> 00:37:05.235
But, but the reality is that, you know,

830
00:37:05.235 --> 00:37:06.475
if you see this at the beginning,

831
00:37:07.015 --> 00:37:08.475
you are more likely to be able to solve it.

832
00:37:08.475 --> 00:37:09.875
If you ignore this at the beginning

833
00:37:10.055 --> 00:37:13.075
or you just don't know it, it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

834
00:37:13.575 --> 00:37:16.155
It exists and it's gonna quietly creep you up

835
00:37:16.155 --> 00:37:17.875
and bite you on the ass at some point

836
00:37:17.875 --> 00:37:18.995
during your delivery cycle.

837
00:37:19.775 --> 00:37:21.975
Um, and, and

838
00:37:23.655 --> 00:37:24.655
Say a quick story on that. And

839
00:37:24.655 --> 00:37:26.115
then I, I know we do have a couple questions,

840
00:37:26.115 --> 00:37:28.675
and I promise we'll get to them all, um,

841
00:37:29.055 --> 00:37:31.275
unless you suddenly overload us with 20 more or something.

842
00:37:31.915 --> 00:37:34.925
But, um, I had a scenario with a client

843
00:37:35.455 --> 00:37:37.485
where they bought off on the staggering model.

844
00:37:37.755 --> 00:37:39.005
They had the political courage

845
00:37:39.545 --> 00:37:41.645
to do real good solid prioritization.

846
00:37:42.455 --> 00:37:45.105
They put all the projects in the portfolio on hold

847
00:37:45.925 --> 00:37:49.905
and resequence them according to the cadence of

848
00:37:49.905 --> 00:37:52.305
what they thought was the natural pacesetter.

849
00:37:53.705 --> 00:37:55.565
And in their case, it was an it organization

850
00:37:55.585 --> 00:37:56.765
of a few thousand people.

851
00:37:57.305 --> 00:38:00.445
And they felt like our, our very top senior architects

852
00:38:00.445 --> 00:38:01.845
that had been around since the merger

853
00:38:02.065 --> 00:38:04.165
and know which systems were decommissioned

854
00:38:04.165 --> 00:38:05.925
and which ones had to be shortcutted

855
00:38:05.925 --> 00:38:08.365
and which ones had weird workarounds.

856
00:38:08.425 --> 00:38:11.445
And oh, by the way, now we've gotta, uh, attach mobile apps

857
00:38:11.445 --> 00:38:13.525
to these old legacy systems and how do we do that?

858
00:38:13.665 --> 00:38:15.725
And those guys, uh,

859
00:38:15.825 --> 00:38:18.125
and gals were, um, the ones that knew

860
00:38:18.125 --> 00:38:19.285
where all the bones were buried.

861
00:38:19.865 --> 00:38:21.805
So of course, they're the natural pacesetter.

862
00:38:22.925 --> 00:38:26.855
So they had the political courage to stop everything

863
00:38:27.035 --> 00:38:29.975
and resequence according to that natural pacesetter.

864
00:38:30.395 --> 00:38:32.015
And after a month, nothing got better.

865
00:38:34.215 --> 00:38:37.545
You can imagine just the, the red faces

866
00:38:37.735 --> 00:38:38.785
that I had to deal with.

867
00:38:39.005 --> 00:38:41.865
Um, after that. Now they had some great

868
00:38:42.025 --> 00:38:43.105
learnings from that experience, right?

869
00:38:43.105 --> 00:38:45.585
They learned, okay, it's not where we thought it was.

870
00:38:45.975 --> 00:38:47.065
Well, that's great insight.

871
00:38:47.085 --> 00:38:49.745
Now let's imagine, uh, if you know where it might be.

872
00:38:50.205 --> 00:38:53.385
And indeed, their architects very quickly we're able

873
00:38:53.385 --> 00:38:55.585
to tell them, well, we're waiting on stuff upstream.

874
00:38:56.445 --> 00:38:59.385
Uh, so the natural pacesetter must be upstream,

875
00:38:59.385 --> 00:39:00.625
which was actually in the business.

876
00:39:01.675 --> 00:39:06.015
Um, so that was a very, uh, risky and expensive

877
00:39:06.395 --> 00:39:09.295
and uh, and required massive amounts of political will

878
00:39:09.795 --> 00:39:11.135
to even get to that learning.

879
00:39:12.295 --> 00:39:15.595
Um, this, doing it in a safe simulated environment here

880
00:39:16.045 --> 00:39:18.475
could get you to that same learning without all of

881
00:39:18.475 --> 00:39:20.675
that courage and risk and time.

882
00:39:22.635 --> 00:39:23.645
Yeah, absolutely.

883
00:39:23.645 --> 00:39:24.685
And, and, and it's really,

884
00:39:24.945 --> 00:39:26.165
you did mention political courage.

885
00:39:26.325 --> 00:39:28.165
I think you still need political courage.

886
00:39:28.165 --> 00:39:31.245
Hopefully this is, this could be, this could be your shield

887
00:39:31.305 --> 00:39:34.005
or possibly your sword as you go into your political battle,

888
00:39:34.425 --> 00:39:35.965
uh, as opposed to kind of going in,

889
00:39:35.965 --> 00:39:37.765
in your metaphorical under crackers, um,

890
00:39:37.875 --> 00:39:39.205
waiting to get slaughtered.

891
00:39:39.425 --> 00:39:43.405
So this is, this is about, um, this is about enabling,

892
00:39:43.705 --> 00:39:44.725
you know, bold leaders

893
00:39:45.225 --> 00:39:47.725
who recognize this is a situation and it needs to change.

