Hope For Tomorrow 22 June 2015--final draft

Hope For Tomorrow—A Strategy-Consulting Group
1 1 5 1 N . S t a t e , E l g i n , I L 6 0 1 2 3
AT&T/Hyatt Installation

Hope for Tomorrow: AT&T/Hyatt Installation 2
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................................3
HOPE FOR TOMORROW..................................................................................................................................4
MISSION STATEMENT.............................................................................................................................................4
VISION STATEMENT................................................................................................................................................4
ACCOMPLISHMENTS (HIGHLIGHTS)..................................................................................................................4
REFERRALS................................................................................................................................................................5
THE TEAM..................................................................................................................................................................5
Sandra Robinson, Leadership Development Consultant......................................................................5
Paul Smith, Chef.................................................................................................................................................6
Felicia Williams, Author and Philanthropist...........................................................................................7
Bernie Richardson, Project Management Coach....................................................................................8
ABOUT AT&T........................................................................................................................................................10
COMPANY HISTORY.............................................................................................................................................10
MISSION ...................................................................................................................................................................10
ABOUT HYATT.....................................................................................................................................................10
COMPANY HISTORY.............................................................................................................................................10
MISSION ...................................................................................................................................................................11
THE PROJECT......................................................................................................................................................11
PROJECT ELEMENTS............................................................................................................................................11
SUSTAINING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS...................................................................................12
HIRE GREAT PEOPLE...........................................................................................................................................14
REMEMBER FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER...................................................................................................15
BE PROACTIVE.......................................................................................................................................................15
SEAMLESS INTEGRATION...................................................................................................................................16
MOVE PAST SEGMENTATION TO EMBRACE PERSONALIZATION............................................................16
RECAP/CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................17
TEAM DYNAMICS..............................................................................................................................................18
ASSEMBLING THE RIGHT TEAM........................................................................................................................18
LEADERSHIP AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART....................................................................................19
PDCA CYCLE.........................................................................................................................................................20
ACCOUNTABILITY................................................................................................................................................23
UTILIZING OTHERS..............................................................................................................................................24
CARRYING AND HANDING-OFF THE TORCH................................................................................................25
UNDERSTANDING LIMITATIONS...........................................................................................................26
TOOLS.......................................................................................................................................................................27
COMMUNICATION.................................................................................................................................................29
UNDERSTANDING TIMELINES.................................................................................................................30
SCHEDULING PROJECTS......................................................................................................................................32
LEADING AND MANAGING PROJECT TEAMS...............................................................................................33
COSTS.........................................................................................................................................................................35
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................................36
END NOTES.............................................................................................................................................................39

Executive Summary
Hope For Tomorrow (HFT) has been contracted by AT&T’s USinternetworking (USi)
division to review the contracted installation of a hosted virtual cloud application for
Hyatt Hotels. This was a large project by all accounts. The server demand alone was an
increase over a typical installation by a factor of twenty, requiring extra equipment that is
not normally covered in a traditional installation in the way of support including cooling,
battery backups, extra power, and infrastructure review.
The HFT team has reviewed the specific demands of the project including the extensive
technical aspects with regard to subject matter expertise of the standardized project
implementation teams typically utilized by USi, noting that elements of the project
extend beyond their normal scope.
Hope For Tomorrow has identified 4 key areas of concern:
1. This was a high-profile project with a big client who wanted consistent and
accurate updates.
2. This was a project that taxed the standard 5-server installation team normally
utilized.
3. This was a project with a large scope and scale, which became overwhelming.
4. This was a time-sensitive project with a lot of moving parts.
To this end we will address our recommended approaches to:
1. Customer Service
2. Team Development
3. Understanding Limitations
4. Understanding Timelines

Hope for Tomorrow
Hope For Tomorrow is a strategy-consulting group with over 50 years of combined
experience in team and leadership development. We work with our clients to develop
sustainable and benchmarkable solutions that represent their vision and core values. We
pride ourselves on our ethical, confidential, and expedient handling of sensitive concerns
including time-critical solutions, media management, and legacy development. Our core
competencies include:
 Leadership Training
 Team Development
 Crisis Management
 High-Stakes Negotiation
 Technical Infrastructure Assessments
 Logistics and Supply-Chains
 Threat Assessment and Risk Mitigation
 Loss Prevention
In fields including:
 High-Volume Call Centers
 Information Technology
 Cartage and Transportation
 Food Service and Hospitality
 Multi-Channel Retailers
MissionStatement
To inspire a better tomorrow by building stronger teams today
Vision Statement
Leaders that serve
Accomplishments (Highlights)
 Clear Channel Acquisition (Dealbook, 2006)
 Avail-TVN rebrand to Vubiquity (Spangler, 2013)
 The Purple Pig (pre-lawsuit consultation) (Frost, 2014)
 Sprint & US Cellular (wireless spectrum constraint consultation) (Zacks Equity
Research, 2013)

