Section D
Mobilization
The choosing of ministers is a matter of no little importance for a prince; and their worth depends on the sagacity of the prince himself.
There is one important subject I do not want to pass over, the mistake which princes can only with difficulty avoid making if they are not extremely prudent or do not choose their ministers well. I am referring to flatters, who swarm in the courts. The only way to safeguard yourself against flatters is by letting people understand that you are not offended by the truth; but if everyone can speak the truth to you then you lose respect. So a shrewd prince should adopt a middle way, choosing wise men for his government and allowing only those the freedom to speak the truth to him and then only concerning matters on which he asks their opinion and nothing else. But he should also question them thoroughly and listen to what they say; then he should make up his own mind, by himself. And his attitude towards his councils and towards each one of his advisers should be such that they will recognise that the more freely they speak out the more acceptable they will be. Apart from these, the prince should heed no one; he should put the policy agreed upon into effect straight away and he should adhere to it rigidly.
Machiavelli, Niccolo, translated by Bull, G., The Prince, Penguin Books 1961
1
The project manager wants all the best people who have the experience of having done the job before. However, line management must see that they are spread over all jobs to ensure continuity of the company's experience. They need to develop people's careers and be able to give them increasing responsibility.
1.1
Review the resources required with the functional managers. Remember, you do not just want the right number of warm bodies, but they must have the relevant experience. If functional managers do not give you sufficient personnel, do not hesitate to shout for help to senior management.
1.2
In the ultimate situation of conflict between the project manager and line management, senior management must either back the project manager or take them off the job. There is no middle road. But you won't make any friends.
1.3
Review the selection of the key staff with each functional manager. Check people's experience against the requirements of the project (see Part V, Section Q Selecting the Team, subsection 1 and also Part V, Section M Risk and Risk List, paragraph 1.2). Your success and the success of the project will depend on getting good people.
1.4
Try to build a team spirit, motivate, and inspire. In the final analysis, people are a resource. If they are not performing well, in spite of your best efforts, their continued poor performance will affect the whole team. So, use functional management to get rid of them.
1.5
Use functional management to resolve specific personnel and technical problems.
1.6
Integrate the secretarial requirements into the project team as a whole. Use the project manager's secretary or administrative assistant to ensure efficient and even distribution of the workload across the functions.
1.7
Establish functional links for:
- Quality assurance
- Project audits.
1.7.1
Make sure the functional managers perform their function within the matrix.
Do not mobilise personnel until they have something to do. You do not want to burn man hours for no progress.
1.9
Tell the individuals of your team that they are the ‘best’ – the right people for the job – and what you expect of them. Provide them with a copy of ‘Completed Work’ (see part V Section A, subsection 1).
1.10
Anybody who is given increased responsibilities must be told what their new duties are. If this is not done, they assume that they do their new role in the same manner as before.
1.10.1
If someone is promoted, highlight their new accountabilities. Otherwise they will do the parts of their old job that they like doing and leave the tedious and uninteresting bits to whomever takes over their old job. The consequence is that the new persons in the old job gets demotivated.