894
00:39:48.305 --> 00:39:51.085
Um, but to mites kind of like sequence of denial.

895
00:39:51.215 --> 00:39:52.925
There will be a point when you go, oh,

896
00:39:52.945 --> 00:39:54.085
are we mature enough for this?

897
00:39:55.085 --> 00:39:56.695
Have we really got leadership buy-in?

898
00:39:57.375 --> 00:39:59.475
Are we ready to take the leap and do things differently?

899
00:40:00.535 --> 00:40:01.715
And, and do I really have

900
00:40:01.715 --> 00:40:03.395
to risk political suicide in order

901
00:40:03.415 --> 00:40:04.715
to get something moving around here?

902
00:40:05.625 --> 00:40:07.995
Yeah. And what we always say with folks is, you know,

903
00:40:07.995 --> 00:40:10.635
let's get the, let's get the big dogs in the tent, uh,

904
00:40:10.635 --> 00:40:11.675
early doors in the process.

905
00:40:11.975 --> 00:40:14.195
So, you know, it's, it's taking some of those kind

906
00:40:14.195 --> 00:40:15.995
of leadership people on the, on the journey,

907
00:40:16.415 --> 00:40:17.795
so they understand that, you know,

908
00:40:17.795 --> 00:40:18.915
the, the model is for them.

909
00:40:19.025 --> 00:40:20.475
This is not a task for them.

910
00:40:20.625 --> 00:40:22.635
This is a tool for them, you know,

911
00:40:22.635 --> 00:40:25.035
that this is an opportunity for them to take more control

912
00:40:25.175 --> 00:40:27.235
and to get better results, to get better return.

913
00:40:28.055 --> 00:40:30.035
Um, but they do need to commit to kind

914
00:40:30.035 --> 00:40:31.235
of supporting and making it happen.

915
00:40:31.415 --> 00:40:34.075
So, you know, a HP and, and,

916
00:40:34.095 --> 00:40:37.195
and, you know, scheduling is really about honesty,

917
00:40:37.425 --> 00:40:40.635
data led collaboration, uh, as opposed to sort

918
00:40:40.635 --> 00:40:43.195
of old school ways of doing it. So just, just

919
00:40:43.195 --> 00:40:44.235
Make everything look green.

920
00:40:44.685 --> 00:40:46.195
Everything look green. Exactly.

921
00:40:46.315 --> 00:40:48.235
Everything's all good until it isn't.

922
00:40:48.255 --> 00:40:50.355
And then we'll leave and get another job. Uh, hey,

923
00:40:50.375 --> 00:40:52.755
So Mike Clayton put a question in the q

924
00:40:52.755 --> 00:40:55.555
and a saying, how does the sequencing algorithm allow

925
00:40:55.555 --> 00:40:56.555
for potential delays?

926
00:40:56.975 --> 00:40:59.825
Yep. If an early project delays

927
00:41:00.085 --> 00:41:02.105
and resources get tied up, then you know,

928
00:41:02.105 --> 00:41:03.545
there's some ripple effect downstream, right?

929
00:41:03.805 --> 00:41:06.825
So how does algorithm allow, uh, you know,

930
00:41:06.825 --> 00:41:08.025
to catch that ripple effect?

931
00:41:08.615 --> 00:41:11.305
Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, part of the reason that,

932
00:41:11.325 --> 00:41:13.145
you know, we, we believe this works with,

933
00:41:13.145 --> 00:41:14.385
with the algorithm approach is,

934
00:41:14.405 --> 00:41:16.065
is the simplicity and the quick turnaround.

935
00:41:16.525 --> 00:41:18.985
So, uh, I think I had a thing flushed up a second ago. Yeah.

936
00:41:18.985 --> 00:41:20.665
So you have a little plan here

937
00:41:21.125 --> 00:41:23.585
and you, your plan's got your best guess in it, right?

938
00:41:24.085 --> 00:41:26.185
Uh, best guesses don't always turn out to be right.

939
00:41:26.565 --> 00:41:29.825
So you might go in and update a plan that's in flight.

940
00:41:30.045 --> 00:41:32.185
Uh, you might link it up to a, as I say,

941
00:41:32.465 --> 00:41:35.765
a project management tool that's got more detailed data

942
00:41:35.765 --> 00:41:37.885
and estimates and things captured and pop 'em back in.

943
00:41:38.105 --> 00:41:41.005
So you can have that kind of constant refresh cycle

944
00:41:41.635 --> 00:41:45.205
that just says, okay, let's change these estimates

945
00:41:45.205 --> 00:41:46.765
because we've got a slightly different set of data.

946
00:41:46.775 --> 00:41:48.045
Press the button again. Okay,

947
00:41:48.575 --> 00:41:50.525
maybe these three projects are gonna have

948
00:41:50.525 --> 00:41:52.685
to move back a little bit to make way for this one.

949
00:41:53.265 --> 00:41:54.445
And also then having that kind

950
00:41:54.445 --> 00:41:56.005
of governance cadence that sits on top.

951
00:41:56.145 --> 00:41:58.125
And at some point just says, from time to time,

952
00:41:58.555 --> 00:42:01.895
hang on a minute, this project's now twice

953
00:42:01.955 --> 00:42:03.455
as expensive in terms of time.