Referrals
 Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital
 Daryl Shular, CMC, Executive Chef, Le Cordon Bleu, Atlanta, GA
 William G. Arendt, CFO of Vubiquity, Inc. (former Acting CFO, Sr, VP and
Controller at Sprint Corporation)
The Team
Sandra Robinson, Leadership Development Consultant
Inspirational speaker, author, and life coach advisor Sandra Robinson is the newest
edition to the Hope for Tomorrow team. She gained her extensive expertise from over 20
years of providing high standards of Customer Service while leading high performance
Customer Service teams for industry giants such as Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and FedEx,
just to name a few. Her leadership style can best be described as a cross-pollen mix of
the leadership styles of seven of her greatest mentors: Jesus Christ, John Maxwell (author
of The Leadership Bible), entrepreneur and leader of the Potter’s House Inc. Bishop TD
Jakes, author and inspirational life-coach Joyce Meyer, life coach and author Dr. Dwayne
Dyer, entertainment giant Steve Harvey, and her personal pastor, Pastor John I. Caples of
Jesus Name Apostolic Church, Chicago, IL.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Business Marketing and Management from the Art
Institute of Pittsburgh and Master of Business Administration in Organizational
Leadership from Judson University. Hope for Tomorrow is excited to have the
opportunity to share her fresh and effective leadership perspective with you.

Paul Smith, Chef
Many of you know Paul Smith as the host of Restaurant Recovery, the show in which he
turns failing restaurants into successful businesses. Now in its third season, Paul and his
Recovery Team have helped breathe new life into 27 separate establishments. A
successful restaurateur in his own right, Paul is the executive chef and owner of Bella
Bella in Chicago and Winston’s Schnoodlery Bar and Grill at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas. He has been a winning contestant on Iron Chef (v. Mario Batali, Geoffrey
Zakarian and Alexandra Guarnaschelli), has won both Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen,
and can boast not one but two wins over Master Chef Bobby Flay—once on Bobby
Flay’s Throw Down and once on Beat Bobby Flay.
Chef Paul began his current career as a team development leader on a much different path
than one might expect. Interested in poetry and painting, Paul earned his undergraduate
degree from Knox College, working evenings and weekends as a cook in a crèperie in
Galesburg, IL. Moving to Chicago to pursue his master’s degree in rhetoric from the
University of Illinois-Circle, he continued to work in restaurants and clubs around the
city, while simultaneously enrolled in the long-distance learning program with The
University of American Samoa, which awarded him a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. A
lover of learning and good food, it was during his residency at Johns Hopkins--where he
earned his double specialization in infectious disease and nephrology--that he realized
that there was a need for good food fast. He made enough money with his first food
truck selling midnight snacks to fellow medical students to pay his school loans and start
his Michelin-rated Chicago restaurant. After medical school, Chef Paul, moved back to

Chicago to run his restaurant while finishing his doctoral thesis in physics at The
University of Chicago.
Although he had over twenty years of hands-on business experience, Paul knew that
attending the MBA program at Judson University would give him the formal study of
organizational leadership that he needed to fully understand and appreciate a variety of
successful business models. It was at Judson that he met the fellow cohorts who would
eventually invite him to be a partner in Hope for Tomorrow.
Felicia Williams, Author and Philanthropist
One of the team members for Hope for Tomorrow (HFT) is Felicia Williams. Ms.
Williams is a professional, established author for such publications as Christianity Today,
Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and The
Washington Post.
Ms. Williams has lead teams of writers for the better part of twenty years to excellence
by meeting deadlines and creating memorable editorials on topics varying from the return
of soldiers from Overseas to heartwarming animal stories. She will have a new book to be
released in the latter part of 2015 on Forming Teams, and a second book on Establishing
Communication for Work-at-Home Employees.
Helping others through charity work and volunteerism has been an important part of Ms.
Williams' spare time. Also dear to her heart is her relationship with Christ and the hard
work put forth obtaining her education.

Felicia Williams obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from Spellman College in Atlanta
Georgia. She continued to matriculate by obtaining her Master’s Degree from Judson
University in Management and Leadership and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in
Behavioral Science.
Bernie Richardson, Project Management Coach
Bernie’s education consists of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from
University of Phoenix, Schaumburg location. This is where his passion for business
started. It is also where he started to learn to work with others as a team in an educational
setting. Upon completing a Bachelor of Science – Business Management, he immediately
enrolled in a Master of Science – Technology Management program at Marist College, in
Poughkeepsie, NY. This was a degree provided jointly through the school of business and
the school of math and science at Marist College. This was an online program with three
residencies in New York, and one in China. The experience enhanced his team-building
skills. The final degree that he earned was an MBA from Judson University in Elgin. This
MBA provided a number of classes on leadership.
Bernie’s professional career started in the IT realm. Like most people, he started his
career on the helpdesk. He quickly moved up through the different levels of help desk
and into larger projects. Which led him to eventually manage an IT department. This led
Bernie to manage a datacenter and then he ultimately managed implementation projects.
As his career progressed into the manufacturing industry, Bernie’s business acumen
continued to grow. He also continued to work with project teams in different capacities.

Sometimes as the project manager, sometimes as Subject Matter Expert, other times as a
participant.
Bernie has been responsible for managing hundreds of projects ranging from small
projects that were completed quickly with only a few people to multi-million
projects that required people from all around the world working 24 hours a day to
complete. While managing these projects, he has worked with all types of people, in
all types of situations to ensure customer satisfaction.

