A service business will die without consistent, reliable project management. Cantilever has been in business since 2011 serving clients from IBM, AMEX and Hearst to nonprofits and local small businesses. The heart of our PM approach is our process for keeping clients informed and empowered: the Weekly Update.
At the start of each week, every client gets a brief email or Slack thread with the status of every active project. For each project, we include:
- “Last Week, We…” — A summary of what we accomplished since the last update.
- “This Week, We…” — A summary of what we plan to accomplish in the upcoming week.
- “Timeline Update” — A list of the key milestones in this work stream, with any launch dates clearly highlighted
- “Budget Update” — For hourly projects, a summary of hours used vs the original budget.
This isn’t rocket science, but you’d be shocked how rare it is for clients to consistently receive this stream of key information. Before implementing this format we used to have cases where clients would not know when something would launch and how much it would cost, and this caused stress and worry. Whenever we have consistently applied this technique, we have not run into this problem.
Why It Works
- The first two items are focused on the here and now, while the two are focused on the long term goal. This provides a full view of the project.
- The format is easy to scan, so different stakeholders can quickly find the things pertaining to them and ignore the rest.
- The updates are progressive. Each week’s “Last Week” section should be similar to the “This Week” section from the prior update. This creates a consistent narrative which allows us to demonstrate ongoing progress and avoid the question “has any progress been made on this?”
- The updates put time and money discussions on the table consistently. This is a forcing function: If something is going wrong with the timeline or budget, the topic comes up as early as possible, when the impact is smallest.
- The updates are brief. They take only a few minutes to assemble and read, as long as the project is being correctly managed. Compare that to the hour-long meeting you’d have to schedule and conduct without this.
- The ritual of assembling the updates causes us to have to run through the status of every single project internally each week, so nothing slips through the cracks.
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Why It Matters
In any service relationship, the client is interested to know both the current status of things and the long-term plan. They want to see the current status steadily converging towards the final goal over time.
Think about air travel. Passengers want to know that they are heading in the right direction, and what the ETA is. Even if there are issues and the ETA changes, if the crew communicates clearly what has changed, the damage is limited. If they fail to provide a clear sense of where you are and where you’re going, you’ll be confused and distressed.
As a service provider our clients trust us to navigate their business through territory that is challenging and confusing for them. We are responsible for their care and getting them safely to their final destination. That’s why we need to give them a consistent “dashboard” so they are sure they’re going in the right direction.
How You Can Implement This
I do private consulting in addition to being CEO at Cantilever. I’ve taken our weekly update format and used it for my consulting clients as well. If you have a boss, imagine how powerful it would be for them to receive a brief dossier from you each week on the status of your initiatives. This saves them time, creates a clear paper trail of progress, and heads off confusion.
If you are responsible for someone’s care, keep them informed and engaged. It’s easier than you may think to ensure they feel in the loop!
