The commissioned piece is late, and there is a worry that the completed parts will not be available to musicians before the first rehearsal. The conductor is unhappy and blames Jerry for not doing better. The composer is challenging to reach, and the answers to when music will be available are vague. But, because of the new music system, the parts are emailed five days before rehearsal. The piece adds two other parts, for a theremin player and a jazz saxophone player, and Jerry must scramble to find players. Neither player is someone that Jerry knows, and therefore he cannot assess if they are any good. In addition, they want twice the normal sub rate, and Jerry must get it approved two days before rehearsal.

Jerry and Laura try counseling. But after the third session, Laura doesn't show.

The kids are busy with activities at school. Corey makes honor orchestra at school. Jerry is doing lessons to make up for some of the shortfalls in income.

* * *

“Yes?” said Fernando in an irritated tone. I'd felt like I'd rather go through a root canal with anesthetic than have the conversation I was about to have.

“Do you have a minute to talk about Toots Suite?” I asked with a sense of embarrassment. It was such a silly name for a piece, and every time I had to discuss it with someone, I saw a Bugs Bunny cartoon in my head.

“What do you need?” Maestro asked. I was standing in the doorway, and I didn't feel invited in to sit in his office. It was fine because it gave me a quick exit should he decide to throw something at me.

“Well, I still don't have the parts, and when I try to reach KP Toots, he doesn't return my calls or emails.”

“What would you like me to do about it?” Fernando replied. “You need to work this out with RJ. We have two weeks until we start rehearsals, and this simply is not acceptable.”

“I am trying my best,” I said.

“If this is your best, we are in trouble,” said the maestro, as he scribbled on a conductor's score. “I can give him a call, but this is really your job.”

I didn't know what else to say.

“Is there anything else?” he said, glaring at me.

I really didn't want to ask him any questions, but I needed to in order to do my job.

“Have you received your score for the piece? Do you know the instruments we need?”

He huffed and slammed down his pen.

“I got a piano score for it last week,” Maestro snapped. “You should already know the instrumentation.”

“I have the list I received from you a couple of months ago,” I replied. “I have asked him if there are any changes, but I haven't received a reply.”

“Then I believe it is safe to assume that it is the same,” he said in a dismissive tone.

“Thank you,” I said in a polite tone, even though I felt anything but polite. Maestro Fernando was just an abrasive person. I needed to figure out how to get on his good side or perhaps figure out a system in which I didn't need to come to see him in his office on a semi‐regular basis.

* * *

Jerry, I am so sorry that I haven't gotten this to you sooner. I am attaching pdfs of the parts. Below is the instrumentation.

4‐4‐4‐4 3‐2‐3‐3 3‐4‐4‐1 3‐timp

Alto sax

Theremin

Thanks,

KP Toots

I read the email a couple more times. A full string, woodwind, and brass section. That was prepared, but the last two instruments threw me into a fit.

“A theremin? Who uses a theremin?”

I remembered seeing a YouTube video of a woman singing with an electronic instrument that made a funny whining sound when a person moved their hand around it. It was mostly used in old horror movies to make spooky sounds. Was this guy serious?

First things first, I needed a saxophone player with two weeks' notice. I had only one person on my list.

“Hey, George, this is Jerry,” I said.

“Hey, Jerry, how's it going?” said the voice on the phone.

“Okay, I suppose. Listen, I know this is last minute, but I need a sax player for October ninth's concert. Can you help us out?”

“I'm looking at my calendar,” George said. “I can do the concert, but I know I can't do the last week of rehearsals because I'm doing a masterclass in Michigan.”

My stomach dropped.

“Do you know anyone else?” I asked. “I looked at the part. It looks a little crazy. It's a commissioned piece.”

“Hmm, I know a couple of guys, but I don't know how good they are. There is also Professor Lawson. He teaches trumpet at the university and plays in the philharmonic. But he may cost more.”

“Just give me all their names and numbers. I'd appreciate it,” I replied.

“I'll email them to you now. If you had asked sooner, I might have been more helpful,” George said.

I was a little embarrassed by the situation. “I would have. I literally got the parts ten minutes ago.”

“Bummer.”

“I have another question, and I know this is nuts, but do you know anyone who plays the theremin?”

George laughed hard. “You mean that thingy you wave your hand and make that funky sound with?”