About AT&T
Company History
Tracing its roots to 1876 and Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone, AT&T
prides itself on quality and reliability. After a few dramatic changes to their scope in 1984
and their structure in 1996,i the company sees its 2006 acquisition of BellSouth and the
consolidated ownership of Cingular Wireless as their “most significant transformation” to
date. (AT&T, 2015)
Mission
“Our mission is to exploit technical innovations for the benefit of AT&T and its
customers by implementing next-generation technologies and network advancements in
AT&T's services and operations.” (AT&T, 2015)
About Hyatt
Company History
Jay Pritzger founded Hyatt in 1957 when he purchased the Hyatt House motel. He and
his brother Donald developed it with other family businesses and went public in 1962. In
1968, Hyatt International was formed as a separate public company. By 1982, both Hyatt
Corporation and Hyatt International Corporation had become private. On December 31,
2004, most of the Pritzger family hospitality assets (including Hyatt Corporation and
Hyatt International Corporation) were consolidated as Hyatt Hotels Corporation. (Hyatt
Corporation, 2015)

Mission
“Our mission is to provide authentic hospitality by making a difference in the lives of the
people we touch every day. We focus on this mission in pursuit of our goal of becoming
the most preferred brand in each segment that we serve for our associates, guests, and
owners. We pursue our mission and goal in an environment characterized by a set of core
values that defines our culture.” (hyatt.com, 2010)
The Project
USinternetworking (USi), a division of AT&T and a pioneer in the Software-as-a-Service
(SaaS) Industry had been contracted by Hyatt Hotels to host a “cloud” for the hospitality
giant. The goal, after initial implementation, was to push this application to all of Hiatt’s
hotels worldwide.
Project Elements
 Project Teams
o Assemble
o Assess
o Assign
 100+ servers to be
o Purchased
o Assembled
o Racked
o Stacked
 Support equipment
o Battery Backups
o Cooling System
o Racks
o Additional Electrical
o Server Room Modifications (Architecture)
 Timeline
o Short Start-Up
o Rolling Installation

Sustaining CustomerRelationships
An important aspect of functioning as a well-oiled project implementation team involves
keeping the client informed and enlisting their feedback from beginning through the end
of the assignment to build rapport and gain their trust. In our review of the much
anticipated, contracted, installation of a hosted virtual cloud application for Hyatt Hotels,
we have determined that AT&T will need to execute appropriate due diligence to ensure
that the communication lines are formed and sustained through constant, ongoing contact.
AT&T IPM will need to establish the key personnel from team Hyatt to connect with and
send regular updates as needed via e-mail, phone (conference calls), virtual meetings,
and/or face-to-face meetings. To facilitate easier distribution among project team
members, key account contact details including name, title, phone/cell, fax, email should
be noted on a Key Contacts sheet in a format such as this:
Hyatt Hotels – Virtual Cloud Application Install
MikeSmith
DirectorofCustomerService
888.555.1234Phone
888.555.1212Fax
msmith@hyatthotels.com
JaniceJones
OperationsManager
888.555.1233Phone
888.555.1212Fax
jjones@hyatthotels.com
Nate Jefferson
IT Manager
888.555.1232Phone
888.555.1212Fax

njefferson@hyatthotels.com
A similar sheet with key AT&T contact details should be provided to the appropriate
Hyatt Hotel personnel.
Work with client contacts early on to determine what sort of information or metrics
should be conveyed; to whom; how often; and the preferred format (i.e. Excel reports;
PDF file; charts; graphs; etc.).
The project team to ensure deadlines are reasonable, understood, and agreed to by all,
should vet any pre-established timelines and or critical deliverables.
A project timeline template can also be shared and updated continually throughout the
life of the project to help track and gauge progress amongst teams.
When you consider that 60% of those surveyed indicate that they believe customer
service improved in 2014 from 2013, it comes as no surprise to most businesses that
providing exceptional customer service can translate into higher sales and increased
customer loyalty. So, the key question is, “What does this enhanced experience
embody?”
Smaller businesses appear to be at an advantage from a customer service perspective in
that they are perceived as having a more personal touch when interacting with clients. At

the same time, along with the increased opportunity to get to know the client personally
comes added pressure to deliver.
Regardless of the size of your organization, you can learn from those who are winning
the race to satisfy customers.
Social media and today’s climate of market completion (i.e. ‘We will pay you to
switch!’) has raised the bar in terms of what customer’s expect in exchange for their
loyalty or at least repeat business. When customer’s love the organization, they tell their
social network. The same holds true, or perhaps to a greater degree even, if they are
dissatisfied with you. Good or bad, someone will hear about it!
Simply put, customers are no longer willing to accept subpar customer service. If you
want to keep your customers coming back and engaged with your future, here are five
general guidelines to follow (Fallon 2014):
Hire Great People
Highly effective people provide highly effective customer service. Make sure you have
hired and trained the very best from the start. Your culture should reflect your belief in
putting people first. Employees of a ‘people first’ culture cultivate client relationships
with the same intent and zeal. This is where the rubber meets the road in terms of
building rapport and customer loyalty. Customers need to feel valued and respected to
become loyal fans of a company or brand.

