Next time you have something big to accomplish – by “big” I mean anything that involves other people – ask yourself three key questions:
- What do I want to accomplish?
- What is the environment I will be working in?
- What will be required?
Seems simple enough, right? All questions you can answer without giving them a second thought, right? Therein lies the problem. Most projects fail due to a lack of clearly defined goals/expectations or failure to prepare for the inevitable variables. Attention to the three questions above will help eliminate that.
You see, when you answer those questions with little more than a passing thought, you don’t really answer them – and you leave yourself vulnerable.
When you ask the question “What do I want to accomplish?”” the quick answer will generally end in a goal, an objective, or worse yet – a “feature”. What do I mean?
“This car has Next Generation Air Bags” – Feature.
”If you ever do get in an accident, these air bags won’t tear your skin and leave bruised like an aging prizefighter.” – Benefit.
”Standardization of equipment.” – Feature.
”Spare parts laying around, less downtime with less cost.” – Benefit.
”New, faster checkin process. – Feature.
”Constant, smooth movement from start to finish without disrupting schedules.” – Benefit.
Before starting your project ask:
- “What benefits do I hope to gain from this?”
- “How will these benefits enhance my company or ministry.”
If your mindset from the beginning is not focused solely on lasting benefits, and if the project itself is nothing more than a means to attain those benefits, then maybe it is time to re-evaluate the need for your project.
A “Project” is like a “mini-organization within an organization”, and your answer to Question 1 is your mission statement. And it better be short, quantifiable and easily understood by someone on the outside. Because if what you are trying to accomplish doesn’t bring value to and benefit others, why are you wasting valuable time?
Next up: What kind of environment will I have to work in?
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