Mastering Tactical Changes
The Maneuver War principle states:
Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power [1].
Movement on the battlefield is strategized and choreographed. Many calculations are made after the resources of troops, firepower, environment, and enemy are assessed, measured, and evaluated. Unfortunately, no plan stays intact once the battle begins. Tactics must change in the heat of battle. The troops can not wait around to take decisive action. The effective use of the Maneuver principle requires quick decisions.
The program, portfolio, and project management environments are no less dynamic and competitive than a battlefield. And often, leaders and teams feel as stressed and worn out as battle-weary troops. They need help to maneuver through program and project delivery.
The Maneuver Principle is more than just one step of warfare. It becomes a type of warfare as opposed to or blended with the more familiar attrition warfare (overwhelming force applied until the enemy can not fight back). In attrition warfare, the side with the most resources usually wins [2]. Not so with maneuver warfare.
There are two parts to maneuver: strategic and tactical.
Relying on strategy alone does not win a war. But neither will tactics win without it. Tactics are where flexibility plays a vital role in warfare. Strategy, on the other hand, is the foundation which everything else is built upon.
Strategic
The strategic application of the maneuver principle involves structure, plans, and leadership, including six elements identified by war theorist Martin VanCreveld [2]. They heavily influence most other war principles, facilitating tactical maneuvers through chaos readiness. They are as follows [2]:
Tempo: Demonstrated by the OODA loop.
Schwerpunkt: The focal point of effort. Strike the enemy at the right place and time, such as a vital but weakly defended position.
Surprise: It is also a war principle, covered briefly in our blog post “Nine Principles of War: A Bird’s-eye View” and in more detail in a future post.
Combined Arms: Integrate different military arms in a mutually complementary way to achieve objectives, such as infantry, helicopters, strategic airforce, or naval missile strikes. Lower-echelon units of a combined force may be similar. They unite with other branch teams into a balanced, more effective higher-echelon unit in a pre-planned or ad hoc tactical detachment.
Flexibility:
Well-rounded
Self-contained
Redundant [3]
exceeding what is necessary or normal
characterized by similarity or repetition
serving as a duplicate to prevent the failure of an entire system or process due to a single component’s failure
Decentralized command: for Unity of Command to be in place, there must be a defined hierarchy of authority. However, there can be only one person from whom each soldier or officer takes direct orders. Unfortunately, rapidly changing situations may outpace communications or disable a link in the command chain. All levels from the top down must understand the overall intent of their mission and the objective (The Objective Principle).
How do these principles translate into PMO terms? Or how does a PMO apply these to its organization and operation?
Facilitate quick decision-making and action using the OODA Loop.
Focus the PMO’s mission and efforts on adding the most value to the organization by directing and strengthening all aspects of project management toward achieving the organization’s goals.
Be surprising. (More on this in the next post.)
Integrate with other business units to better understand, monitor, and utilize interdependencies between them and the portfolio of projects being delivered.
Be flexible. This requires a team of experts in their field and a team that has comprehensive skills and knowledge areas. They can be interchangeable or rotatable as needed. Also, customize processes and methodologies to each specific initiative. Document the successes of past projects to help duplicate that success with similar projects. Training programs and advancement opportunities provide the next generation of team members and interchangeable resources.
Decentralized command: All levels from the top down must understand the overall intent of their mission and the objective (The Objective Principle). Develop every member of be team to be leader-ready. This helps with speeding up the decision-making process. Avoid micro-management.
Each of these bulleted tips will build tactical capabilities as the portfolio of projects is delivered. You must be adept at shifting gears when challenges or chaos strikes. And the best tool for a tactical advantage is the OODA Loop.
Tactical maneuvers
Air Force Colonel John Boyd Col. Boyd was an exceptional fighter pilot and a superb military strategist [2]. He developed his “Patterns of Conflict” theory from extensive studies of history’s most significant battles. Part of the theory was the introduction of the OODA Loop to speed decision-making in dynamic, competitive environments.
OODA Loop
The OODA Loop process is [3]:
Observe: Gain situational awareness via all your senses
Orient: Contextualize what you observe based on everything you know
Decide: Formulate the optimal course of action
Act: Execute on your decision without delay
Col. Boyd’s principles help identify the factors that positively or negatively influence decision and action progress [2]. The OODA technique is instrumental in improving the rate at which the project adapts to or accepts change into its scope. It also lends itself to not breaking established processes but adapting to the spirit or intent of the process [2].
For rapid decision-making, triage all issues, risks, and changes, putting them through the OODA loop [2]. The more critical items must complete the OODA loop much faster than noncritical items, helping teams focus on what is essential and those decisions needed to avoid slowing down or hampering the strategy, mission intent, or project progress [2].
Summary
Like battles, project environments and delivery are dynamic, competitive, and chaotic. The successful maneuver through challenges involves strategic PMO design, planning, and change tactics.
The six key takeaways to empower your PMO maneuvers are:
Use the OODA Loop to facilitate quick decision-making and action.
Focus PMO resources on the most value-adding areas of responsibility to the organization’s objectives.
Integrate with other business functional departments to ensure well-managed interdependencies between projects.
Be surprising.
Stay flexible with teams, methods, and processes. Customize. Duplicate the success of similar projects through documentation. Provide training and advancement opportunities that ensure a talent pool of interchangeable managers, leaders, and team members when necessary.
Decentralize command through promoting leadership readiness; transparent, understood objectives; and a clear chain of command.
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References
[1] W. Butler, "Hist 1416 American Military History Butler, W. > Nine Principles of War," 16 February 2022. [Online]. Available: https://bartonline.instructure.com/courses/2269/pages/nine-principles-of-war.
[2] N. V. Satinder Baweja, "Agility in Project Management," October 2015. [Online]. Available: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnhttps://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/pmwj39-Oct2015-Baweja-Venugopalan-second-edition.pdf.[Accessed 23 7 2023].
[3] OODA Loop, "The OODA Loop Explained: The real story about the ultimate model for decision-making in competitive environments," 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.oodaloop.com/the-ooda-loop-explained-the-real-story-about-the-ultimate-model-for-decision-making-in-competitive-environments/. [Accessed 23 7 23].
[4] Wiki Military, "Maneuver Warfare," Fandom, [Online]. Available: ps://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Maneuver_warfare. [Accessed 27 July 2023].
[5] A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK Guide 6th Edition, Newton Square, PA: Project Management Institute, 2017.
[6] L. A. Peters, "Principles of Project War," in PMI® Global Congress 2003—North America, Baltimore, MD., Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute., 2003.