Remember First Impressions Matter
There are at least three situations (if not more) in life where the first impression can make
or break the deal. Always put your best foot forward for job interviews, romantic
relationships and in business. You won’t regret it. When it comes to business matters,
this is especially true. Consider these statistics:
 20% of customers report that it only takes one bad experience to cause them to
stop trusting a company
 25% say they will instantly switch brand given the right incentive
Brands that come out on top, understand the value of a great first impression.
It is critical to assure your customers that you are committed to meeting their needs, and
are competent and capable to deliver their needs.
They need to understand what differentiates you from the competition.
Mastering first impressions is a must for today’s business professionals.
Be Proactive
Reach out to customers with updates (good or bad) before they have to reach out to you.
Get ahead of the game by becoming proactive instead of reactive. Make the goal being
able to anticipate customer needs ahead of time. Share timely project updates on a
regular basis to build loyalty and maintain integrity.
To win the game, provide customer service management systems and solutions that
proactively address their needs. Use marketing automation software and data retrieval
tools to pinpoint where the issues are and proactively communicate to your clients with

emails or messages to help guide their steps. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light
unto my path. ~Psalms 119: 105 (KJV)
Simply put: Communicate, communicate, communicate. Good, effective
communication is the corner stone of delivering exceptional customer service.
In the Hyatt Implementation, poor communication at many levels created the issue while
good, effective communication solved it.
Seamless Integration
Like it or not, customers are capable of being constantly connected via mobile devices,
in-store visits, on the Web, or through social media. There needs to be a consistent,
exceptional, customer experience across all channels. Find innovative strategies to win at
this level (across all mediums/vehicles). This is an area where many corporations fail.
While they may excel in Internet sales for example, they may actually be missing the
mark with in-store sales and/or service. To build a stronger partnership, learn to gain a
360-degree view of your clients in that you learn them from every angle and connect with
them across multiple channels (i.e. social media, in-store, web, mobile devices where
applicable).
Move past segmentation to embrace personalization
Marketing has evolved from identifying segments and applying broad demographic
assumptions into utilizing solutions that embrace personalization. Clients want to be
understood as distinct entities. You will need to be agile and innovative in analyzing
their business model and developing solutions to fit their needs. Become skilled at

developing genuine customer engagement right from the very beginning. This rapport
will encourage and support open, effective communication and trust which builds loyalty
throughout the customer lifecycle (beyond the initial buy). Customer engagement must
occur throughout the entire lifecycle to keep abreast of the customers constantly changing
needs. In the case of the Hyatt Installation this would entail creating a custom delivery
timeline that is appropriate considering the magnitude of the project. One-size fits all,
cookie-cutter solutions, simply won’t work.
Recap/Conclusion
Delivering good customer is as much art as science. When you bring your own
personality into the delivery and day-to-day communications with the client, you are
adding your own unique style and flare while providing the research-based, benchmark
standards that have been proven effective time and time again:
1. Hire great people – great results come from great people
2. Remember First Impressions Matter – Always take to time to put your best
foot forward.
3. Be Proactive – Send regular, timely updates to keep client informed of update or
issues
4. Seamless Integration – gain a 360 degree angle of your client’s business
5. Move past segmentation to embrace personalization – Avoid ‘one-size fits all’
solutions. Offer solutions based on the client’s needs.
If you commit to doing these things early on, you are well on your way to becoming a
high performance team…one that not only gets clients but knows how to keep them.

TeamDynamics
Assembling the right team
Because the end results and general task parameters had already been clearly defined by
the client, the assembly of the implementation teams could be relatively simply though
not necessarily easy. We’re suggesting that each project group could utilize a single-
leader model for the assignation and monitoring of tasks. AT&T has a large brain trust
from which to cull its team members, but we would want to look at highly skilled
individuals who can also take some direction and who will be comfortable vocalizing any
obstacles encountered on the path to goal.
For any task to be successful, three conditions must be met. One must have
1. The right equipment for the task,
2. The correct training for that equipment, and
3. A plan by which to use the equipment and training to meet the task objectives.
(Glass, 1995-2015)
A simple analogy would be to imagine a race. A driver with a car but no understanding of
the course or goal of the race is no more useful than a car and a map without a driver, and
a skilled and prepared driver cannot be competitive without a car, no matter how good his
racing strategy. As silly as this analogy seems, we see individuals, teams and
organizations make these missteps daily. What can be most frustrating is to have a car in
the driveway, a map for the course and a skilled driver without a key to that car.
Correct leadership streamlines the acquisition of the key--puts it in the driver’s hands--so
that he or she can perform the job for which they have trained and planned.