954
00:42:04.165 --> 00:42:06.255
Hang on a minute, maybe actually we'll challenge some

955
00:42:06.255 --> 00:42:07.255
of the benefits of this project

956
00:42:07.575 --> 00:42:08.375
'cause they've moved as well.

957
00:42:09.245 --> 00:42:11.305
So again, it's political honesty saying

958
00:42:12.065 --> 00:42:13.705
actually maybe mathematically this project

959
00:42:13.835 --> 00:42:15.105
isn't a great choice anymore.

960
00:42:16.315 --> 00:42:17.455
Um, and, and, and,

961
00:42:17.455 --> 00:42:20.415
and we need to kind of rerun that prioritization process

962
00:42:20.555 --> 00:42:21.935
and say, we prepared to say

963
00:42:22.745 --> 00:42:24.965
the cost remaining versus the benefits

964
00:42:25.605 --> 00:42:26.845
expected no longer makes sense.

965
00:42:28.025 --> 00:42:31.895
Hey, so let me add onto that, Dan, that, um, you know,

966
00:42:31.895 --> 00:42:33.535
if you imagine the scenario I painted earlier

967
00:42:33.535 --> 00:42:35.855
where we were juggling multiple projects at the same time

968
00:42:35.955 --> 00:42:39.815
and everyone was jumping from project to project mid task.

969
00:42:41.225 --> 00:42:43.005
If you're trying to understand the ripple effect

970
00:42:43.005 --> 00:42:46.115
of a delay on one of those projects, uh,

971
00:42:46.655 --> 00:42:47.715
you have a pretty simple answer.

972
00:42:47.815 --> 00:42:52.305
It will, it will, it will delay everything, right?

973
00:42:53.045 --> 00:42:55.025
Um, and of course that's not a great,

974
00:42:55.025 --> 00:42:56.105
that's not a great outcome.

975
00:42:57.005 --> 00:42:59.745
If you imagine the same scenario in the staggered model

976
00:42:59.845 --> 00:43:01.185
and the project that I have,

977
00:43:01.285 --> 00:43:04.385
my pace setting resources working on get stuck

978
00:43:05.005 --> 00:43:07.065
and it's gonna take a week or two longer than we thought.

979
00:43:08.015 --> 00:43:11.555
Well, we can easily see the ripple effect of that, right?

980
00:43:11.575 --> 00:43:13.315
We know we have to, to re-stack

981
00:43:13.875 --> 00:43:15.955
reschedule the staggered starts for a week

982
00:43:15.955 --> 00:43:17.275
or two later for the next projects.

983
00:43:18.025 --> 00:43:21.355
Similarly, if Murphy does not show up

984
00:43:21.575 --> 00:43:24.235
and things go better than we imagine, oh man,

985
00:43:24.235 --> 00:43:25.595
we're set to finish sooner.

986
00:43:26.005 --> 00:43:27.875
Maybe we should tee up the next project,

987
00:43:27.885 --> 00:43:31.145
start a bit earlier, and, um, you know,

988
00:43:31.145 --> 00:43:33.625
we often hear executives ask to push things to the left,

989
00:43:34.255 --> 00:43:36.065
what, you know, can we please start things earlier?

990
00:43:36.805 --> 00:43:38.985
And the result is a traffic jam, right?

991
00:43:38.985 --> 00:43:40.945
They're shoving more work onto the system before it's ready,

992
00:43:41.605 --> 00:43:42.665
and we're on the wrong part of

993
00:43:42.665 --> 00:43:43.825
that flow density curve again.

994
00:43:44.415 --> 00:43:47.225
Well, the staggered model can, can give us a way

995
00:43:47.645 --> 00:43:50.825
to push things to the left without destabilizing our system.

996
00:43:51.755 --> 00:43:55.455
Uh, and so this model that, um, that Dan is showing, um,

997
00:43:55.465 --> 00:43:58.985
helps you see all of those things pretty, pretty readily.

998
00:43:59.695 --> 00:44:01.315
And, and, and yeah, my, I mean, you're alluding

999
00:44:01.315 --> 00:44:03.115
to another part of the, the, the solution.

1000
00:44:03.115 --> 00:44:04.395
We, we've not got into a massive detail,

1001
00:44:04.395 --> 00:44:07.395
but the kind of the concept of buffering, um, that says,

1002
00:44:08.205 --> 00:44:10.635
again, when we do our resource allocation,

1003
00:44:10.675 --> 00:44:12.995
particularly if we've identified our bottlenecks,

1004
00:44:12.995 --> 00:44:17.075
we might be more cautious about buffer and, and,

1005
00:44:17.075 --> 00:44:18.395
and having some kind of holdback.

1006
00:44:18.775 --> 00:44:20.275
So we want to have a little bit more buffer

1007
00:44:20.275 --> 00:44:21.675
around the one we know as a bottleneck.

1008
00:44:21.895 --> 00:44:25.755
So if something does go wrong, then we are more adaptable,

1009
00:44:26.015 --> 00:44:28.595
uh, to respond to it. So

1010
00:44:28.695 --> 00:44:30.635
You sound like a theory of constraints expert. Dan.

1011
00:44:31.465 --> 00:44:33.965
I'm, I'm, that's because I'm an expert in sounding,

1012
00:44:34.885 --> 00:44:36.725
sounding good with a small amount of knowledge,

1013
00:44:36.785 --> 00:44:39.245
but, uh, no, I've just listened to you before, Mike.