“Yes,” I said in a defeated tone.

“No, man, I don't. Sounds like a wild piece. I hate that I can't play it. What's the name of it?”

“Toots Suite.”

“You're pulling my leg now.” He laughed even harder.

“I wish I was. The composer is KP Toots.”

“Oh man, that is too much. I definitely need to come to that concert.”

As we hung up, I didn't feel as giddy as George sounded.

The first player I called said they couldn't do it. The next one sounded like a kid barely through puberty, although he was a freshman at the university. He could play it and was eager. I told him I would call him back. He was a warm body in the seat if I needed him, but I didn't think he could handle the part, and I would get quite an earful from Fernando about my incompetence.

“Dr. Lawson, thank you so much for returning my call,” I said.

“No problem,” he answered.

“I need a sax player for our October ninth concert. We have rehearsals Monday and Thursday the two weeks proceeding that and then a dress rehearsal on the ninth.”

There was a pause. “I have one conflict on the seventh, but I can have one of my grad students cover that class, and then there is a church service on the ninth, but again I can get a sub for that. What does the gig pay?”

I told him our standard pay for subs.

“Oh, wow. I don't know. I'm going to have to pay my student to cover me, and I will be missing that gig. Can you do better than that?”

I was in a quandary. I could hire the other player for the regular rate, but he might not be able to play the part. If I increased the pay for Dr. Lawson, I'd have to get approval from Sam. Sam was going to be gone until next Tuesday, and I needed to fill the spot.

I give Dr. Lawson a different figure to consider.

“Sure, I can do it for that,” he said cheerfully.

“Can I send you a pdf of the music?” I asked. “I can give you a hard copy when you come for the first rehearsal.”

“A pdf will be fine.”

“I have one other strange question,” I added. “You don't happen to know a theremin player?”

Dr. Lawson chuckled. “Actually, Dr. Crepes plays it. Is there seriously a theremin part?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I'll send you an introductory email,” said Dr. Lawson.

“You're a lifesaver,” I said.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, I met with Sam. He looked at the budget for the upcoming concert. I waited for it, and I saw his eyes go wide.

“What is a theremin? Is it made of gold?” he said in shock.

Between the theremin player and sax player, we had gone way over budget.

“I'm sorry, the KP Toots piece called for one,” I said.

He signed off on the budget.

“I wish you had asked me first,” Sam said.

“I thought about that,” I replied. “Would it have made a difference? The piece was commissioned by the symphony, and that is what the composer decided to add. There might not be another theremin player in a two‐hundred‐mile radius, and if there was one, I wouldn't know how to find them. I had limited time.”

“I guess you're right,” admitted Sam.

“I think we should have a better process,” I said. “Something that I can put online, and that you can see anytime, rather than waiting for you to come back to work. And perhaps a policy in which I don't need approval unless I need to go over budget by a certain amount.”

Sam nodded. “That sounds like a great plan.”

“I will set it up and send you an outline of what I'm proposing.”

“I look forward to it,” he said.

* * *

By the time I got home, I was pretty worked up. I went to another marriage therapy appointment, and Laura didn't come. She had been in and out of the house to help with the kids for the past month. Whenever I tried to talk to her, she never had time. I was still hopeful we could work some things out, but it was getting hard.

I opened the door, and Corey was jumping up and down. “Dad! Dad! I made it.”

“Let me get in the door,” I laughed. “What's going on.”

“I made it into honor orchestra. My teacher says my lessons are paying off because I have improved a lot.”

“That is fantastic news,” I said and high‐fived him with my good arm. “I think this deserves a pizza tonight!”

Linda was in the kitchen stirring a pot. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “I can put this stew in the fridge for tomorrow.”

I marveled at how mature Linda had become. She had taken on many of Linda's roles, and she rarely went out with her friends. While I appreciated her help, I felt guilty about all the responsibility she had to absorb.

“Why don't you go out with your friends this weekend? Go see a movie or something, my treat,” I offered.

“I don't know, Dad. Don't you need me to help you clean this weekend? The living room is a mess,” she replied.

“You don't worry about that. You already do enough,” I said. “I really appreciate all you do, but you need to be a kid too!”

A smile brightened her face. “I'll text my friends now.”

