Tiger Woods on Project Management?

by J. N. Pangilinan

CHAPTER ONE

I was at the golf course that day, donned with the usual glove, cap, and soft-spiked shoes. I had a finite set of balls, tees, and clubs. But I wasn't playing. I carried the clubs for a celebrity. There he was, this young, tall, stylishly-dressed half-Japanese[actually Tiger Woods is half Thai], half-African American; awesome in stature.. and as his face glistened presumably from protective lotion, he was extraordinary in countenance.

There stood, Tiger Woods. I was caddying for the master.

With authority, the cool Tiger speaks, "The object is simply to be able to bring that little, cavity-filled ball into each of the 18 holes in a course, within as few a number of strokes (and penalties) as possible, that is without cheating. without violating the rules."

"So the goal is to keep my total number of strokes as low as possible?," I try to show I am listening actively.

"Simple, isn't it? The less strokes I take, the more money I make." Tiger teases. His witty eyes dart across the magnificent view. "In golf, the lower your score, the higher you soar. in the PGA standings, that is."

"The less strokes you take. the lower your score. the more money you make.. the higher you soar. . . all within the rules. Hmm.. I knew there was a connection somewhere!" Seeing Tiger in suspended animation, I continue. "Compromising with any of the original commitments to my customers could certainly classify as being dishonest. . . cheating. . . violating the rules.. This is what Project Management is all about!"

"Project, what?? I was talking about golf!" Tiger complains.

"Sorry. As I requested in my letter, I want you to teach me golf the Tiger Woods way, because I might be able to apply some breakthroughs in my own study of management. Project management, to be precise!"

"Oh, yes. I found your idea so intriguing, I told my manager 'Let's go for it! Hahaha! This will be a new feather on my cap, if I could ever teach those guys at business school a thing or two someday. Worry not friend, we are in this together."

Tiger becomes silent. He focuses on his grip, then his stance, takes one last look at the target, then with eyes riveted on the ball, he takes a slow, deliberate back swing. Then, he shifts his weight and whiplashes in what seemed like a 520 degree spiral. Whack!! He clears all of 375 yards. Unbelievable!

"So tell me, what connections do you see, Joseph?" Tiger smiles, as I try to keep up with his long strides alongside the fairway.

"In project management," I begin, "the object is to perform all the tasks of the project within the least amount of time and resources (lead time and cost), that is, without short-changing your customer. That means no cheating on the original commitments of the contract."

"Hmm.. I see," Tiger smiles. "Like in golf, you need to avoid getting into the water or going out of bounds (O.B.), or that will cost you. You are not allowed to reposition the ball. And you need to do all that it in as few a number of strokes as possible.

"Well, projects are a whole lot more complicated than that. There are so many original commitments to the customer, like quality, cost, product specifications, colors, terms and conditions. "

"Well, golf is not as easy as pie either. It took me all of 22 years to be where I am now. Did you know I started putting at 2 years old?"

"Yes, I read about that. Unbelievable! You beat Bob Hope on live television!"

"It may seem that all you do is wag this club around and drop that ball into 18 holes. Keeping score is easy. You just count the number of strokes and that's it, you've got your SCORE. Lowering the score is the name of the game."

"In project management, monitoring schedules IS confusing. You know, "keeping score". And if lowering your SCORE is like reducing 'LEAD TIME.I guess I'd rather do something else!"

"Nearly every professional golfer has one standing agenda his entire life. That is to lower his score. THAT IS THE ROUTE to success. As I said, keeping score is easy."

"Hmmm. Simple scoring. Focus on reducing the score. That IS the real challenge. Yes. Wait a minute!" I am almost shouting. "I never really looked at it this way! We do complicate our monitoring - our scoring - so much, that we hardly ever get to discuss how to cut lead times. In fact, our lead times get longer and longer as we take on more projects!! To cope with fluctuating demands, we increase capacity, overproduce, and buy more warehouse space to anticipate unexpected placements."

"Hey, hey, slow down! Fluctuating demands? Unexpected placements? Don't drown me with all that jargon! I never studied all that, remember!? Tell me, Joseph. And keep it simple. When do you win, in project management?"

"You 'win' when you make it on time. . . when your total lead time comes within the client's expected delivery time, without sacrificing quality and cost, that is. You 'win' when you deliver faster than the competition, given the same price and quality. You win when you are considered more reliable than other players in the market; which means if you make 99% of your deadlines. You get paid handsomely for on-time delivery or shorter lead times, because shorter lead times also mean faster investment turnover!"

"So, if I get you right. . . what you call 'reliability' is really a function of delivering faster than others. That means shorter lead time. The shorter your lead time, the more business you get. The less strokes you take, the more money you make! What that tells me is that cutting lead times ought to be one of your top priorities, don't you think?"

"Yes, it should be, but it just isn't . Come to think of it, what is our top priority? I think it is to cut costs. Top management directs us to reduce >costs by 25% throughout the company."

"What? Even on pitching practice?"

"Say, what?"

"Joseph, I would never cut costs, say, on pitching practice IF it can mean lowering my score a little further!" Tiger sounds serious. "You know. . . ike my weakest point is still pitching around the green, say from within 75 yards. The short game, after all, is most commonly everyone's weakest spot. Yet I cannot understand why everyone keeps on practicing their driving. You see so many more driving ranges than pitch and putt courses. You would think

putting greens require less investment and provide faster turnover than driving ranges or whole golf courses."

"I see what you are saying, Tiger. I call that strengthening the weakest

link . . . or breaking the bottleneck. If that is what raises your score, then that is what you ought to practice."

"Ummm, Tiger, do you think you can help me cut my lead times as well as you lower your golf scores?" I asked.

"Why sure, Joseph! Lowering scores, my man. is what I do best!"