While we work as project managers, it’s easy to get caught up in methodologies, frameworks, and technical skills. Yet time and again, one factor that overrides these and proves to be the difference between success and failure: Communication.
But who better to learn from about project management communication than an organization that has spent centuries perfecting it, often with lives on the line? The US Military has developed communication systems and principles that have been battle-tested in the most challenging conditions imaginable.
Now, pour yourself a cup of coffee, tea, or some nice, cold beverage and let me show you how military communication principles can transform your project management practice.
The High Cost of Communication Failure: Operation Market Garden
In September 1944, Operation Market Garden kicked off and is still today considered one of the most ambitious Allied operation of World War II
With the potential to end the war months earlier and save countless lives, it brought together forces from multiple nations in a complex airborne assault (tons of people jumping out of airplanes). Yet despite meticulous planning and exceptional resources, it was communication failures that played a crucial role in its ultimate setback.
And some of these communication concerns can link directly back to our work as project managers:
Teams separated by distance and unable to coordinate communications effectively
Technical failures in communication systems
Misaligned understanding of objectives between different units
Delays in critical information reaching decision-makers
The cost of these communication failures? Missed objectives, wasted resources, and tragically, lost lives.
While our project outcomes rarely have such dire consequences, the principles remain the same: communication can make or break even the most well-planned initiatives.
Military Communication Excellence: Core Principles
1. Clear Chains of Communication
The military excels where many organizations fail: establishing crystal-clear communication pathways. Every member knows exactly who they report to and who reports to them.
There is very little ambiguity about who needs to know what and when.
A project manager’s job with Project Management Communication starts with establishing this type of communication hierarchy within their organization. Project management communication starts with each project team member knowing who they need to talk/report to and who is the link between the project team and various stakeholders.
How can you build this communication network for project success out?
Create explicit communication plans and hierarchy’s for your projects
Define clear escalation paths for issues
Document who needs to be informed about what and when
Establish backup communication channels for critical information
Setup dedicated meetings for ensuring the distribution of critical information
Finding a way to implement these start with identifying your stakeholders, establishing a hierarchy of communication channels, and establishing the schedule/responsibilities for when you communicate.
Your project’s progress and overall project success depends on this, which is why we build SOP’s or standard operating procedures.
2. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
The military doesn’t leave communication to chance. If so, everyone would communicate in their own way without a common language across the team members.
Instead, every important message follows a prescribed format, ensuring clarity and completeness.
And for effective communication to stay consistent – you want to document how you’ll communicate, when, with you, etc.
This is where the military uses a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s). These SOP’s are ways to understand what to use and how to use it. And these SOP’s are use to build and built into an operation order.
Which means for you and your organization – you need to build SOP’s for how you will communicate across the organization. Then feed the information from this document into your Communication Management Plan within your Project Management Plan.
Project management communication should be standardized across your organization to make communication easier and more effective.
Project Management Application from Miltary SOP’s:
Create templates for common project communications (i.e. status reports, weekly updates slides, large stakeholders presentations)
Establish standard meeting schedules and agendas
Define report formats that ensure all critical information is included
Implement consistent status update procedures
If you can standardize these small features across your organization, I am sure your communication will become more effective and fluid. All leading towards more successful project management withing your organization.
3. Redundant Systems
The military never relies on a single communication channel. They always have secondary (backup system) communication method in place, knowing that communication failure is not an option.
And sometimes, they even develop tertiary (backup to the backup plan) communication method, ensuring when other forms of communication fail, the message is sent to who it needs to go to.
For Building Redundancies Within Your Projects:
Implement multiple communication tools (email, chat, project management software)
Create backup plans for critical communications
Document alternative contact methods for key stakeholders
Regular testing of communication systems
Send out meeting minutes to all attendees (whether they showed up or not)
Building in redundancy helps with transparent communication in project management. No one is left in the dark – no one is not getting the information in a way that is not suitable for their communication methods.
Instead, redundancy helps ensure that communication preferences are met for all stakeholders.
PURE Helps Bring Military Principles to Modern Project Management
While many certification programs focus on theoretical frameworks, PURE (Practical Unified Real-world Education) Project Management brings these battle-tested communication principles directly to your project management practice.
Russ Parker, owner of Forty-Four Risk PM, LLC, gives you detailed information on how military leadership and planning are equivalent to project planning, to include military communication.
All together, PURE gives you the ability to:
Learn practical communication strategies that work in the real world
Understand how to implement military communication systems in your projects
Gain concrete tools you can apply immediately
Earn 60 PDUs while learning actually useful skills
PURE is the new way to learn from practitioners in the field of project management. Learn their own ways of working, their lessons learned, and how you too can implement these practices into your projects!
Your Next Step: From Theory to Practice
You’ve seen how military communication principles can transform project outcomes. Now it’s time to put these principles into action.
The PURE certification provides:
Practical, real-world communication strategies
Templates and tools you can implement immediately
60 PDUs for your PMP® renewal
Access to learn from 25 expert instructors with current project management experience
All this for just $399 – less than the cost of most theoretical training programs that don’t provide practical, applicable skills. And definitely don’t provide you 60 PDU’s packages up in a simple, yet effective way!
Ready to master project communication? Click the banner below to enroll in PURE Project Manager certification and start applying these battle-tested principles to your projects.
And if you are still curious – I encourage you to start with the PURE Foundations Course taught by Jospeh Phillips.
Remember: In project management, as in the military, communication isn’t just about passing along information – it’s about ensuring the right information reaches the right people at the right time to drive successful outcomes. The PURE certification gives you the tools to make that happen.
The Risk Blog is a subset of Forty-Four Risk PM, LLC. Learn more at 44RiskPM.com