The kids didn't talk about it, but I knew they missed their mom. She was around, but only the required amount of time. She didn't take them anywhere, like for dinner or shopping. I was going to talk to her about it in therapy, but she hadn't shown up.

“Are we going for pizza?” prodded Corey.

“Yeah, yeah … get in the car, you two.”

* * *

I had not seen Dr. Richardson in a few weeks. I had had to make some adjustments to my life. I was teaching some lessons from home in the evenings and on weekends to bring in a little more income. I asked Laura if she planned on working, and she acted as if she didn't hear me. She hadn't asked for money; she just used her credit card and debit card. It was another thing on our list to talk about. I cleared all that from my mind as Dr. Richardson sat down.

“How are things, my friend?” he asked.

“In some ways, better. The kids and I are getting into a routine now. I'm not sure where Laura and I stand right now, but I remain hopeful.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” he said.

“Don't worry,” I replied. “I'm working through it.”

“Tell me what I have missed since we last saw one another,” said Dr. Richardson.

I brought him up to date on how my projects were going, and I emphasized what I did about the commissioned piece.

“Do you think I handled it okay?” I asked.

“I think you did more than okay. You assessed the project and ways you can improve in the future. Every time you do that, you are actually taking away some of the problems in the future. Great job.”

“It's hard to sit firmly in my role and make big decisions. I am scared to make a mistake, but now I am more likely to just pick something and go with it rather than being paralyzed by what might go wrong.”

“You are building your confidence, as you should. You are working hard to eliminate some of the risks by being direct and offering solutions.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” I replied. “Sometimes, when it's just me, I become unsure of myself.”

“I recommend you think about building a network of other people you trust to bounce ideas off. They don't have to be in your industry, but they should have similar jobs and responsibilities as you do.”

“That is a great idea,” I said as I scribbled myself a note.

“Today, we are going to talk about communication strategy. It is timely considering what you went through this week,” Dr. Richardson began. He slid a new stack of papers to me.

“Selecting a communication strategy is focused on satisfying the most important information needs of stakeholders so that every portfolio decision is made and organizational objectives are met according to the Standard for Portfolio Management.” (See Figure 8.1.)

“The portfolio management process groups for communication management consist of two processes. And the defining process group is seen here. You develop a portfolio communication management plan, which is a part of the portfolio management plan. And then under the aligning process group, it's managing portfolio information.” (See Figure 8.2.)

“The communication management plan and mind map have two processes,” he continued. “They are the development portfolio communication management plan, which is a part of the portfolio management plan and manage portfolio information.” (See Figure 8.3.)

“I'm following you,” I said.

“When it comes to the communication management process overall, the first thing we want to do is the top box, which is the identification of stakeholder communication needs. So once we've done some form of an assessment or a questionnaire or just an interview process where we understand what the needs are, we also need to understand who are influencers and how interested they are and really just use all of the communication tools that we have. Then we want to develop a communication strategy and a matrix, and that matrix is going to help us to identify who the most interested folks are. Who have the greatest interest? Who are our advocates? Who are neutral? Who are adversaries about the project or what we're doing? And we also want to understand that because we want to be able to manage folks at that level.”

“I wish I could figure out a better communication with Fernando,” I said.

“That will come, but I believe you are also building strategies in order to streamline your communications.”

“This is true. I am motivated!” I said.

“We also want to understand the interest in the power grid based on if they have high power or low power. In other words, they can impact or influence the work that we're doing and just how interested they are. Because if they have high power and are very interested, they could derail our project or derail our portfolio. We want to understand exactly who is a part of our community as far as stakeholders and really manage them.”

I nodded.

“I believe it will help to build communication with Fernando, Sam, and others. We want to develop it to understand what reports go out and when. What are our weekly reports? What are our quarterly reports? What are our monthly reports? Who gets those reports? Can some of those reports be automated from the system, or do all those reports have to be vetted? There are a number of things that we have to think through there. And then the implementation and control and continuous adjustment. And again, even in the communication strategy, it's like being on that plane where ninety percent may be off‐target.”

“I get that,” I commented.

“You really want to focus on adjusting and figuring out who are your key stakeholders and really cater to them and help them to understand, teach. And show them so that as you communicate with them, they can help guard what you're doing and help you to be effective and move things along. Because if you have high‐level executives who don't understand portfolio management and don't understand what you're bringing to the table, they can quickly derail your efforts.”

