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The Representor, Feature Story, Winter 2010 Issue
 
 
From Limbo to Liberation
by Michelle LaBrosse, PMP ®
Cheetah Learning
 

We all have one hiding over there in the groan zone. It's the unfinished project that lives in a strange sort of limbo. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb reminds us in The Black Swan, the longer a project goes unfinished, there is an exponential increase in the time to finish the project. Sound familiar?

So, you see them lurking there getting dusty and forlorn. What should you do about them? How can you move these projects from limbo to liberation (aka completion)? Here's my ...

Project Liberation Check List

1. Look at all your unfinished projects. Which ones are still relevant? What's important, and what no longer matters?

2. What can be recycled? Those projects that have expired or no longer matter can still be useful. Look at them, and see if any of the project assets can be reused somewhere else. For example, were there any lessons learned that you can reapply? Why did these projects stall, what put them on the back burner, and could you have prevented it? Also, go through your documentation, and pull out any golden nuggets such as charts or research or any data you can build on.

3. Choose the projects you're going to finish. Once you've chosen the projects you are going to finish, then you're going to reboot them - just like your overworked computer. However, this reboot is different from all the others because you are going to finish this project in three months. Three is a magic number here. Why? Because in three months so much changes.

Is that 'to-do' list nagging at you ... with too many ideas to implement or unfinished jobs to complete? Here's how a project management expert suggests you can move ...

From Limbo to Liberation - Winter 2010 Representor feature article
 

4. During your project reboot, here are things you need to look at and probably change:

  • your goals;
  • your project plan;
  • the project schedule and cost baseline; and
  • the project team.

Ask these key questions.

  • Has any of the technology that's important to this project changed? Are you sure? Talk to your best friends in IT, and consult with them to make sure.
  • Has the strategic direction of the organization changed? Is there new management, a merger or acquisition, or are there any new threats or opportunities? While this project was in limbo, did any key things in the environment change? This is important because if you lob the project back out there without considering the changes, it will flounder again.

5. Rally the troops around this liberation. It's important to get your team excited and let them know you're clearing the decks of the old projects so your team can focus on the projects that are most important.

Why do we care about those projects in limbo? Because a bunch of unfinished projects sucks the lifeblood out of organizations and keeps us from moving forward. For the project manager, unfinished projects are our nemesis. We need to tackle them, evaluate them, recycle their assets or finish them.

And just like life, when you look back, what is the difference between success and failure? It's often crossing the finish line. See you there. I'll be the one cheering loudly.

 

 

About the Author
Michelle LaBrosse, PMP®, is an entrepreneurial powerhouse with a penchant for making success easy, fun and fast. She is the founder of Cheetah Learning, the author of the Cheetah Success Series, and a prolific blogger whose mission is to bring Project Management to the masses. Cheetah Learning is a virtual company with 100 employees, contractors and licensees worldwide. To date, more than 30,000 people have become "Cheetahs" using Cheetah Learning's innovative Project Management and accelerated learning techniques.

  
Michelle LaBrosse, PMP
Michelle's articles have appeared in 100+ publications and on Web sites around the world. Her monthly column, the Know How Network, is carried by 400+ publications, and her monthly newsletter goes to more than 50,000 people. Her radio program, Your World Your Way, is a weekly broadcast that is an inspiring and practical look at how Project Management fuels success. To learn more about Cheetah Learning and the Know How Network, go to www.cheetahlearning.com.

 

 

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© 2010 Electronics Representatives Association (ERA), Chicago, IL 60611
Originally printed in the Winter 2010 issue of The Representor
Cannot be reprinted without the permission of the Electronics Representatives Association (ERA)
 
 
 

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