As part of its services, Stimler Advantage supports organizations in project management strategies. Project management is the practice of balancing flexibility and structure to efficiently plan, organize, and manage resources to achieve project objectives. The Stimler Advantage 5 S’s Framework informs the firm’s project management work.
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Organizations benefit significantly from careful, consistent, and clear project management. Investing in effective project management practices from the outset requires thoughtful resource planning to achieve the best possible outcomes. Effective project management strategies should optimize the pace, people, plan, platform, and performance. When these elements are aligned, teams can work more cohesively, adapt, and meet project goals. Strong project management enhances efficiency, provides accountability, and develops capabilities for continuous improvement.

1. Pace: Pace defines the cadence and tone that drive progress and maintain momentum. Establishing an appropriate pace requires balancing speed, production quality, available resources, and necessary oversight and control. Organizations must set a focused, measured, and timely pace to move projects forward and avoid the pitfalls of endless delays, unreasonable slowdowns, and project stalls. Urgency serves as an engine for action. In our dynamic and crisis-laden world, agility, acceleration, and decisive action are essential to overcome the obstacles that hinder progress. ​Set project goals within a condensed and achievable timeline. Establish target dates and deadlines, ensuring that project participants recognize these dates as real, tangible, and consequential. Visualize the pace using countdown clocks, shared calendars, and task charts highlighting bottlenecks, dependencies, and problem areas. While a steady pace is powerful, remember to incorporate necessary periods for rest, resupply, and review to ensure sustainability in your objectives.
2. People: The success of a project heavily relies on its team members, influenced by the organization's size and project complexity. Essential roles include the executive sponsor, who provides strategic direction, and the project manager, who is responsible for planning and execution. The project team, consisting of internal members and working groups, should focus on completing specific deliverables. Engaging customers and stakeholders is crucial for achieving project goals, while external experts can offer valuable insights for overcoming obstacles. A clear hierarchy and defined roles must ensure all participants are committed and ready to execute their tasks. A focused mindset is vital for maintaining momentum, and constructive discussions should stay on track to mitigate risks. Ultimately, a positive, proactive attitude among team members enhances project success.
3. Plan: A project plan sets clear expectations and empowers teams to execute confidently and clearly. An essential function of a project plan is to define and keep the project team focused on what is in or out of scope.  It provides a foundational and detailed roadmap that guides team members in navigating their tasks and responsibilities while ensuring alignment with overall goals. Deliverables, tasks, and metrics should all correlate back to the stated objectives of the project plan. While not immutable, project plans must be protected from distracted or purposeless amendment to keep the project and team moving forward. Regularly reviewing the plan ensures alignment and consistency between the original project aims and success outcomes when adapting to changing circumstances and potentially incorporating new activities, tasks, and objectives. Project plans can be best built on a cloud and web-based project management platform, allowing for real-time collaboration, editing, version control, additional graphics or multimedia, and linking to project calendars, tasks, and metrics. Your project plan should be part of every project check-in meeting and milestone, embedded, linked, or just a tab away from the moment as your single source of truth. 
4. Platform: Choosing the right platform for a project can significantly impact its success by influencing how information is accessed, shared, stored, and managed. Many organizations operate within platform ecosystems that support cross-functional needs, including office productivity, project management, communication, and data analytics. Start by considering the digital platform tools already owned and supported by your organization’s IT department before exploring custom or external solutions. Look into additional applications or integrations that may enhance project management functions. Many project management tools offer features like meeting minutes, knowledge bases, and wikis, which can improve documentation and knowledge management in alignment with project goals. Incorporating chat functions that allow for sharing assets and documents within the platform can also enhance communication and collaboration. Remember to consider a platform's export and migration capabilities when you want to move important information forward to future system environments. Effective project management tools can help your team automate tasks, work asynchronously, gamify the process, and become more self-driven. Ultimately, a good project management platform enables your team to spend more time executing the project and less time discussing it. 
5. Performance: Performance measures in a project management platform inform teams or individuals about their performance. Regularly reviewing performance to identify strengths and weaknesses, allowing for targeted improvements that align with overall goals. A continuous focus on performance ensures that project teams remain agile and aligned with achieving their overarching mission. Ensure that your performance measurement tools enable you to export assets, data, and files to generate reports to communicate and document the project. From the outset of your project, identify your Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). OKRs define qualitative objectives and measurable key results to track progress, whereas KPIs are specific metrics used to evaluate success in achieving business goals. Track your assignments, tasks, and goals through online dashboards in your project management platform. Different graphic displays such as boards, lists, and pie charts can illustrate progress, provide insights into bottlenecks, and show what is left in the queue to complete. It is vital to demonstrate the impact and outcomes of your project to demonstrate success for project sponsors, customers, and stakeholders.