1014
00:44:40.745 --> 00:44:43.405
So we've got another, um, let's see, it's, uh,

1015
00:44:43.425 --> 00:44:44.565
Steven Jenner,

1016
00:44:45.035 --> 00:44:47.405
that was Mike's point about a few poor project schedules

1017
00:44:47.605 --> 00:44:48.685
mucking things up addressed.

1018
00:44:49.615 --> 00:44:52.275
So I imagine, in fact, let's imagine, Steven, you,

1019
00:44:52.295 --> 00:44:54.315
you're like the worst case scenario.

1020
00:44:54.805 --> 00:44:56.795
Let's imagine we had schedules that

1021
00:44:57.375 --> 00:44:58.475
looked like we were gonna,

1022
00:44:59.185 --> 00:45:00.605
it was gonna take just a couple of months.

1023
00:45:00.705 --> 00:45:03.085
Simple little projects don't even need any

1024
00:45:03.085 --> 00:45:05.005
of our scarce bottleneck resources on it.

1025
00:45:05.625 --> 00:45:07.725
No big deal. And in reality,

1026
00:45:08.185 --> 00:45:10.765
it 10 times more complex than we imagined we'd completely

1027
00:45:10.795 --> 00:45:12.565
goof the scheduling and the resourcing.

1028
00:45:13.345 --> 00:45:16.005
Um, how does it, how might this solution help us, Dan?

1029
00:45:16.875 --> 00:45:19.445
Yeah, so I think we, we alluded to it before.

1030
00:45:19.705 --> 00:45:21.805
One is that kind of governance cycle that sits on top

1031
00:45:21.805 --> 00:45:24.525
and just says, as the data updates, the value

1032
00:45:24.525 --> 00:45:25.525
for money updates, right?

1033
00:45:25.705 --> 00:45:28.485
So there's, there's, there will be a point where

1034
00:45:28.485 --> 00:45:31.285
that benchmark affordability just drops.

1035
00:45:32.125 --> 00:45:34.425
So you need to always keep an eye on

1036
00:45:35.065 --> 00:45:37.105
actually is this delivering value threshold

1037
00:45:37.285 --> 00:45:39.105
and it's value based on the value

1038
00:45:39.285 --> 00:45:41.545
and the cost as a combination of data points.

1039
00:45:42.005 --> 00:45:44.225
So value for money should be a benchmark.

1040
00:45:44.245 --> 00:45:47.065
If you're below it, then maybe it's not worth doing anymore.

1041
00:45:47.485 --> 00:45:49.225
You know, I didn't even ponder that aspect.

1042
00:45:49.545 --> 00:45:52.425
'cause if we're really struggling with this project,

1043
00:45:52.455 --> 00:45:55.465
that surprised us somehow with how much more complex it was,

1044
00:45:56.335 --> 00:45:59.425
it's quite possible that the additional complexity, time

1045
00:45:59.445 --> 00:46:02.955
and cost and resourcing fundamentally altered the, the,

1046
00:46:02.955 --> 00:46:05.275
the value proposition of that project in the first place.

1047
00:46:06.255 --> 00:46:08.675
Oh yeah. And so often we're just blindly going,

1048
00:46:08.935 --> 00:46:10.555
you know, like, well, it was approved, it was funded.

1049
00:46:10.865 --> 00:46:13.435
Yeah. Uh, you know, everyone wants this project done,

1050
00:46:13.455 --> 00:46:15.115
it was prioritized number eight or whatever.

1051
00:46:15.735 --> 00:46:18.875
Um, well, maybe it's time to reprioritize. Yeah.

1052
00:46:19.135 --> 00:46:20.955
And especially if it's a bad apple, let's get it out the,

1053
00:46:21.095 --> 00:46:22.195
out the out of the barrel.

1054
00:46:22.825 --> 00:46:26.195
Exactly. I mean, we prioritization should be a, you know,

1055
00:46:26.395 --> 00:46:27.995
a, a threshold for value.

1056
00:46:28.015 --> 00:46:30.955
It shouldn't be a gate, a one way, a gate you go through

1057
00:46:30.955 --> 00:46:32.275
and then that never to see it again.

1058
00:46:33.005 --> 00:46:34.835
Thank God my business case got signed off.

1059
00:46:34.835 --> 00:46:37.555
Well, hey, let's, let's get spending.

1060
00:46:40.215 --> 00:46:41.825
Cool. So Ian asks, uh,

1061
00:46:41.945 --> 00:46:44.585
what minimum project delivery capacity data

1062
00:46:45.165 --> 00:46:46.505
do you need to feed into this system?

1063
00:46:47.565 --> 00:46:51.465
Uh, as in how simple can we get? So very simple. Um, uh, I

1064
00:46:51.465 --> 00:46:52.825
Say this is my favorite part, by the way.

1065
00:46:53.205 --> 00:46:56.225
Simple. Yes. Look, so at, at, at, at the end of the day,

1066
00:46:56.245 --> 00:46:59.385
you, you just need, you need, you need, you need sort of

1067
00:46:59.385 --> 00:47:01.785
to know the project's value, the project value.

1068
00:47:02.085 --> 00:47:04.185
If you, if you work with Mike, you'll have four criteria

1069
00:47:04.405 --> 00:47:06.625
and you'll be done, done, done by lunchtime.

1070
00:47:07.125 --> 00:47:08.265
Um, I've had clients

1071
00:47:08.265 --> 00:47:10.745
that like a few more criteria in a bit more detail, um,

1072
00:47:11.845 --> 00:47:15.945
but for good, um, in terms of the, the, the kind

1073
00:47:15.945 --> 00:47:18.105
of modeling data, it's really about

1074
00:47:18.125 --> 00:47:19.505
how many bottlenecks you've got,

1075
00:47:19.505 --> 00:47:21.665
how many resource pots you, you want to work with.