“So get Sam and maybe some board members in alignment with me?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Dr. Richardson replied. “When it comes to stakeholder expectations, their influence and interests, frequent and meaningful communication will keep them informed of steps along the way. You are mitigating the inevitable fears of change. Stakeholders who are aware of how the portfolio is progressing, how it will affect them, and the resources available to support them are more likely to support the portfolio, attend training, and use the new capability provided more effectively after deployment. So it's really important to communicate at the right level.”

“Which is why Sam wanted to be more in the loop about last‐minute budget changes,” I said.

“You're getting it,” Dr. Richardson agreed. “When I conducted the communication strategy and training at the law firm to introduce them to portfolio management, I went to New York to have a one‐hour meeting with them to communicate and share. I tried to tie a lot of what I was bringing to the table into a lot of the jobs that they were already doing so they could easily relate to what we were talking about. The regular project managers had to be educated on portfolio management. Then we had the IT managers and functional managers on the business side. I had the project managers always communicate with them, and then we had to communicate with the regular team members. This was a situation where we were dealing with five countries and fourteen offices. And so you really do have to think through and be purposeful about your communication strategy and your communication execution.”

I felt a little silly because I was dealing with only a handful of people in a small office. But then again, this was the perfect place to make mistakes because the stakes were lower. I was learning more every day, I felt, and perhaps one day I could take those skills to a larger organization.

“In regard to eliciting stakeholder requirements,” Dr. Richardson continued (see Figure 8.4), “I remember sitting in a training while reading an article that talked about how Moscow is not only in Russia. And it made me scratch my head, and then I saw the acronym – MoSCoW stood for must, should, could, and won't; in other words, it means prioritizing your requirements. If something is a must‐have, it's essential; if it's a should‐have, it's important; if it's a could‐have, it's nice to have; and a won't‐have is out of scope.”

“I have thought in those terms as I have prioritized my projects,” I said.

“Yes, and it has helped, right?”

“Yeah … a lot.”

“What you basically want to do is understand four things. First, who are your stakeholders you need to cater to with your communication strategy? Then what are their needs? Do they need hand‐holding? Do they need desk‐side service? Do they need weekly reports? Do they need detailed, detailed, detailed reports? Do they need to see every project in the portfolio? Do they need to see the cost‐benefit analysis and the benefits that are being promised for everything? Third, how should you approach them? And finally, how do you communicate with them in a way that they will accept and feel good about?

“You also have to look at the current culture, and you have to think about the fact that, when implementing any form of a portfolio management solution, you actually are changing the company culture to a great extent. And so, normally, when it comes to changing culture, companies struggle with that because you're changing people's behavior, and people don't want it. They want to grow, but they don't want to change.”

“You have to help them grow and change by introducing them to incremental changes and trying to keep things as normal as possible as you introduce these new changes or new ways of working. That's really critical to be able to elicit solid requirements from your stakeholders.”

I took a moment to study the slide and think about what he was saying. Incremental steps made sense, but sometimes I got impatient and wanted to push forward. It was something I needed to work on. (See Figure 8.5.)

“Your portfolio management communication strategy should take into account these five areas: awareness, understanding, acceptance, buy‐in, and adoption. Over time, the higher you go up, the greater the amount of change you're asking for. When it comes to awareness of change, we need to provide them with the basic facts, key dates, and events. When it comes to an understanding of the intent of the change, we need to answer the questions of what the benefits are to the organization and what the benefits are to me. That's from their perspective. It's kind of the radio station, WIIFM: what's in it for me? And then gaining acceptance of the change. What is required of me to support the change? And what is required of the organization to support the change? These are the things that they're thinking about. And if you don't know the answers to these, then more than likely your communication plan will fail because they will derail it because they need to have these types of questions answered.”

I took a lot of notes on the idea. I would look back over them and really contemplate what he was saying.

“In practicing change, you want to create buy‐in. Buy‐in is a team sport because you'd never see one individual winning the Super Bowl or the pennant or the NBA Finals. It's always a team effort. In some form or other, everyone has to accept the change, and they have to want to support the change for the best of the organization.”

“I get it,” I said in agreement.

