Have you ever been part of a project that failed to achieve its goals? If so, I can tell you two things with a fair bit of certainty, even though I know nothing about your project.
First, the seeds of failure were planted well before you or the project team realized there was a problem. Second, once the team realized the project was off track, it was too late to do much about it. Mitigation of the consequences was the only remedy.
I have heard it said — and believe — that projects don’t go wrong. They start wrong.
Early in my career, I attended a course on project management. The instructor exhibited a graph that demonstrated how project costs are committed and incurred. It looked like a hockey stick. Project costs generally build up slowly until the last quarter of the project, when they skyrocket.
The instructor then overlaid a line on the graph that reflected the most important data: when the costs were actually committed. The graph crystallized the principle that costs are committed early in a project based on the planning, but the costs are not recognized until later, when they are incurred.
Seeing that overlay helped me understand what I was experiencing in my projects. It’s why most leaders spend the last quarter of a project frantically working to get the project under control, when it is too late. The problems — usually too much time and other costs — are already baked into the project. Success is determined by what the leader does near the beginning of the project, usually during the planning, not at the end.
You may be thinking: What about execution? Of course, every project needs good execution, and bad execution can certainly hurt a project’s results. However, investing time upfront in planning is the real key to ensuring a project goes well.
So, how do you plan projects well?
First, have the right people involved. Do whatever you must to make this happen. It may be the single best way to ensure your project’s success. Think who, not how.
Second, clearly define the project goals. If you are trying to fix something, be sure you are clearly defining the issue. Or, as we often say, “What is the problem you are trying to solve?” Albert Einstein, one of the most intelligent people to live, reportedly said that if he had one hour to save the world, the first 55 minutes would be spent defining the problem. The same idea works with projects.
Third, beware of scope creep. It means that after you start a project, for any number of reasons, the goal grows, making it impossible to meet the initial time and cost targets. Of course, it can be appropriate to modify the initial goal. Just make sure everyone is crystal clear about how the increase in scope affects the project’s timing and cost.
Fourth, while you should try to identify risks upfront — internal, external and strategic — remember that you cannot identify all possible risks. Understand that something you don’t expect will happen. Make sure you plan for setbacks, even those you cannot identify in advance. Again and again, I have seen a risk-mitigation plan developed for one problem work well for an unrelated, unanticipated problem that had no risk mitigation plan of its own. In other words, identifying risks and developing mitigation plans is a good idea even if the problem that occurs was not envisioned.
Fifth, use the right project management tools. I am not an expert on the right tools to use, but I know many are available. Tools like Trello, Microsoft Project, Smartsheet and many others can help you customize workflows, schedule work, track tasks and timelines, provide customizable project views, and keep everyone on the team updated about progress and projected costs.
Our team has seen the benefits of doing the above five things. We have made many acquisitions in the past decade, and integrating the new companies into Correct Craft is always a huge project. We spend a lot of time preparing and have developed an outstanding integration plan. Our two most recent acquisitions occurred within a month of each other, and more than a thousand miles apart, but our team executed the integrations flawlessly. I attribute this mainly to having the right people in place with a great plan and the right tools to track our progress.
In the excellent book, How Big Things Get Done, authors Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner explain the benefit of thinking slow but acting fast. Don’t jump into your project-execution phase while thinking you will figure it out on the fly. That is a recipe for disaster. Instead, develop a great plan, and then work hard to execute it well. Think slow and act fast.
Finally, don’t fall into the trap of thinking your project is unique. Your goal may be distinctive, but the project planning and management are likely the same as any other. Following the guidelines above can help you ensure success.
This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue.