In relation to the Hiatt installation, the Project Manager is providing that key to the
Implementation Project Managers. Each IPM has the training, the equipment and a clear
goal; the Project Manager’s job is to make certain that the path is clear of obstacles and
that all required resources—including the time of the other team members--are available.
Because he will be in constant communication with the customer, the Project Manager
will also have the ability to manage ahead, clearing obstacles long before the
implementation team gets to them.
Leadership and the Organizational Chart
This is the basic outline of each team cell in this project. These teams will be working in
parallel, then hand off to second groups.
As we previously discussed, the other crucial component of this was the progress
reporting of the Project Manager back to the Customer—an intercourse that did not begin
well due to the lack of specific information provided with regard to dates and times. We
want to ensure, going forward, that the Project Manager is provided with the most up-to-
ProjectManager
Data Center
Operator
Systems
Engineer
Networking
Engineer
Security
Specialist
Backup Engineer
Implementation
ProjectManager

date and accurate information available and that the line of communication will either be
singular, or, in cases wherein a second team member needs to communicate with the
customer, highly coordinated as to avoid conflicting information components. In this
regard, the Project Manager is a relay between the team he is overseeing and the
customer he is servicing. Maintaining this balance is crucial to a smooth installation in
which neither the customer nor the project implementation team feels any bumps in the
road.
PDCA Cycle
Maintaining a strong and clear continuous feedback system within each project team is
critical as it can be easy to get distracted by discrete tangents such as nice-to-haves versus
need-to-haves. In this writer’s experience through rigorous and regular implementation,
the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle creates points of contact within a team by which
to measure the progress they are making vis a vis the goals agreed on by the team with
regard to the deliverables against which they will be measured.
 Plan: Establish a target objective and the steps or process required to achieve that
target. At this initial phase, the steps are perceived. This is essentially a
hypothesis, a hypothetical best method based on experience and skill in the art.
 Do: Follow the new, proposed process and capture the results. It is important at
this stage to work from zero to the logical conclusion. Often this stage is
prematurely ended due to frustrations or overthinking. It is necessary to let the
process speak. The smarter or more skilled the individual members of the team,
the easier it is to circumvent or short-change this step by either anticipating results
or having a better idea in the middle of the testing. Utilize the opportunity in this
step to glean all the data possible. If the next idea really is better, it will be easier

to demonstrate with this first round of testing fully captured. So: data collection
begins here, but is analyzed in the next stage.
 Check: After capturing the actual results of the test, this is the stage where it can
be compared against:
o Previous “Do” activities
o Expected results
o Target results
It is also at this stage that the “blind” element—an auditor or analyst outside of
the “Do” activity can be applied to see if there are variations within the results
that do not make sense with the body of the results. This may be important in
cases where a traditional “double-blind” or randomized DOE could not be put into
effect due to limited resources or other issues. The value of randomization is that
it protects the process from being affected or altered by any operator who might
have a vested interest in choosing one process over another. It is even possible to
affect a process without intending to do so, simply by an over-anticipation of
results that might cause an operator or team member to make a seemingly
innocuous modification during the “Do” stage.
 Act: This is the implementation stage—what all that work all boils down to. Here
decisions must be made based on evidence. This can be uncomfortable in teams
with either individual or group agendas outside the scope of identifying the best
process in terms of the original goal parameters. Although we think of this as the
implementation stage, it is sometimes necessary to conclude that substantial
modifications must be made. At this point the cycle begins again, taking what has
been learned and applying it in the next “Plan” activity. One of the leader’s roles
in this case is to act as a positive emotional force, ensuring that each team
member knows that a negative result is not a failure of the team, simply a
validation that the process needs further review. Even with successful results,
however, the goal of continuous improvement is to actively seek out better
methods. If the first round of PDCA delivered all that was hoped, then a new

project needs to begin. As a caveat, it is important for a leader in all these
activities to understand basic return on investment. Even though the goal is
continuous improvement, it makes no sense to spend $100,000.00 to save
$1000.00.
Although the application discussed is in a team environment, HFT training will
demonstrate that there are other types of growth attainable through this model. It is easy
to imagine applying the PDCA Cycle at the Organizational Level, but we feel that leaders
should encourage this processing at the Individual Level as well. Furthermore, we like to
think of this process like a gyre or nautilus whose scope grows to encompass more as it
spirals outward. (Smith, 2001-2015)
Because the Hyatt project was a rolling installation of 100 Total servers in sets of five,
there were essentially nineteen opportunities to go around the PDCA loop. The goal, of
course, would be to have a strong plan for all the major elements by the third iteration, if
not before; however, minor improvements could continue throughout. The other
opportunity afforded by this model with regard to the Hyatt installation is that there may
not have been nineteen occasions to utilize the cycle if part of the plan incorporated the
growth in the number of servers installed at a given milestone. So, if improvements were
made early on in the project that increased the capacity of an installation, improved the
building and delivery of servers, and/or extended each team member’s bandwidth, either
through the use of outside SMEs on the installation or secondary supports inside the
company, then it would have been possible to install more than five servers at a time.

