The Spanish and the Anglo-Saxons are both different and
similar - armadas, monarchy, football, empires, you name it,
writesPhil Thistlethwaite, CEO ofThe Birchman
Group. They also both 'do' project management.
I have worked extensively with European stakeholders over the
past 12 years, and been fortunate enough to have managed
large-scale change programmes on Asia-Pacific, European and global
scales. And being an opinionated Australian, I feel well qualified
to comment on the question I have pondered for many years - who
does project management better?
My initial foray was tainted by the Anglo-Saxon stereotype of
the Spanish, eg Fawlty Towers and/or Mañana. However, the longer I
worked in Europe, the more empathy and respect I developed for the
Spanish approach.
The Anglo-Saxon approach
The Anglo-Saxon approach generally revolves around planning to
the Nth degree and then applying a consistent, high level of effort
to the programme for an extended period. For "normal" programmes,
this period culminates in a condensed "panic phase", usually less
than 15% of the timescale.
At the beginning, the Anglo-Saxons focus on locking down
requirements and design elements as early as possible and hoping to
block client change. It also relies quite heavily on having a few
heroic hard workers who make up for those colleagues who just
"clock in" and do very little.
The Spanish approach
Let's be honest, Spanish project management is devoid of
unnecessary planning; it is often devoid of any planning at all.
When I first started to work with Spanish colleagues I was pulling
my hair out. How can these people deliver successful projects? As
time went by and I learned more about their culture and values, I
could see how they did it.
They have a more family-orientated and life/work balanced
culture. The Spanish also treat the capturing of requirements and
design elements as "conceptual", anticipating that it will change
halfway through when the client realises what they really want.
The Spanish approach dedicates very little effort to the first
30% of the timescale. They use this period to recharge their
batteries, enjoy life, invest in the family and gently move things
along. They then spend the next 30% lifting their efforts and
arguing to sort out the natural order within the project
environment. Then comes the Spanish "chaos phase".
The chaos phase is where the Spanish really come into their own.
They work an insane number of hours, they argue, they negotiate,
they compromise, they agree, they don't see their families, but
they deliver. This phase starts earlier and lasts longer than the
Anglo-Saxon panic phase (see diagram), taking up approximately 40%
of the project timescale.
Horses for courses
The older I get, the more affinity I have with the Spanish
approach to project management. This makes the duration of the work
shorter, but the level of effort extreme; while the Anglo-Saxon
approach has a lower threshold of effort over a longer period of
time.
Both approaches work and I don't believe there is one model that
fits all. Delivering fast-paced change requires us to span
organisational and cultural boundaries, and when you do this it is
important to understand the values, beliefs and approaches on which
your different colleagues will be relying.
Photo: Barcelona by
Tiago-Ribeiro on
Flickr
Diagram: The Birchman
Group