When you are asked to work on or drive a project, the stakes could be very high or you. Delivering it successfully could mean a lot for your firm, but it could mean way more for you - both professionally and personally. Read this to learn some aspects you need to take into account to successfully deliver projects.
No matter what kind of project you are working on (even if you are a product person, you are working on some feature which I’m going to take the liberty here and call it a project), there are three aspects that you need to take into account:
People
Product
Process
Let’s look at each of these aspects in a little detail.
This aspect deals with people (or maybe living beings if you are in a sector where animals/plants are involved) who are somehow or the other affected by this effort of yours. They could come in different flavors:
Customers who are using/going to use your product
Your colleagues who you need to work with to make this effort a success - either your direct team mates, or sister team mates etc.
Stakeholders - your management/leadership team, others you are partnering with and whose help you need - could be internal or external
One of the most important aspects that you need to be aware of is that if you need anything to be reasonably successful, you NEED to make sure these people are happy and have signed up for the success of this project. If most of them are against this effort, the chances of success are slim. It’s not impossible, but the amount of grit you’ll need is significantly higher - I’ve seen this and done this, so speaking from experience. Not everyone shares the same vision or ethos as you - so be super mindful of what is in it for them. Having that keen sense will help you navigate this aspect really well.
1 and 2 above are relatively straightforward but 3 is not for most of the people. So, use your wits, use your network to identify the critical stakeholders; give them a heads up you are starting an effort (or an effort is underway as soon as you identify a stakeholder); make them a part of the journey and make them feel comfortable. If you miss stakeholders, the chances of your effort’s success have just diminished.
Now, you need to know the domain reasonably well. Whatever be the domain. Depending on your role you may also be expected to know this really well. This is what gets you respect from the “People” involved. You don’t have this, forget about cruising through the effort or hire someone who knows this really well and have them help you out.
Your product should be adding value to the “People” involved - whatever be the value, but some value should be visible and tangible. If the product you are working on is a bit abstract, figure out ways to explain it to others with simple real-life analogies. Once the value is understood, chances are high that “People” will support you in this effort and the chances of your success have just increased several fold.
This is one area where I have seen a lot of even smart folks stumble. The attitude is like “I’m working hard to get the product done and I don’t have time for figuring out the process”. Guess what, there maybe scenarios where not being compliant to a process might just kill the project. Maybe you had to keep a critical stakeholder in the loop and they are not - so they pull the plug because this project could be damaging to the firm.
So, two things are super important:
Continuously figure and adjust the effort based on what processes you need to follow. Make yourself aware of them. Talk to others who have been in such a journey in your firm if you have that luxury.
Communication, Communication and Communication. Stakeholder communication is the single MOST important thing you need to do if you need “People” to stand behind you and not against you.
The steps should be:
Identify the next steps
Plan the execution mechanism
Inform stakeholders
Execute the steps till a logical stage is reached
Inform stakeholders
Repeat from 1
I’ve seen any number of efforts gone for a toss because they didn’t build a consensus with the stakeholders and that’s primarily because they have never identified them and communicated with them. So, if there’s one thing I’d want you to think about - this is it.
Now, what others don’t tell you that you need very much is - laser focus that’ll never disturb your goal to deliver the effort, phenomenal grit which will make you push through all the troubles (if there are any) and a friendly demeanor which is non-threatening to others.
Don’t forget to have fun on your journey. Remember, no matter what happens with your effort, the world is too big to be proud of or worried about a single success or failure respectively. Once in a while, step back and think about how big the world is and how small you are and what you are working on (unless you are working on something that’s life saving). Meditate and become more joyful!