Rejection skills in the hottest project management

Rejection skills in project management

sometimes "rejection" and "commitment" are equally important, especially for busy project managers with heavy responsibilities

because it is often necessary to settle all kinds of complex relationships, such as bosses, customers, subordinates, etc., if you agree to everything, always be a "good man" and try to cover everything, the result may be self defeating. After all, everyone's energy and resources are limited. "Do not do something, do something" is the right way of life

saying "no" requires courage and skill. The author has summed up a lot of skills about "rejection" in his work for many years, especially summarized and shared with you

rejecting customers should start from four aspects

the most daily communication between the project manager and the customer is the customer, and the focus of the communication between the customer and the project manager is mainly "business needs". If the customer can put forward relatively perfect requirements at the beginning, it is the most ideal state of each project. But in fact, 99% of the projects are not like this. In order to control the quality and progress of the project, we use iteration, but there are new problems in communicating with customers during the iteration

some users feel that we should meet all their needs, so they always put forward new requirements or new modification and improvement requirements, which leads to unpredictable consequences. Some customers think that they have spent money, so every word counts. If there is something wrong, they will go to their superiors and destroy the contract. Other customers will let us understand some things beyond many platform projects, such as industrial layout, talent system, financial services, various laboratories, R & D innovation, warehousing, logistics and transportation, industrial chain extension and replenishment, investment attraction, testing and inspection, ignoring the interests of the project itself and our company

if we all agree to the requirements of customers, the project cost and the overall controllability of the project will be affected

under the condition of ensuring the interests of both parties, friendship and harmony, it is the ultimate hope of the project manager to refuse the rude request of the customer. The author believes that we can communicate with customers through the following four aspects, and finally let customers give up

first, compare the current problems with the situation after the customer's idea is satisfied, and analyze what consequences may be caused if such requirements are brought into the system

the second is to ask whether it can be handled through other ways, rather than occupying valuable project resources

third, evaluate the feasibility and necessity of users' new requirements

fourth, evaluate how relevant the customer's requirements are to the project

of course, if the above four aspects are not enough to impress customers, it depends on the specific situation. Maybe there are more than these problems, so the project manager needs to analyze the specific problems

three foreshadows need to be laid for refusing a harsh boss

refusing to accept the requirements of a highly considerate and demanding boss is usually regarded as extremely difficult or even impossible

however, some experienced managers have found a very effective way to refuse: they often arrange the priority list according to the priorities of the already excessive work from the boss, and when the boss puts forward additional work requirements, they will display the priority list, so that he can decide the appropriate position of the latest work requirements in the priority list

this approach has three advantages: first, let the boss decide and show respect for the boss. Second, since the priority list is full, any additional work requirements may make some of the original work requirements unable to be completed according to the original plan. Therefore, unless the new work requirements are of high importance, the boss will have to cancel it or find another agent. Even if the new job requirements are of high importance, the boss will have to cancel or postpone some of the previously assigned work in order to continue to develop and strengthen the new job requirements can be handled. Third, if the subordinate adopts this refusal method, it will avoid the boss mistaking him for shirking

if this method can't "cure the root cause", you need to do three homework at ordinary times, because sometimes the boss may not understand the work you are doing, and think you are delaying time, or there is no result:

first, after getting the user's needs, you should make a simple summary. The summary content doesn't need to be too much, but it should be strong, so that the leaders can see the project at a glance

second, it is best to put the main work you are currently doing in a prominent position in the plan, because your boss cares about what you will do and what benefits it will bring to the company; It will also remind your boss not to interfere with you with other unimportant things

third, when the project changes, you should report in writing to your boss in time, and point out the potential risks, such as planning risks, human factors, technical barriers, etc., so that your boss can have a certain psychological preparation for the project risks, support some of your rationalization requirements, and reduce some unreasonable expectations

sometimes "rejection" and "commitment" are equally important, especially for a busy project manager with heavy responsibilities