Here are some further considerations for project management:

• Start With A Project Charter: Creating a project charter is a crucial first step in the project management process. It should be developed before the project management plan and serve as a foundation for that plan. A project charter is usually a concise, high-level document that outlines the project's objectives, scope, resources, and stakeholders. A well-defined project charter provides direction and helps secure commitment, resources, and support from stakeholders. 
• Prioritize Asynchronous and Cloud-Based Work: Prioritizing asynchronous and cloud-based work methods enhances a project's agility, documentation, productivity, speed, and trackability. By employing digital collaboration tools, teams can maintain effective communication and cooperation. This approach allows project teams to focus more energy and resources on completing their tasks effectively. 
• Learn And Adapt New Techniques and Tools: Project management is constantly evolving. Utilizing the latest technologies and methodologies enhances individual skills and boosts team efficiency. Regular certifications, training sessions, workshops, and knowledge-sharing activities contribute to the ongoing improvement of project teams. By proactively embracing change and fostering an innovative mindset, teams can better meet the demands of their projects and anticipate potential challenges. 

Connect with me to discuss your executive management consulting needs.

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As part of its services, Stimler Advantage supports organizations in developing partnership strategies. Partnerships are mutual efforts between two or more parties to achieve common goals. The Stimler Advantage 5 S's Framework informs the firm’s partnership work.

Your organization can forge strategic alliances through partnerships to expand reach, access new resources, and achieve shared goals. Partnerships can unlock numerous benefits, including expansion, resource sharing, innovation, enhanced customer engagement, and increased brand awareness. Building strong partnerships requires operating as a collaborative steward rather than a restrictive gatekeeper.

1. Embrace Co-Opetition: Embracing co-opetition, where organizations compete and collaborate, can significantly enhance an organization's partnership capabilities. Organizations can leverage shared resources and insights by recognizing that competitors and peers can be valuable allies. Co-opetition can advance and sustain industries during prosperous and challenging times by driving innovation. When organizations engage in co-opetition, they expand their networks and unlock new opportunities, benefiting from a combined strength that improves their shared competitive position. Adopting a co-opetition mindset empowers organizations to effectively address challenges while building lasting partnerships that contribute to long-term success. Co-opetition facilitates knowledge exchange, enabling organizations to learn from each other's successes and failures, refining their strategies. Through co-opetition, organizations can share the risks of new ventures, leading to bolder and more innovative projects. By participating in co-opetition, organizations can build resilience and adaptability - crucial traits in our dynamic world. Ultimately, co-opetition transforms competition into a driving force where creative solutions can emerge, benefiting consumers with better products and services.
2. Identify Shared Customers, Goals, and Values: When organizations identify overlapping customers, they can meet the needs of a broader audience, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Shared goals ensure that parties are aligned and working towards common objectives. Aligning values helps build confidence in the partnership relationship, as partners will be more likely to engage in open dialogue and cooperate effectively. Identifying these elements before or at the early stages of partnership formation can streamline decisions and empower teams to work more efficiently, minimizing conflicts and maximizing productivity. Leveraging shared insights allows organizations to be relevant to their customers and supportive of their partners. 
3. Formalize Agreements and Activities: When organizations partner, a well-defined agreement clarifies expectations, responsibilities, and fosters goal alignment. This formalization builds accountability, which is essential for long-term success. Agreements provide legal protection for the parties involved. Contracts can outline confidentiality, intellectual property rights, and dispute resolution mechanisms, safeguarding sensitive information and reducing potential conflicts. A well-crafted agreement reinforces the partners' commitments. An advantage of formalizing partnerships is the ability to objectively define metrics by which to measure the partnership's success. A clear set of activities specified in a scope of work, activities, outcomes, and deliverables with an accompanying budget and timeframe provides the basis for a project plan, mapping intentions into action. Regular reviews of agreements and activities enable partners to monitor progress and adjust strategies, ensuring adaptability to changing conditions. 
4. Build Sustainable Platforms and Products: Partnerships thrive when they focus on building sustainable platforms and products that are durable and capable of enduring changing conditions. This approach to sustainability emphasizes the resilience and relevance of offerings over time. By creating lasting solutions, partners can enhance customer loyalty, as clients are attracted to reliable products and services that consistently meet their needs. Furthermore, these enduring partnerships foster a culture of improvement, enabling organizations to refine their offerings collaboratively, respond to feedback, and innovate together. Ultimately, partnerships prioritizing sustainability in terms of stability and growth become engines for long-term success and customer satisfaction. 
5. Promote, Measure, and Revise: Promoting partnerships is essential. Simply forming partnerships does not ensure engagement or successful outcomes. Partners should hold each other accountable for metrics and expect regular updates as specified in your formal agreements and outlined activities. Plan how to measure, track, and report the effects of your partnerships using dashboards and reports at the outset. Sharing measurable impacts among partners is crucial for maintaining the health and momentum of your efforts. Communicate partnerships' advantages, as they may take time to be apparent to your customers and stakeholders. Continually highlight the benefits and impacts of your collaborations through celebratory campaigns, events, new features, and products. ​