1076
00:47:22.005 --> 00:47:24.545
Um, we don't work with kind of looking at

1077
00:47:24.545 --> 00:47:26.425
what Jeff from the data team is gonna be doing

1078
00:47:26.445 --> 00:47:27.665
in four weeks on Thursday.

1079
00:47:27.975 --> 00:47:30.375
This is about looking at high level bottlenecks,

1080
00:47:30.445 --> 00:47:32.695
potential kind of landmines in, in the plan.

1081
00:47:33.195 --> 00:47:35.575
So it might be three, it might be 4, 5, 6.

1082
00:47:35.575 --> 00:47:36.695
There's not a particular number.

1083
00:47:37.275 --> 00:47:40.095
Um, and the level of granularity in the business plan,

1084
00:47:40.095 --> 00:47:41.455
which I realize I've still got up on the screen,

1085
00:47:41.785 --> 00:47:43.055
again, fully configurable.

1086
00:47:43.275 --> 00:47:45.375
So it could be very, very simple, you know,

1087
00:47:45.375 --> 00:47:46.735
annual kind of numbers.

1088
00:47:46.835 --> 00:47:48.735
It could be kind of much more ma micro

1089
00:47:48.765 --> 00:47:50.295
monthly kind of scheduling.

1090
00:47:50.565 --> 00:47:52.295
Just depends on Yeah,

1091
00:47:52.805 --> 00:47:53.805
Yeah. In fact, I think,

1092
00:47:53.805 --> 00:47:55.735
I think one of the early versions, you,

1093
00:47:55.795 --> 00:47:56.815
you guys had shown me,

1094
00:47:57.235 --> 00:47:59.815
you basically can slot a number of person months.

1095
00:48:00.395 --> 00:48:03.015
Yep. Right? So three architects working for two months,

1096
00:48:03.015 --> 00:48:04.575
each is like six person months.

1097
00:48:04.795 --> 00:48:05.935
Yep. That's my capacity.

1098
00:48:06.575 --> 00:48:08.135
I don't really need, like, sure, some

1099
00:48:08.135 --> 00:48:09.655
of my architects work faster than others

1100
00:48:09.835 --> 00:48:12.335
and I might want on this type of project, but not that.

1101
00:48:12.395 --> 00:48:15.455
And it's, there's all the details that are of course, um,

1102
00:48:15.845 --> 00:48:18.975
real, but we, we don't concern ourselves with too much of

1103
00:48:18.975 --> 00:48:21.095
that, unless you want to spend that extra time

1104
00:48:21.095 --> 00:48:22.895
and energy trying to find, tune it.

1105
00:48:23.355 --> 00:48:25.605
But you'll never, it, you know,

1106
00:48:25.785 --> 00:48:27.605
the point is this solution is not trying

1107
00:48:27.605 --> 00:48:29.445
to replace your detailed planning tool.

1108
00:48:30.345 --> 00:48:31.445
Uh, exactly. And, and,

1109
00:48:31.465 --> 00:48:34.165
and, you know, any solution that tries to get all that level

1110
00:48:34.165 --> 00:48:39.135
of detail in place is gonna be so hard to implement,

1111
00:48:39.255 --> 00:48:41.855
particularly if you are trying to bring together

1112
00:48:43.305 --> 00:48:47.185
delivery groups that have different, uh, approaches to

1113
00:48:47.185 --> 00:48:49.625
how they schedule and work, different ways of prioritizing.

1114
00:48:50.085 --> 00:48:51.505
So if you're trying to drive alignment,

1115
00:48:51.505 --> 00:48:53.225
alignment is typically gonna come

1116
00:48:53.225 --> 00:48:55.825
through different siloed groups working together better.

1117
00:48:56.405 --> 00:48:59.385
So you've gotta have a solution that is relatable

1118
00:48:59.385 --> 00:49:03.625
to the marketing team, the data team, the IT team,

1119
00:49:04.405 --> 00:49:07.065
you know, the, the business facing folks in operations.

1120
00:49:07.765 --> 00:49:09.745
And therefore, you know, we are great believers in,

1121
00:49:09.805 --> 00:49:11.345
you know, you can plug this into different

1122
00:49:11.345 --> 00:49:12.425
types of planning tool.

1123
00:49:12.925 --> 00:49:14.305
You can do something in Excel and,

1124
00:49:14.325 --> 00:49:16.065
or you can do some stuff directly in here

1125
00:49:16.065 --> 00:49:17.145
if you really want to keep it simple.

1126
00:49:17.565 --> 00:49:20.585
Um, the, I the idea is, yeah, you've got that flexibility.

1127
00:49:20.645 --> 00:49:21.745
So when you wanna implement,

1128
00:49:21.965 --> 00:49:23.825
you're not gonna spending a year

1129
00:49:24.205 --> 00:49:26.105
and then realizing that half the people hate it

1130
00:49:26.365 --> 00:49:27.425
and adoption is poor.

1131
00:49:28.685 --> 00:49:31.505
So I, I'm gonna skip to the most recent question.

