Making Projects Look Fun

I used to be on a project where pretty much everybody hated being there. Everyone was under pressure. Work sucked, was late. The customer would be unhappy. To cope everyone would start drinking. Lots. Some guys would outright quit. Some would just hand in their resignation and get out. You had to have severe will power, a certain machismo to survive (let alone thrive).

Now this project made a conscious decision to utilize social media for communication. Once they got past the idea of confidentiality and how to shield off the outside world from the project team, the project got Fun. People started using social media in ways that actually increased engagement. Top to bottom, from management to lowly administrator on the floor, everybody used the channel. Everybody understood how to use it. And everybody likes to use it.

This for me is the single biggest reason for the success of the project now. Even though they are way past late, the way they communicate with everyone, stakeholders included, has made the project much less stressful to be around. And the impression they make to the outside world is one of confidence.

That alone sells.