Here are some further considerations for partnership initiatives:

• Dedicated Partnership Roles and Teams: To effectively manage and maximize the benefits of partnerships, designate dedicated roles and teams to support your organization. These teams should possess the expertise to identify potential partners, pinpoint strategic collaboration opportunities, and assess mutual advantages. They should also be equipped to negotiate agreements with legal counsel and monitor partnership performance. By effectively managing partnerships, you ensure consistent attention, resource allocation, and accountability. Partnership roles can be structured in various ways: as part-time responsibilities within existing teams, as full-time in-house positions, or as outsourced functions to external consultants who bring specialized skills and extensive networks. 
• Leverage Existing Networks: Tap into your existing communities to identify potential partners who align with your organizational goals and values. Explore industry publications, professional organizations, alumni, and other networks to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations. These established connections can provide a solid foundation for building strong partnerships.
• Diversify Your Partner Ecosystem: A diverse partner ecosystem enhances your organization's resilience and adaptability. By collaborating with organizations of varying sizes, industries, and geographical locations, you can foster innovation, expand your reach, and mitigate risks. This diverse approach exposes your organization to new perspectives, technologies, and customer bases, helping you open more doors and pathways to success. 
• Be Proactive:  Actively seek out partnership opportunities. Take the initiative to identify potential partners, reach out to them, and initiate conversations. Proactively pursue collaborations that align with your organization's strategic goals.
• Exit Strategy: While partnerships are often long-term commitments, it is crucial to have a well-defined exit strategy. This should be outlined in your formal agreement and could involve a phased withdrawal, full termination, or transition to a new partnership model. Partners should coordinate and communicate with one another prior to any public announcements in the change of their relationship. A clear exit plan supports a smooth conclusion, minimizes potential risks, and protects mutual customer relationships. 

Connect with me to discuss your executive management consulting needs.

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As part of its services, Stimler Advantage supports organizations in developing open access (OA) and open source software (OSS) strategies. Open Access and Open Source work is informed by the Stimler Advantage 5 S’s Framework. 
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The digital age has fundamentally changed how we produce, share, and consume information. Open access (OA) refers to the practice of providing free and unrestricted access to materials. Open source software (OSS) is computer software with publicly available source code for use, modification, and distribution. Both OA and OSS are powerful tools that enhance accessibility, utility, and benefit for billions of people. These approaches promote collaboration and discovery, drive innovation, and serve both identified and potential stakeholders. Adopted by academic, corporate, and mission-driven organizations, OA and OSS strategies are essential for scaling operations and effectively measuring reach and impact.