1132
00:49:31.745 --> 00:49:33.105
I will skip back to the other ones

1133
00:49:33.105 --> 00:49:35.515
because I think you just, you just, uh,

1134
00:49:35.615 --> 00:49:37.555
at least partially answered Todd's question, Dan,

1135
00:49:37.555 --> 00:49:40.515
that can this link to the resource planning tool

1136
00:49:40.515 --> 00:49:41.635
through some sort of API?

1137
00:49:42.135 --> 00:49:45.115
Yes. So we have, we have connectors.

1138
00:49:45.295 --> 00:49:49.395
So, uh, we've connected it to a few different things, uh,

1139
00:49:49.395 --> 00:49:51.995
power BI and as DevOps.

1140
00:49:52.295 --> 00:49:55.035
Um, but we've got little kind of, um, yeah.

1141
00:49:55.035 --> 00:49:56.835
Data layer that we can configure.

1142
00:49:56.835 --> 00:49:59.755
So like an ETL tool built in that you can sort

1143
00:49:59.755 --> 00:50:01.195
of point at at data source.

1144
00:50:01.295 --> 00:50:02.435
Oh, did you say you already have an

1145
00:50:02.435 --> 00:50:03.515
Azure DevOps connector?

1146
00:50:04.215 --> 00:50:06.275
Yes. So, uh, we, we did it

1147
00:50:06.435 --> 00:50:09.835
'cause our, um, our IT team used Azure to kind

1148
00:50:09.835 --> 00:50:11.555
of manage sort of bits and bobs.

1149
00:50:12.055 --> 00:50:14.435
Um, so we, we, we plugged it into Azure.

1150
00:50:15.905 --> 00:50:18.435
Well, so a shock asks, I'm assuming you need a robust,

1151
00:50:18.465 --> 00:50:20.355
long and short term strategy in place first.

1152
00:50:21.145 --> 00:50:23.115
Then from that a roadmap can be

1153
00:50:23.315 --> 00:50:26.245
provided from the system, the roadmap being what projects,

1154
00:50:26.625 --> 00:50:28.765
um, to do, to get the best ROI and benefits.

1155
00:50:29.555 --> 00:50:32.165
Yeah. When, when we, when we talk about kind

1156
00:50:32.165 --> 00:50:33.605
of getting started, um,

1157
00:50:33.705 --> 00:50:36.085
to some extent the first question is where are you starting from?

1158
00:50:36.505 --> 00:50:39.485
So do you have a mature strategy everyone's happy with?

1159
00:50:39.985 --> 00:50:42.405
And all you need to do is sort of, sort of shape it

1160
00:50:42.745 --> 00:50:44.565
so it fits into an a HP model.

1161
00:50:45.545 --> 00:50:49.565
That's great. But if you have, don't have that,

1162
00:50:49.735 --> 00:50:52.845
which is often the case, you need to get, you know,

1163
00:50:52.845 --> 00:50:55.605
someone like Mike who's good at kind of corralling a bit

1164
00:50:55.605 --> 00:50:58.285
of executive alignment in, on, in on and on the process.

1165
00:50:58.465 --> 00:50:59.645
And, and then it's a, it's a,

1166
00:50:59.965 --> 00:51:02.885
a good old fashioned consulting kind of exercise of talking

1167
00:51:02.945 --> 00:51:06.085
to executives, finding out what their motivations are and,

1168
00:51:06.085 --> 00:51:07.445
and putting that into a framework.

1169
00:51:07.785 --> 00:51:10.645
If you are spending money, uh, if you have pros

1170
00:51:10.645 --> 00:51:12.365
and cons, if you have some rationale

1171
00:51:12.365 --> 00:51:13.965
for doing stuff, you have a strategy.

1172
00:51:14.305 --> 00:51:15.445
It just may not be written down.

1173
00:51:15.585 --> 00:51:17.885
It may be more implicit rather than explicit.

1174
00:51:18.305 --> 00:51:20.045
And so the first step is making it explicit.

1175
00:51:20.675 --> 00:51:23.685
Yeah. And you know, given that, you know, it's clear

1176
00:51:23.685 --> 00:51:26.125
that Asock knows what he's talking about in general here.

1177
00:51:26.465 --> 00:51:29.965
Um, and he brings, brings some obvious experience

1178
00:51:29.965 --> 00:51:31.165
and knowledge to the conversation.

1179
00:51:32.245 --> 00:51:35.965
I would say Asock, of course, we all want a robust, long

1180
00:51:35.965 --> 00:51:38.325
and short-term strategy before we really do anything.

1181
00:51:39.025 --> 00:51:43.645
Um, in my experience though, people, organizations

1182
00:51:43.645 --> 00:51:45.885
that have half baked strategies

1183
00:51:47.465 --> 00:51:48.805
do better than those

1184
00:51:48.805 --> 00:51:52.005
that have really good strategies if they have an execution

1185
00:51:52.005 --> 00:51:53.485
model to actually get things done.

1186
00:51:54.455 --> 00:51:56.445
Right? Because that way, even, even if it's half baked,

1187
00:51:56.595 --> 00:51:59.885
well the half that is baked, um, can get done

1188
00:51:59.885 --> 00:52:02.125
and deliver value and then we can hopefully improve

1189
00:52:02.125 --> 00:52:03.645
and realize that the other half was

1190
00:52:04.485 --> 00:52:05.725
probably stuff we never should have bothered

1191
00:52:05.725 --> 00:52:08.165
with in the first place and doesn't really align

1192
00:52:08.165 --> 00:52:09.285
to our strategy very well,

1193
00:52:09.305 --> 00:52:11.325
or our strategy wasn't very clear, et cetera.