appease subordinates to be soft with hard

inappropriate or unreasonable requirements from subordinates often make managers feel embarrassed when they refuse to accept them

for example, on an extremely busy afternoon, a female employee suddenly asked to leave for two hours to go home. Because the furniture store would send a batch of furniture home, she had to go home and open the door and check it

faced with this situation, generally inexperienced managers usually take one of the following two countermeasures: first, categorically reject this inappropriate request, regardless of her feelings; Second, reluctantly accept her request for fear of offending her or trying to be a good person

the above countermeasures are inappropriate, because the former will cause friction between supervisors and subordinates and reduce the morale of subordinates, while the latter will significantly hinder the progress of work. If the manager objectively weighs the situation at that time, the correct approach is "should not grant leave". However, how should managers refuse to grant leave so as not to have adverse consequences or minimize adverse consequences

the following is a rejection method worthy of imitation: "I know very well that when valuables arrive and no one opens the door at home, it is a worry. Therefore, as long as possible, I am willing to grant leave and let you go home. But the problem is, I must deliver the goods before tomorrow. If I fail to deliver the goods as scheduled, I will lose a big customer. You are my right-hand man. However, I have a suggestion. Why don't you call the furniture store and ask them to deliver the furniture tomorrow afternoon? By then, I have delivered the goods, so I can give you enough time to go home and deal with your private affairs. "

of course, the above reply may still be difficult to make the subordinate fully satisfied, but her supervisor has at least adopted the best way to deal with this matter.

this way has the following five advantages: first, he seriously considers her request, rather than obliterating it without thinking. Second, he told her that he understands how important the delivery of furniture is to her. Third, he patiently explained to her, Why is she not allowed to ask for leave. Fourth, he made her know that she was a capable assistant, which helped improve her morale. Fifth, he provided her with other feasible ways to solve the problem of furniture transportation

nine tips for refusing to ask for help

if you encounter problems, they are not covered in the above description. Then you can try to say your heart flexibly according to the following nine points. 3. The "no" in the special structure! The above nine essentials are applied with one mind

(1) listen patiently to the requirements of the client. Even if you know this matter in the middle of his statement, you must listen to his words attentively. The purpose of doing this is to understand the connotation of the request and show respect for the applicant

(2) if you can't decide to accept or refuse the request on the spot, you should clearly tell the applicant that you still need to consider, and accurately point out the time you need to consider, so as to eliminate the other party's misunderstanding that you are using consideration as a shield

(3) when refusing to accept the request, it should show that you have given serious consideration to the request of the applicant, and that you have fully understood the importance of this request to the applicant

(4) when you refuse to accept the request, you should be friendly on your face. It's best to thank the client for thinking of you and apologizing slightly. Don't apologize too much, so as not to make the other party think you are not sincere -- because if you really feel so sorry, you will try to accept his invitation instead of refusing it

(5) when refusing to accept the request, in addition to showing a pleasant expression, you should still show "we take the composite pressure vessel (hereinafter referred to as" COPV ") as a part of the cold gas propulsion system and show a firm attitude. That is to say, don't be persuaded by the client to cancel or correct the original intention of rejection

(6) if you refuse to accept the applicant, you'd better point out the reasons for the refusal to the applicant. Doing so will help maintain your original relationship with the client. But this does not mean that all requests must be accompanied by reasons. Sometimes the reason for not appealing will appear sincere. For example, you sometimes say kindly to people who ask for help frequently, "I'm sorry, I won't be able to work this time. I hope you don't mind!" It is believed that there will be no adverse consequences. However, once you attach the reason for rejection, you only need to repeat the rejection and should not argue with it

(7) let the client know that what you refuse is his request, not himself. That is to say, your refusal is right for things and not for people

(8) after refusing to accept the request, if possible, you should provide the applicant with other feasible ways to deal with his request

(9) never refuse someone's request through a third party, because once you do so, it will not only show your cowardice, but also think you are not sincere in the eyes of the applicant. (end)