boring but necessary steps in a project

Fully Complete The Project

Many people believe
a project is completed
when the new product is launched
or
the system is installed
or
the marketing campaign
is no longer active.

Those many people are
wrong.

Completing a project
means dealing with the waste
the new product produces.

It means completing
the return on investment calculation.

It means listing all the learnings
from the project
and presenting those findings.

It means figuring out
how to do that same project better.

It means documenting
and putting materials away
and cleaning the space.

I think of the project going live
as 2/3rds of the way
through the project.
There are still a lot of tasks
left to complete.

Fully complete the project.

In project management,
we often focus on
the planning and the implementation.

Those ARE important parts.

They’re also exciting parts.

Planning involves dreaming
and what ifs.

Implementation involves
taking big action
and seeing the project come to life.

The part very few of us
get excited by
is…
the preparation stage.

We’re implementing solar
in our house, for example.

Before the skilled tradespeople arrived,
we had to prepare the key work sites.

That involved moving shelving
and cleaning spaces
and other tasks.

These were boring tasks.
But they were essential tasks.
And they increased the probability
of the project being successful.

Remember the preparation part
of the project.

It might not be exciting
but it is key.