(Bilsuk)
Accountability
It is our default position, especially in a leader-driven team model, to fall into the
comfortable roll of assigning individual accountability. It is much more valuable,
however, to integrate mutual accountability into the framework of the team. HFT will
work with team leaders to coach them on establishing equitable standards through a
common language that will foster a strong peer-to-peer accountability matrix.
Stating what is required in clear terms and accepting no less than complete buy-in from
the team on deliverables is the first step. This is not to say that elements of the project
cannot be contested. The entire reason to include strong Subject Matter Experts is for
their professional opinions and skills. Rather it is to underscore what the customer’s
understanding of the contract is as it relates to the team’s final performance. So, in other

words, a drop-dead date is not fungible, nor is the definition of a working server. If dates
cannot be met or full functionality is in question, that is a point of negotiation that the
Project Manager must bring back to the customer. It is not up to an individual team
member to decide that they cannot meet his or her own deadlines or that those deadlines
do not matter.
The other part of the contract is the ability for others to move forward instead of getting
hung up on past errors and misdeeds. For each actor—the team member failing and the
other team member(s) holding them accountable—there are obligations to break the
problematic cycle.
The team member who has failed the team needs to:
1. Recognize the offense
2. Take Responsibility for the action
3. Be genuinely Remorseful
4. Make Restitution to restore balance
5. Repeat their commitment to improvement (Johnson, 2015)
Then, the other’s job is to forgive, for without this we cannot move on. (Cloud, 2006) It
is the author’s experience that expedient means would dictate that the person forgiving
should:
1. Clarify the scope of the error
2. Accept the apology
3. Help with a solution (Hull, 2006-2014)
After that, it is important to move on and forward.
Utilizing Others
No matter the level of skill, not every member in the organization can be on every team
and, in some cases, it may be better to keep an individual from being fully immersed in
the team dynamic. That is not to say, however, that those Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)

cannot be utilized. One might choose to keep an electrical engineer off of a team due to
her or his current workload; however, as in the medical field, there is nothing wrong with
asking for a consult.
We also want to expand our minds and our definition of what comprises an SME. One’s
title or degree does not fully define them. Our colleagues’ hobbies, secondary skills and
character may serve as an expertise or, at least, a fresh perspective. A peer in the
accounting department who plays in a band at church may have insights on acoustical
tiles or the best way to move a piano. Our greatest skill when working with others as
individuals, in a team unit and as part of a large organization, is our ability to listen.
Listen and you never know what you might learn from others.
Carrying and Handing-off the Torch
A solid hand-off of completed work from one team member to the next as well as from
one team to the next will create positive forward momentum and mutual respect. HFT
like to use the supplier-customer model for internal operations as well as those reaching
externally. In this model it is possible to have to customers who also serve one another.
Making this model part of one’s daily and common language helps to break down the
“you work for me” mentality that can be prevalent in traditionally hierarchical
organizations and teams. An excellent example of this is our government, which leads the
country but also serves at the pleasure of the people.

Understanding Limitations
Life is lived at an accelerated pace in this current age. Often there appears to be so much
to do and so little time. That frame of mind is even more prevalent when hired as an
individual or a team to work on a project. One must check emails, return phone calls, set
up meetings, and order supplies just to name a few of the duties required to complete a
project. It is not acceptable to miss deadlines or attempt to handle so many items at once
that nothing is completed. If it is your hope to have a favorable experience while
completing the task set before you, it is in your best interest to organize your time. There
are a plethora of thoughts and concepts that can be used to assist in fulfilling obligations
in a timely manner; one of which is getting a true sense of what is urgent and what can
wait. The individual or team must decide in advance contingency plans if they are at a
“standstill” or in an immovable situation. All parties must be aware of the strengths and
weakness and strive to improve where possible.
Hope for Tomorrow (HFT) was hired to review a large project for the Global Hotel Chain
Hyatt that did not run as smoothly as expected. The job had a lot of moving parts that
were not handled very well initially. As noted in the actual case the team was expected to
load a new Operating system and one application. The job required a large amount of
“servers to be purchased, assembled, racked and stacked.” (Richardson, 2015) The
requirements exceeded expectations, which caused a delay in the project completion.
The interruptions of service led to communication breakdown with the client as well as

the team members. The timeline was no longer accurate which will be discussed in more
detail later in the paper. There was an extreme lack of understanding of time limitations.
Tools
One tool the Implementation Project Manager (IPM) could have utilized to keep the
project on target is a Time Management Grid. The Covey Time Management grid is an
effective method to organize portions of the project by importance. (Covey, 2004)
The Time Management Grid organizes responsibilities into four quadrants. Each
quadrant is titled. The upper portions of the quadrants are labeled Urgent and Not
Urgent. The left side of the quadrants are labeled Important and not Important.

This project, although similar to previous projects in some aspects, exceeds them in the
magnitude of the scope. For example, additional servers were required to complete the
job; these had to be ordered. The lack of servers on hand delayed the installation process.
This, in turn, hindered meeting deadlines. The IPM needed to assess the job and perhaps
utilizing the grid above prior to agreeing to take on the contract.
Another method of that may have been helpful to implement with the team is the
“Pomodoro Technique”. (Pavey, 2015) The Pomodoro Technique allows the team to

remain focused throughout the entire day by taking scheduled breaks. The initial step is
to create and check a list of things that need to be accomplished for that day. Estimate
the time necessary to complete each task; keeping in mind all of the commitments for the
day. Attempt to work in twenty-five minute increments (“pomodori”ii) with five-minute
periods of rest. When a task is completed take a twenty – thirty minute break to regroup.
Studies have shown the five-minute and the longer periods of rest allows the brain to
regroup and process all the work done and those task that still needed to be done. The
technique encourages focusing on the chore and not being distracted or working on
multiple things and resolving none. Amazingly enough it added to productivity instead
of decreasing it when applied correctly.
Communication
Another tool that had the potential to improve the working atmosphere during the
implementation and completion of the project was communication. Time constraints can
impede production and lack of communication can downright stall them. Communication
should include the following 7 Cs, as outlined in an article by Ruth Hill
Clear – Be clear about goal or message
Concise – Stick to the point and brief
Concrete – Detailed information
Correct – Error free and accurate
Coherent – Logically all points connect
Complete – Provide all necessary information
Courteous – Share information in a polite manner (Hill, 2015)