1194
00:52:11.545 --> 00:52:12.925
And we can refine that as we go.

1195
00:52:13.505 --> 00:52:15.485
Um, but I find a lot of organizations spend a lot

1196
00:52:15.485 --> 00:52:18.925
of time on strategy with the most beautiful, well thought

1197
00:52:18.925 --> 00:52:22.445
through strategic plans, and the execution just isn't there.

1198
00:52:23.395 --> 00:52:25.695
And so what's the point of having a robust strategy if we

1199
00:52:25.695 --> 00:52:26.855
can't execute it, right?

1200
00:52:27.585 --> 00:52:30.395
Yeah, completely. And I, I also find a lot, one

1201
00:52:30.395 --> 00:52:33.075
of the challenges strategies tend to be almost

1202
00:52:33.075 --> 00:52:34.155
by definition inclusive.

1203
00:52:34.775 --> 00:52:37.955
So they trying to be open enough that, that,

1204
00:52:37.955 --> 00:52:39.355
that everyone can relate to them

1205
00:52:39.375 --> 00:52:41.795
and feel positive about them as as, as being,

1206
00:52:41.935 --> 00:52:43.955
you know, a way forward.

1207
00:52:43.985 --> 00:52:45.755
That, that, that, that, that is gonna work.

1208
00:52:46.255 --> 00:52:48.595
But the problem is, strategists don't always pick

1209
00:52:49.225 --> 00:52:52.075
what they really care about versus what they're like me

1210
00:52:52.665 --> 00:52:53.675
sort of half care about.

1211
00:52:54.055 --> 00:52:56.635
And what prioritization does in terms of an HP model,

1212
00:52:56.975 --> 00:52:59.435
it forces you to really make preference, make a preference.

1213
00:53:00.055 --> 00:53:03.195
So, you know, was that that commitment to HR

1214
00:53:04.095 --> 00:53:05.155
really what you want to do?

1215
00:53:05.155 --> 00:53:07.395
Or is it what you sort of stuck in at the end?

1216
00:53:07.635 --> 00:53:09.795
'cause the HR director was there and you had to,

1217
00:53:10.175 --> 00:53:12.355
but when push comes to shove, you're not gonna spend

1218
00:53:12.915 --> 00:53:16.155
a million dollars on an HR system because,

1219
00:53:16.735 --> 00:53:20.875
So I'm mindful of the time, there's two, two questions.

1220
00:53:20.875 --> 00:53:23.115
Maybe a small third one we haven't gotten to the,

1221
00:53:23.115 --> 00:53:25.925
maybe we can, I wanna actually start with Connie's,

1222
00:53:26.265 --> 00:53:28.445
and I'm not skipping over your last one a shock,

1223
00:53:28.445 --> 00:53:30.685
but I think answering Connie's will help answer yours too.

1224
00:53:31.505 --> 00:53:33.165
Um, Ken, like what are some limitations

1225
00:53:33.165 --> 00:53:35.405
of a HP compared to other techniques?

1226
00:53:36.105 --> 00:53:37.845
Um, you know, in the interest of time,

1227
00:53:37.845 --> 00:53:40.365
I'll give you the short answer, Connie, that the,

1228
00:53:40.385 --> 00:53:42.845
the real solution isn't about, um,

1229
00:53:42.985 --> 00:53:44.605
all the detailed calculations

1230
00:53:44.605 --> 00:53:46.485
that give you the exact weighted criteria

1231
00:53:46.585 --> 00:53:49.125
or criteria weightings against which, uh,

1232
00:53:49.125 --> 00:53:50.765
project candidates should be judged.

1233
00:53:51.165 --> 00:53:54.285
Although that is a benefit of hp, it's, it's the,

1234
00:53:54.675 --> 00:53:58.125
does it trigger the right healthy conversations among people

1235
00:53:58.125 --> 00:54:00.445
that have genuinely divergent points of view?

1236
00:54:01.345 --> 00:54:05.765
And does it encourage the diversity of viewpoints as we try

1237
00:54:05.765 --> 00:54:09.275
to come up with a single harmonized approach, right?

1238
00:54:09.415 --> 00:54:12.555
Are all voices actually heard if they're in the room in the

1239
00:54:12.555 --> 00:54:14.475
first place and we want to hear them, right?

1240
00:54:15.255 --> 00:54:17.955
And, uh, too many other techniques fall down in this basic

1241
00:54:18.205 --> 00:54:20.165
human element, right?

1242
00:54:20.225 --> 00:54:22.685
So, um, again, with more time

1243
00:54:22.705 --> 00:54:25.925
or maybe some other webinars, Dan, we can answer, uh,

1244
00:54:25.945 --> 00:54:26.965
in a bit more detail.

1245
00:54:27.665 --> 00:54:30.175
But then there's also anything you wanna add.

1246
00:54:31.175 --> 00:54:33.055
Absolutely. So we can, we can send out, we've got a,

1247
00:54:33.335 --> 00:54:35.095
a blog on that we can send it out for, for,

1248
00:54:35.095 --> 00:54:36.135
for those who want some homework.

1249
00:54:36.195 --> 00:54:39.775
But, you know, at the, at its simplest level, the best,

1250
00:54:39.835 --> 00:54:42.655
the easiest way to make a decision is an old piece

1251
00:54:42.655 --> 00:54:44.095
of technology called the Magic eight Ball.

1252
00:54:44.465 --> 00:54:46.855
Right? You can shake that bad boy

1253
00:54:47.035 --> 00:54:48.735
and it'll tell you the answer straight away.

