Make the Right Plan

Projects are a perfect building block. They are finite. They have measureable results. They have clear endings. If you do them right.
Here’s the heirarchy of how I consider my life/job:
-Big Goals
-Middling Goals
-Projects to Achieve Those Goals
-Life (stuff that happens while I’m making plans)
Note how Big Goals and Life get equal billing. That’s intentional. Often times, life gets in the way of the goals you THINK you’re setting out to accomplish.
First off, before we get into planning, please be aware of this: Goals don’t matter unless you REALLY plan to do something with them. There’s no more value to saying, “Some day I’ll lose 30 pounds because I know I have to do that” than there is to saying, “and while I’m at it, I’m going to learn Swahili,” UNLESS you have strong and powerful motivation behind what you’re doing.
At work, it’s simpler. If I do _____, I’ll continue to be paid. If I do ___ + ____, I might even get promoted. Those are often motivation enough.
Now, projects. Here’s the thing. If you EVER sign on to a project that’s listed as ongoing, that wasn’t a project. That’s a duty, and you’ll be stuck with that until someone (rarely you because clearly you were silly enough to take on this task in the first place) figures out that you can stop doing it. Sound like fun? Yeah. Duties rock! (cough cough)
Projects are clearly defined– By the end of this project, we will have gone from ____ to _____. (example: We’ll have gone from no partner portal to a full-fledged system with four separate content streams by June). Lookee there, I even added a DATE. Go further. “The project will be completed when a partner can successfully log on, get their content, and we can audit the process and report on it.” Looks clear to me.
Projects have end dates– They are FINITE. You FINISH projects. Madonna doesn’t set out to write one last album that will contain 300 songs. She says, “I’m going to do 8 more songs, and they’ll be due out 14 months from today, and I’ll add a DVD because those are hot right now.” See? It’s all about setting borders around it.
Projects can be measured– A good project can be measured right after launch, during the middle, and after the end. What do you measure? What matters? Did you have a budget? Do you have to understand how to recreate this experience for next time?
Projects are NOT about the next actions– Sorry GTD fans. Projects are about milestones. Next actions are the niggling things we tell ourselves to motivate ourselves to get something done. Dear God. If I ever (EVER!) handed someone the little crap list of Next Actions to get a task done, they’d HATE me for being so condescending. To that end, never allow your boss to stomp all over the “how” of something. Ask for the parameters, roadblocks, stumbling points, and whatever else might keep you and the project out of trouble, and then tell them to watch you do your thing.
Projects often suggest follow-on projects, but as SEPARATE events– I’m still stuck on finite. Do you know why? In my previous career as a project manager, there were often situations where, because I was the last guy to touch a certain technology, I’d be called on to do the next thing that came along, as some kind of “follow-on” to the original project. Bullshit. If you want to put together a new project, with new deadlines, new objectives, and new analysis, that’s swell. But it’s not about just topping off the tank. That’s like going back to McDonald’s the next day and trying to eat for free because you’re still hungry.
If any of you are interest in project planning and management as a topic, I’ll carry on with a few more thoughts around it. If not, I’ll keep stirring the bees.
You guys rock for giving me such useful feedback. Thanks!
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