Courteous behavior should be the foundation of every form of communication. The
Hyatt setup may have benefited from addressing the lack of communication between all
members on the project. Incorporating all of the options listed would have allowed for
the team to perform in a more cohesive manner and perhaps avoid some of the delays that
were widespread throughout the project.
Communication is a requirement for everyone at all times. As best stated in the article
“The better we communicate, the more credibility we'll have with our clients, our boss,
and our colleagues.” (Hill, 2015)
Understanding Timelines
One of the findings was that USi/AT&T was very efficient to doing these types of
projects. However, this particular project presented problems with the sheer number of
servers that were required.
Another aspect that added to the overall issue with the Hyatt implementation is managing
the timeline. This is a task that is usually handled by the project manager. That was true
in this particular case. The Implementation Project Manager had all of the tools in place
to monitor and manage the tasks that were assigned to people. They utilized Microsoft
Project for all the projects that they managed at USi/AT&T. There are a number of tools
available in Microsoft Project to visually see the progress of the project.

Considering the IPM had all of the necessary tools available to manage the project, other
issues related to managing the timeline must have existed. Upon further research, it was
discovered that there may have been some breakdowns in the company culture and
project team roles. The company culture may have been a factor in causing a breakdown
managing the timeline. The company culture appeared very strong for the type of project
that they have done for years. There was a certain confidence that was shared by the
company that all of the project teams always seemed to deliver as promised. As was
noted, the type of work that was to be completed was not the problem. In times past, with
smaller projects, there was an attitude that USi/AT&T was sort of invincible. Projects
were rarely late. If they fell behind, it always seemed that “magic” happened, and they
delivered on time.
When this project was given to the Implementation Project Manager, there was an
immediate sense that this was going to be a challenge. It quickly became apparent that the
project was going to go beyond the time allotted for the implementation team to complete
their project. The company culture had an effect on how the IPM reacted to knowing that
this project was in jeopardy. According to what was gathered, the team could not believe
that they would be late. With a slightly different culture, the IPM may have felt more
comfortable to push the Project Manager to let the customer know that the project was in
jeopardy. More importantly, the IPM had direct contact with the customer on a regular
basis. The IPM should have told the customer.

While the company had a great record of completing projects on-time, the size of the
projects has changed. It is going to take some time to figure out these new projects. While
the company figures this out, there needs to be a shift in culture that emphasizes that the
company might be late and it must let the customer know as soon as the timeline in
endangered.
Scheduling Projects
As has been mentioned a few times, USi/AT&T excelled at smaller projects that ranged
from 1-10 servers. However, when AT&T acquired USi, very aggressive goals were
established. These goals were so much larger because AT&T had connections with
companies that USi would never have. Additionally, the service that USi offered was in
great demand by current AT&T customers. The customers that AT&T had were very
large corporations.
The size of the customers and projects should have been considered as the contract
progressed and timelines were being discussed. This really was the first breakdown that
was observed. As this project was planned, the assumption that it was simply the same as
normal projects except bigger was the problem. There should have been discussions with
all of the different groups involved. If that event occurred, people could have addressed
the fact that the infrastructure was not in place in place to support the implementation.
Another part of scheduling that was overlooked was purchasing. It was much more
difficult to source well over a hundred servers than it is to purchase 5 or 10 servers.
Because of this, the purchasing department had to purchase basic servers and then have

the Data Center Operators build the servers. While they are capable of building the
servers, keeping track of all of that hardware and the different configurations proved to
be daunting. They also lost a lot of time actually building the servers. This is time that
they did not have as they had to create the infrastructure issues. Not to mention that they
had a number of normal tasks that they had to complete as a result of an implementation
project.
It is recommended that there be a process in place that all of the different groups have an
opportunity to discuss projects that require more than 5 servers (physical or virtual). The
physical infrastructure issues would have been identified prior to setting any sort of
customer expectations. Since purchasing does not get a seat during the pre-kick-off
meeting, the IPM should meet with purchasing to discuss these larger projects to see if
they have any concerns. By doing these couple suggestions, the scheduling would have
been more accurate and expectations would have been closer to actual results.
Leading and Managing Project Teams
A final area of understanding timelines that was observed was that of managing and
leading the project team. In this particular case, the implementation team is the focus.
This responsibility fell squarely on the Implementation Project Manager. Part of that
responsibility is constantly monitoring the project tasks and schedule. For this project,
these things should have been reviewed at least daily. As tasks slip and people fall
behind, the project manager should find ways to motivate and encourage the team and
individuals on the team.

