LSA Global Insights Newsletter

October 30, 2021

Top 7 Reasons to Run a Project Retrospective for Your Team


Most Work Today is Accomplished through Teams on Projects
Regardless of official titles, most clients tell us that the majority of their work is accomplished through projects and project teams.

That means they need to be confident and capable at coordinating work and stakeholders across different functions with varied, and often conflicting, needs, expectations, and pressures.

So how can you learn to be a better project manager? A better project team member? It all starts with understanding what is working and what is not working for your specific situation. 

Some Research
Research conducted by the Wharton School, Cornell, and the University of Colorado, found that prospective hindsight — imagining that an event has already occurred —increases the ability to correctly identify reasons for future outcomes by 30%.

So, wouldn’t it be fair to assume that a project retrospective, or project post mortem, done right, should improve future project outcomes by 30%?

We think so.

The Top 7 Reasons to Run a Project Retrospective with Your Team
Let’s start with the top reasons our clients run a project retrospective:

1. Set Up Future Projects for Success
Most leaders or project sponsors want to run a project retrospective to increase the odds that future projects and future project teams are set up to avoid past missteps and be better designed for success.

The process often occurs after a major project failure when it is critical that key lessons be learned.

2. Clarify Where Things Stand
Often project teams just need to get on the same page about the current situation. They need to come together to analyze and agree upon where things really stand before moving forward.

Do not underestimate the power of current state analysis during times of change and complexity.

3. Provide a Safe Forum for People to Be Heard
In general, people long to fit in, to feel appreciated, to be understood, and to connect with others on their project team. Especially after a long, challenging, and complex project, a project retrospective gives the team a forum to share perspectives and to acknowledge contributions.

Those three reasons are pretty obvious. Others may surprise you and pinpoint missed opportunities for improvement and alignment.
Read the Final 4 Reasons for a Project Retrospective
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

Eric Vernon
Director Of Operations 
Dolby Laboratories
"LSA recently designed and delivered a project post mortem for a highly strategic project with a group of 25 team members from engineering, design, marketing, product management, sales, manufacturing, purchasing, business development, research, and finance. The pre-workshop diagnostic, interviews, and experiential session exceeded our expectations.

We were able to honestly and effectively get everything out on the table, agree upon key lessons, and create a targeted action plan that made sense for our unique situation, team, and culture.

The whole process made a very complex and potentially political situation a big success. We could not have done the retrospective without LSA."

Toolkits for Leaders & Managers
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Proven tools for managers to be set up for success
About LSA Global

Get Aligned. Stay Aligned.™

September 25, 2021

How to Empower Employees to Make Better Decisions


Who Should Decide?
Do your leaders and managers feel overwhelmed by all the decisions they must make day-by-day? The chances are that they have plenty of company.

It is estimated that decision making can take up to 70% of a manager’s time. Leaders and managers need to gain better decision making capabilities.

Understandably, many leaders and managers would like to offload some decisions but, if they don't do it right, results and relationships may suffer.

Delegating decisions can backfire unless you have properly prepared people to take on and make important decisions in a way that makes sense.

How to Empower Employees to Make Better Decisions?
First, according to management training experts, leaders and managers need to determine which decisions can be delegated and to whom.

Typically, easily delegated decisions are rather simple, everyday decisions that can be entrusted to the person or team most familiar with the situation or problem.

But even seemingly innocuous decisions can have far-reaching consequences.

For example, a client team member under pressure recently chose a cheaper small part for their product in order to meet budget targets. But it ended up compromising overall performance to the point that more money and time had to be spent to fix the unintended consequences.
Read How Better to Support Better Decision-Making Capabilities Now
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

Blake Krikorian
CEO
Sling Media
"An extremely effective executive strategic decision making training session that helped our executive team navigate through our core objectives.

It was exactly what we needed. 

The approach was practical and valuable for our specific business and market. I would recommend LSA to anyone looking to push their decision making to the next level."
Toolkits for Leaders & Managers
Proven tools for leaders to boost performance
Proven tools for managers to be set up for success
About LSA Global

Get Aligned. Stay Aligned.™

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August 28, 2021

What to Do When a Sales Prospect Goes Dark


The Bad News
No responses to your calls and no replies to your emails – your sales prospect has gone dark! This can be frustrating – especially after good initial sales calls and a seemingly interested new client. The question is, has the sun set on your deal, or can you reignite the sales opportunity with your target client?

Do you despair and simply give up, flood the client with more calls and emails, or craft an approach to figure out what caused the client to go dark?

The Good News
In the sales process, it’s not over until it’s over. Your job now is to create a sales strategy that will give you the information you need to make a sound decision about working (or not) with this prospect.

The 5 Steps to Take When Prospects Go Dark
Here’s what you need to do to figure out how to handle this qualified sales opportunity going forward:

First, Reevaluate Your Own Performance
Being as objective as possible, review your side of the sales opportunity. You know what you should have done based upon consultative selling best practices:

  • Create value each time you interact with your customer
  • Respect their time and point of view
  • Help guide their buying process
  • Respond appropriately whenever there is an objection to overcome
  • Clarify action steps toward the final agreement

Then ask yourself: Did you miss any important steps in the sales process? Are there warning signs that you ignored?
Read the Next 4 Steps to Take When a Sales Prospect Goes Dark
VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER

Patrick Arnold
President
Filice Insurance
"LSA Global helped take our sales team to the next level. We focused on targeting the ideal client, differentiating our solutions, getting more qualified leads, and closing a higher percentage of our pipeline through a proven referral selling methodology.

I recommend LSA to anyone looking to increase the effectiveness of their sales force."
Toolkits for Sales Leaders
Proven tools for leaders to boost sales performance
Proven tools to set sales training up for success
About LSA Global

Get Aligned. Stay Aligned.™


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