A team member presented their idea for how we might improve a process to me today. They were nervous. Me? Scary? And though they were nervous, their presentation was effective.

I wrote out my thoughts to this person’s manager, and I thought to share them with you. Perhaps there are some nuggets that are useful.

Note: I am doing a copy-and-paste job. There is context and nuance that you’d need to understand things like “stop being a perfectionist.” Assume I know the person I am talking to and we have a trusting relationship.

1. Stop being a perfectionist.

2. When pitching to me (at least) go in small bites and simplify.  Imagine you're talking to a kid.

3. Identify ways to escalate early before something gets delayed in order to cover our butts but also to prevent delays for the providers.

4. When project planning, do a gap analysis to understand where gaps are and be relentless in looking for them.

5. If you want to make change happen, be as progressive as possible -- a blue sky thinker -- and then let reality pull you closer towards the middle.  You'll make more progress than the person who inches a little bit.

6. Quantify, quantify, quantify outcomes.  If you want a phase to have a specific outcome, be able to measure it.  If it doesn't get measured, it doesn't get managed.