1. Goal Identification: Before jumping into OA or OSS strategies, it is crucial to clarify your objectives. Both OA and OSS approaches offer a range of potential benefits for organizations across various industries. They can help increase the number of users, support platform development, scale the use of applications, data, and content with measurable metrics, foster global audiences and localization, enhance brand reputation, and promote innovation. You can create effective OA or OSS strategies by defining your goals, establishing metrics, and identifying the tools needed to measure impact. Being prepared to track outcomes from the outset and throughout your initiative is essential for success. 
2. Determine What Is In or Out of Scope: Your organization may have various assets, content, intellectual property, or software that can be made either OA or OSS. It is important to understand that OA and OSS are not all-or-nothing solutions; they can be selectively applied to different offerings based on the organization’s goals and how it intends to best serve its customers and users. Adopting hybrid approaches can be effective in achieving diverse objectives. Still, it is essential to clearly define what is included in OA and OSS in your legal agreements, policies, procedures, terms of service, and other necessary documentation. Beyond copyright or licensing considerations, other policy factors can also influence the decision to make resources available as OA or OSS. These include accessibility, sociocultural factors, specific stakeholder needs, values, and more. Take the time to carefully explore, identify, document, and evaluate your decisions regarding what qualifies as OA or OSS and what does not with licensed legal counsel and experts. 
3. Using the Appropriate Legal Tools: There are various OA and OSS legal tools, each with degrees of permissions and restrictions. The choice of which tool to use depends on several factors, including your goals and the legal requirements in your jurisdiction. OA and OSS involve releasing works under permissive licenses, free from most copyright and licensing restrictions, and are often available to users at no cost. For an asset, content, data, or application to be classified as OA or OSS, the rights holder grants users the ability to copy, use, and modify the work without most restrictions, and it may be dedicated to the worldwide public domain. Before applying OA or OSS legal tools to any asset, content, data, or application, consulting with a licensed legal counsel in your jurisdiction and other industry specialists is essential. Utilize legal counsel and specialist expertise when developing your policies, procedures, terms of use, or other necessary legal documentation to protect your organization and ensure clear communication with users. There may be additional legal considerations beyond copyright or licensing that legal counsel and experts should guide you through when undertaking this work.
4. Platforms, Products, and Partnerships: Budget effectively and build your platforms sustainably for your OA assets, content, data, and OSS applications. Once you commit to making OA and OSS offerings available, these initiatives must sustain themselves through diverse revenue streams such as operational revenue, contributions, earned income, and marketing efforts. Refrain from relying solely on grants or government funding to start or support your OA and OSS initiatives, as these funding sources can be unpredictable and carry a risk of being withdrawn. Treat your OA and OSS creations as products; develop, manage, and care for them accordingly. Do not adopt a "set and forget" mindset—these initiatives require consistent attention, resources, and care. In addition to developing your platforms, seek partnerships with allied community members, commercial entities, and content providers to distribute your materials on open repositories. This will help ensure user communities can easily find and utilize your offerings. Ensure that your partners align with your organization’s brand, mission, and vision so your joint efforts have a meaningful and sustainable impact. 
5. Promote and Measure: Once your organization has developed OA and OSS materials, it is crucial to promote them effectively. Creating OA or OSS offerings does not ensure users discover, utilize, or share them. Invest in a regular and ongoing series of events and initiatives that celebrate, demonstrate, and highlight your OA and OSS initiatives' benefits, use cases, and impacts to facilitate this. The advantages of OA and OSS may not be immediately apparent to users, so making them explicit and quantifiable is crucial. From the outset, plan how your organization will measure, track, and report on the usage and impact of your OA and OSS initiatives, both internally and externally. Live external website dashboards with data visualizations can effectively communicate this impact. Additionally, provide summarized statistics and reports on your websites. In your partnerships, ensure accountability for these metrics. You should expect to receive quarterly and annual analytics, and more frequently, if your partners' infrastructure and reporting can accommodate this. If you are not open and transparent about the measurable impact of your OA and OSS efforts, you risk creating doubt about their benefits, relevance, and viability. Consider the potential consequences of sharing these metrics. Accurate and detailed metrics are essential for gaining funding and support from stakeholders; take notice of this vital aspect in sustaining your OA and OSS initiatives.

Here are some further considerations for Open Access (OA) and Open Source Software (OSS) initiatives:

• Data, Legal, and Policy Standards: OA and OSS are at a mature stage in their development and implementation. Avoid creating a unique set of policies and terms that do not meet users' expectations, needs, and preferences; doing so may lead to failure or poor performance of your initiative. Instead, utilize clear and established industry-leading standards and guidelines to ensure consistency and accessibility. Align your OA and OSS initiatives with the most impactful, measurable, and successful examples. Data and content standards are also essential for ensuring interoperability and long-term preservation. 
• Version Control, Roadmaps, and Enhancement: Effective version control is crucial for managing changes and tracking the evolution of OA and OSS projects. Implementing robust version control systems can enhance collaboration, prevent confusion, and allow adjustments. Provide users and partners with a clear development roadmap so they understand how the OA or OSS project will progress. A clear roadmap demonstrates the project’s sustainability and highlights the organization's commitment to supporting its future development. Continuous improvement is vital to the success of OA and OSS initiatives. Prioritize bug fixes, security updates, and new feature development based on user needs and strategic goals.
• OA and OSS Can Be Monetized: You can monetize OA and OSS data, content, and platforms even when legal tools for OA and OSS are in place. This is possible depending on the tools selected. Products and services can be developed using OA and OSS to achieve shared goals of driving innovation, generating profit, and supporting user communities. It is essential to proactively establish partnerships and engage in product development based on OA and OSS to create new economic opportunities. Initiatives in OA and OSS that are well-supported with appropriate staffing levels, healthy revenue streams, and sustainable products and services are more likely to thrive and succeed.

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Connect with me to discuss your executive management consulting needs.

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