“And lastly, adoption,” he continued. (See Figure 8.6.) “What you really want is to create a group of advocates for the change so that they can help communicate and get other people on board. You want them to practice the change every day, and you want them to tell others about the great impact. And the great impact is going to happen when it impacts their lives personally. When they see a personal benefit in doing work this way, they will change. If they don't see a personal benefit to themselves – not to you, but to themselves across the board – they won't change. And the only way to really implement massive change is that you have to communicate it in a way that everyone sees the benefit and it's specifically for them personally.”

“I believe working closely with the board and the orchestra committee will help me better achieve that.”

“I concur,” said Dr. Richardson.

“When it comes to adoption, there are basically four steps. We want to define the stakeholder value, and we want to have the delivery design. In other words, we're going to figure out how we're going to deliver value. And then we want to have and understand the stakeholder relationships, and finally, we want to measure and get feedback. Ken Blanchard says, ‘Feedback is the breakfast of champions.’ So, to define stakeholder values, we want to identify stakeholders and assess their needs and expectations. Undervalue delivery design; we want to glean requirements, define the scope, and develop a communication management plan.”

“Makes sense,” I said.

“Under the stakeholder relationships, we want to analyze stakeholders, develop strategies to engage the stakeholders, and manage their expectations. And then, under measure and feedback, we want to provide information, monitor communication, and manage stakeholder engagement. We want them to adopt our system, but they also want to be adopted and feel like they are brought into the fold.”

“Implementing project portfolio management should establish a culture, not just a system that enables a process for systematically aligning the organization's attitudes, behaviors, and actions, which should result in an interrelated and prioritized portfolio that yields better outcomes while minimizing the investment of the organization and resources. It is critical to think through the culture.”

Dr. Richardson pointed at the paper in front of me. (See Figure 8.7.)

“I like this because there are two different companies and you can see by the physical environment that there are two totally different cultures. The one on the bottom looks like a law firm, and the one on the top looks like an ad agency. The way they have meetings is totally different from what the top organization has compared to the way the bottom organization has. Is your organization formal? Is it a major law firm? Are they Ivy Leaguers? Is it a PR firm? Is it an IT shop? It depends whether you work at Amazon, Google, or Zappos, or you work at Saks Fifth Avenue.”

“Or a symphony orchestra,” I added.

“Yes, of course,” Dr. Richardson chuckled. “It depends on where you work and the environment as you roll out project portfolio management. You have to understand the power of culture, because if you don't, it can derail your project. It can kill an effort; it can put it on the back burner because if it rubs up the wrong way against the culture, people will not stand for their culture to be denigrated. You have to embrace it and show them how to make those changes that you're trying to help them make.”

I continued my note‐taking.

“When it comes to the communication governance guidelines, here are some questions to consider. How will the communication plan be changed? Who is responsible for making changes to the plan? Who approves these changes? How will the person responsible for executing the communication item be notified, and how will communications be tracked?”

“I got,” I said, as I finished writing.

“That's all I have for this week,” Dr. Richardson said. “Is it helpful?”

“Enormously,” I responded. “As always, I am extremely appreciative.”

“I know at times you feel you are on the front lines alone,” Dr. Richardson said. “I am a phone call away, and I do suggest creating or even joining a group of like‐minded professionals.”

“I am on it,” I said, as I shook his hand.

As I headed home, I thought about my week. There were so many great things going on at work, and the kids seemed to be doing well. The issue of my relationship weighed heavily on me, and I felt helpless as to what I needed to do. Maybe I just needed to let go of the guilt and feeling responsible for everything. Perhaps I needed individual therapy in addition to marriage counseling.

Dr. Richardson's Tips

• Selecting a communication strategy is focused on satisfying the most important information needs of stakeholders so that every portfolio decision is made and organizational objectives are met according to the Standard for Portfolio Management.
• We also want to understand the interest in a power grid based on whether they have high power or low power. In other words, they can impact or influence the work that we're doing and just how interested they are. If they have high power and are very interested, they could derail our project or derail our portfolio. We want to understand exactly who is a part of our community as far as stakeholders are and really manage them.
• When it comes to adoption, there are basically four steps. We want to define the stakeholder value, and we want to have the delivery design. In other words, we're going to figure out how we're going to deliver value. And then we want to understand the stakeholder relationships, and finally, we want to measure and get feedback.