It is amazing what leadership can do for an organization, a team, and a nation. Things weren’t going so well for the United States in the early days of the space race. Launching rockets was cool enough, but our only goal seemed to be to prove that our captured German rocket scientists were smarter than the Soviet Union’s captured German rocket scientists. It was little more than an expensive game of “neener neener boo boo, can’t catch me!” John F. Kennedy changed all that in a single speech. He called upon NASA and the nation to land a man on the moon, and return him safely, (always a nice touch) by the end of the decade. Suddenly the nation was galvanized by a common vision. Rocket launches were no longer random, but stepping-stones to a larger future for humankind.
JFK didn’t micromanage the project, or choose the technology, or tell NASA how to get the job done; he simply gave them a very tough and dramatic goal. And NASA achieved the goal within the seemingly-impossible deadline. That is leadership.
It is also important to consider how NASA approached the challenge. They didn’t start building a moon rocket but rather focused on getting an astronaut into orbit under a variety of circumstances, and safely returning him to Earth. When the Mercury program was complete, they focused on the Gemini program to get two astronauts into space. They also used Gemini to learn how to walk in space, live in space, find another space capsule and dock with it, and a host of other skills and technologies necessary for a successful moon shot. Then more progressive steps and lessons with the Apollo program, until Neil Armstrong finally stepped upon the surface of the moon.
There is a lesson in this for Strategic Governance Teams. When it comes to accomplishing big goals, sometimes more is less. Sometimes a suggestion is better than a command, and vision is better than micromanagement. OK, vision is always better than micromanagement.
So, when establishing your SharePoint environment, start with a governance team of no more than 12 people. Establish a stable top-level taxonomy of no more than 10 categories. And then start with your own Mercury Program—a pilot project that is impressive enough to gain grassroots support, complex enough to learn how to “do” governance, and small enough that it can be completed in 30 days. When you have a handle on the pilot project, then and only then move on to your own Gemini Program and learn how to collaborate between dissimilar groups. Then, and only then, move onto the Apollo Program and build your enterprise information management and collaboration environment.
My two-day Governance and Taxonomy Workshop will get your Mercury Program off the ground, and help to frame your Gemini and Apollo Programs. I believe firmly in starting small and building on success.
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