Do you remember the talking dog from the movie “Up”?
His name is Dug. (No letter “o”. Really! Need proof? Click here).
Dug was great – loyal, loving, and smart! But every once in a while….SQUIRREL!
He was effective until he got distracted.
We can be the same way. Project Managers have a ton of data to track – and we have 15 different variations of that data to report on to 10 different groups.
Plus, we need to track both time and impact of what each member of our team is working on while ensuring it is visible to them, their department, and across the organization!
We’re always looking for ways to make our jobs just a bit easier, and communication a little more efficient.
It’s so easy to act like Dug – jumping from one tool to the next. We start using one, get stuck, and try another that looks promising. Or the company decides to change the project metrics they need, and what we’re using can’t easily provide it for us…so we hunt for the next great solution.
We call this “shiny object syndrome” …and it can cost you more time than it saves.
Changing tools is not a bad thing, but my recommendation is to use 1 tool for the duration of a project. You can always pick another tool for the next project.
And although you could use any tool on the market, there is typically one main tool the company uses as standard, and it does 80% of the job. Use it. You’ll save yourself some major headaches!
Are you like Dug? Or have you mastered 1 tool that no once could pry away from you?