Although project "screw-ups" result in wasted time and money, perhaps more importantly, these mistakes can irreparably damage your relationship with business partners … if they perceive that you were at fault. That said, if you have ever attended a post-mortem for a failed project, you most likely have heard one or more of the following we didn’t excuses:
"We didn’t define the problem that we were trying to solve."
"We didn’t communicate our actions to others."
"We didn’t manage our project risks and issues."
"We didn’t create a viable project plan."
"We didn’t have the right sponsorship."
"We didn’t work well together."
A business partner that remembers you as “that $%@*# project manager” because you were associated with a project failure is one of the worst things that can happen to you as a professional. Not only will you have lost the trust of the business partner, but your ability to win the trust of other business partners could also be in jeopardy because of your negative reputation.
While having a negative reputation is a very real project risk, you can take project steps to avoid that fate. How? Well, simply implement the following six tangible success principles to avert any potential project “screw ups”:
Get laser focused on the mission.
This statement may sound like a “duh”, but I personally have been amazed at the number of projects that I have seen – and participated in - where halfway into a project someone asks, “Now what are we trying to do again?”
To counteract this type of behavior, you should focus on what needs to be completed, and when it needs to be completed. Moreover, you should also determine the measures that will be used to determine success. Making a statement such as, “We need to reduce costs,” is too vague, and quite frankly, the statement simply does not inspire a project team.
Conversely, a statement such as, “We need to reduce the cost of processing invoices by fifty percent by September 1st - while ensuring that vendors are paid within terms one hundred percent of the time,” more clearly specifies the mission.