A part of managing the project is to understand the state of the project. Some consider it
as constantly taking the pulse of the project. Issues often arise that affect the outcome of
the project. One of the most common issues that arise is that of morale. It was discovered
early that the project was behind. This created a lot pressure on the entire team to perform
at a very high level. When it was noticed that was not enough, there was morale issue.
When morale issues arise, it is up to the leader to address it and find a way to boost the
morale. That did not happen in this case.
Another aspect of managing projects is to manage stakeholders. This includes managing
communications with the appropriate stakeholders so they are aware of the status of the
project. In this particular case, some of the notable stakeholders were the customers, the
overall Project Manager, the sales representative, and the Application Team. Of these
four stakeholders, the customer is the most important. It is obvious that the USi/AT&T
mismanaged the most important stakeholder. It appears that this within USi/AT&T
understood the reality that the project was likely going to be late. It was not until very late
in the project did the customer know the severity of the project. This is something that
should not have happened, and must not happen in the future.
While the project managers all demonstrate that they are capable of building projects and
utilizing the tools that they have at their disposal, there seems to a concern with
leadership and communication. It is recommended that the company seek a training
program that will help create better leaders that communicate better with customers. With
this training, it is likely that the IPM would have acted more as a leader and openly

discussed the issues with the customer, rather that following the lead of the overall PM.
Had either of the project managers been more sensitive to the importance of
communication, the customer would have known earlier about the timeline issues.
Costs
For initial and a la carte consultation, our bill rate is $175/hr. or $1400 per day.
Because of the scope of the Hyatt Installation, we would recommend that AT&T
consider our project rate of $28,000, which would cover a full month of training and
consultation. Though not a discounted rate, we would pro-rate subsequent
consultation for the same project at 2/3 for another two months.

References
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ATT.com: www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711
AT&T. (2015). Business. (AT&T Intellectual Property) Retrieved June 16, 2015, from
corp.att.com: http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/about/mission/html
Bilsuk, K. B. (n.d.). PDCA Cycle. Wikimedia Commons .
http://www.bilsuk.com/2009/02/taking-first-step-with-pdca.html - Own Work.
Cloud, H. (2006). Integrity (1st ed.). New York, NY, USA: Collins.
Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY, USA: Free
Press.
Dealbook. (2006, November 16). Clear Channel Accepts $18.7 Billion Takeover Bid.
Retrieved May 24, 2015, from The New York Times:
dealbook.nytimes.com/2006/11/16/clear-channel-accepts-185-billion-takeover-
bid/?_r=0
Fallon, N. (2014, October 17). Customer Service Done Right: 5 Best Practices.
Retrieved June 4, 2015, from Business News Daily:
http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7306-customer-service-best-practices.html
Frost, P. (2014, November 24). Purple Pig investor sues partners, alleging
embezzlement in Crain's Dining. Retrieved May 23, 2015, from Crain's Chicago
Business:
www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141124/BLOGS09/141129911/purple-pig-
investor-sues-partners-alleging-embezzlement

Glass, I. (1995-2015). Radio Archive 115: First Day, Act Two, Squirrel Cop. (I. Glass,
Producer, & Chicago Public Media) Retrieved June 14, 2015, from
thisamericanlife.org: www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/115/first-
day?act=2
Hill, R. (2015, June 18). MindTools. Retrieved from MindTools:
http://www.mindtools.com/
Hull, T. (2006-2014). Therapy Sessions. (P. A. Smith, Interviewer)
Hyatt Corporation. (2015). Our Company. (Hyatt Corporation) Retrieved June 15,
2015, from hyatt.com: http://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/about/our-
company/company-history.jsp
hyatt.com. (2010). Hyatt Hotels Corporation 2010 Annual Report. (Hyatt.com)
Retrieved June 15, 2015, from investors.hyatt.com:
http://investors.hyatt.com/files/doc_financials/annual%202010/2010-Annual-
Report.pdf
Johnson, C. E. (2015). Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership: Casting Light or
Shadow (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: SAGE.
Katzenbach, J. &. The Discipline of Teams: A Mindbook-Workbook for Delivering Small
Group Performance (1st ed.). New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Levi, D. (2014). Group Dynamics for Teams (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA, USA: SAGE.
Pavey, S. (2015, May 15). The Pomodoro Technique. Retrieved from MindTools:
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/pomodoro-technique.htm
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States of America: Not published.

Smith, P. A. (2001-2015). Building A Lean House. A Series of Lean Training Sessions
Given Over Years of Coaching.
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closes-us-cullular-network

End Notes
i “In 1984, through an agreement between the former AT&T and the U.S. Department of
Justice, AT&T agreed to divest itself of its local telephone operations but retain its long
distance, R&D and manufacturing arms. From this arrangement, SBC Communications
Inc. (formerly known as Southwestern Bell Corp.) was born.
Twelve years later, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 triggered dramatic changes in
the competitive landscape. SBC Communications Inc. established itself as a global
communications provider by acquiring Pacific Telesis Group (1997), and Ameritech
Corp. (1999). In 2005, SBC Communications Inc. acquired AT&T Corp., creating the
new AT&T.” (AT&T, 2015)
ii
A "pomodoro" kitchen timer, after which the method is named
"Il pomodoro" by The original uploader was Erato at Italian Wikinews - Transferred
from it.wikinews to Commons by Fale using CommonsHelper.. Licensed under CC BY-
SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Il_pomodoro.jpg#/media/File:Il_pomodoro.jpg

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