1254
00:54:48.875 --> 00:54:51.015
Now it's complete nonsense, but you'll make a decision.

1255
00:54:52.445 --> 00:54:54.415
It's easy, but it's rubbish.

1256
00:54:54.595 --> 00:54:57.055
And, and, and, and, you know, so, so what what we're trying

1257
00:54:57.055 --> 00:54:59.255
to do is, is move the world forward.

1258
00:54:59.755 --> 00:55:02.535
So it's not going for necessarily the simplest way

1259
00:55:02.535 --> 00:55:04.495
to make a decision, but it's actually the most effective.

1260
00:55:04.915 --> 00:55:06.495
And you're exactly right, Mike.

1261
00:55:06.565 --> 00:55:08.255
Effective decisions come from people.

1262
00:55:08.255 --> 00:55:09.735
They come from people working together.

1263
00:55:10.045 --> 00:55:12.855
They come from people working together in a structured,

1264
00:55:12.915 --> 00:55:16.135
staged way that respects decision science

1265
00:55:16.435 --> 00:55:17.935
and doesn't just make stuff up.

1266
00:55:18.435 --> 00:55:21.335
Um, because as people we are noisy creatures.

1267
00:55:21.335 --> 00:55:22.855
We come up with all sorts of nonsense.

1268
00:55:23.315 --> 00:55:25.735
Uh, and yeah, we need a little bit of structure

1269
00:55:25.735 --> 00:55:27.055
and a little bit of science in order

1270
00:55:27.055 --> 00:55:29.775
to get the most from us, um, as we, we try

1271
00:55:29.775 --> 00:55:31.215
and maximize human intelligence.

1272
00:55:31.355 --> 00:55:32.535
So a lot of talk about ai,

1273
00:55:32.535 --> 00:55:34.735
but you know, we're great believers in human intelligence

1274
00:55:34.735 --> 00:55:36.175
here as well, which is what, so

1275
00:55:36.255 --> 00:55:37.495
Real quick, let's squeeze a,

1276
00:55:37.615 --> 00:55:38.935
a shock's last question there.

1277
00:55:39.245 --> 00:55:41.735
What about the pet project that some top executive wants,

1278
00:55:41.735 --> 00:55:43.855
even if it's not necessarily the highest value?

1279
00:55:44.475 --> 00:55:46.895
Um, you know, there's no great solution to that.

1280
00:55:46.935 --> 00:55:48.775
A shock other than at least shine a light on it.

1281
00:55:49.085 --> 00:55:50.815
Yeah, right? If, if we can see

1282
00:55:50.815 --> 00:55:53.895
that it actually scored lower than eight other projects.

1283
00:55:54.165 --> 00:55:57.335
Well, the fact that the top executive thinks it's the best

1284
00:55:57.755 --> 00:55:58.775
is interesting perhaps,

1285
00:55:59.275 --> 00:56:02.095
but requires, um, an additional healthy conversation

1286
00:56:02.095 --> 00:56:03.735
or two that, um, I,

1287
00:56:04.515 --> 00:56:05.775
And it comes back to Scenarios.

1288
00:56:06.105 --> 00:56:07.415
Smoke out the false assumptions

1289
00:56:07.715 --> 00:56:09.175
And it's scenarios rather than context, right?

1290
00:56:09.195 --> 00:56:11.575
So it's not, it's not pep project, yes or no.

1291
00:56:11.765 --> 00:56:14.055
It's scenario one.

1292
00:56:14.275 --> 00:56:16.375
You know, do you want to do pet project scenario

1293
00:56:16.965 --> 00:56:20.255
with value this, or do you wanna do maximized value

1294
00:56:20.695 --> 00:56:21.855
scenario with value this?

1295
00:56:22.625 --> 00:56:23.845
So you're not picking your pro,

1296
00:56:23.845 --> 00:56:25.325
you're not just picking your pet project,

1297
00:56:25.345 --> 00:56:27.405
you're consciously picking a lower value project

1298
00:56:27.665 --> 00:56:28.765
or a low value portfolio.

1299
00:56:29.425 --> 00:56:32.485
And I'd be surprised if many execs still back their

1300
00:56:32.485 --> 00:56:33.645
project at the back of that.

1301
00:56:35.425 --> 00:56:38.805
So as we wrap, Dan, uh, Todd also asked if you could give,

1302
00:56:39.195 --> 00:56:41.205
give him a show and tell exactly. I,

1303
00:56:41.315 --> 00:56:42.315
I'll reach out to you, Todd. No

1304
00:56:42.315 --> 00:56:43.305
worries.

1305
00:56:46.115 --> 00:56:48.815
So I will, uh, thank you all for your, again,

1306
00:56:48.815 --> 00:56:49.775
the most valuable thing you

1307
00:56:49.775 --> 00:56:50.935
have to offer, which is your time.

1308
00:56:51.055 --> 00:56:53.815
I hope this was, um, useful, enlightening.

1309
00:56:54.395 --> 00:56:57.055
Um, I hope you see the same Goldilocks. I do.

1310
00:56:57.875 --> 00:56:59.695
I'm, I'm, I'm first in line to try

1311
00:56:59.995 --> 00:57:02.135
and bring this to my clients, um,

1312
00:57:02.515 --> 00:57:04.655
and I'm real excited about the potential where it can go.

1313
00:57:05.195 --> 00:57:06.175
Thanks so much, Dan.