Popular Mechanics regularly publishes brain-teasers. One of those captured my fancy the other day, a classic about a fox, a hen and a bag of corn. I experienced a Eureka moment while figuring it out. This riddle provides a vital lesson on one of the most important aspects of organizing project work: a lesson in how to accelerate your projects. First, here’s the puzzle.
You’re a farmer who needs a shopping fix. Your rural wi-fi is terrible, so Amazon is out of the question. The nearest store is across a river, so you take your modest rowboat across the river to the market. While there you purchase a fox, a hen and a bag of corn. Why a fox? Maybe he was cute, just go with it.
Somehow you carry these three things to your boat. Doh! You forgot that your small boat can only carry yourself and one other item. While this may be a good time for a different project management lesson on the importance of planning, let’s stay with the puzzle. The storeowner warned you about your purchases. “Don’t leave the fox alone with the hen, the fox will eat it. And don’t leave the hen alone with the corn, the hen will eat that.” The challenge you face is how to successfully get your purchases across the river, one at a time.
We’ll let you ponder that for a bit (or maybe you already have the solution) and talk about that critical project lesson – work sequence matters! If you don’t get the sequence right, it’ll cost you time. Let’s now return to your boat.
You think about taking the fox, only to notice the hen drooling at the corn. You didn’t realize that hens can drool. You start to pick up the corn and the fox licks his chops. Sequence matters! The only safe move is to take the hen on your first trip back across the river, leaving the fox and corn together. You cross, drop the hen and return. Ok, fox or corn? You chose fox, for no particularly good reason. They both have to cross.
Now you have the fox and hen together on one side and corn on the other. One of them has to go back. You could return the fox, but that would undo what you just did. You return with the hen. Once on the far side you drop the hen, load the corn and take it across to the fox. Drop the corn with the fox for one last round trip across the river to gather your hen. Success! It took most of your afternoon, but you’re back to your farm with your goods intact. And great biceps from all that rowing!
It’s not likely that you have foxes, hens or corn on your project. Nor do you have resources that will eat each other. It IS likely that you have project tasks that must be sequenced due to dependencies – certain tasks need to be completed before other tasks begin. Those dependencies suggest sequences and those sequence choices heavily influence the total length of your project.
Now ponder these project brain-teasers: Are you taking task dependencies into account? Do you know the consequences of sequencing and prioritizing your work? Do you know how much time the project can gain by getting this right? GPS methods can help.
