Throughout all of the thousands of hours of actual project management practical application…and all of the hundreds of hours of class lectures…and the numerous project management books I’ve read…and all of the team members I’ve worked with…I’ve come to the conclusion that one basic principle determines the success of a project: STOP ASSUMING AND START ASSURING!
That one letter difference can turn your project from a late, lackluster failure into a timely, well crafted success. Too many managers think that their employees will just perform to a set of standards, whether it’s a deadline or a particular level of detail. And what happens if they don’t? You fire them, right? I mean, after all, that’s their job, right? To do what you say and according to the timeline you’ve given them? First of all, that gets you nowhere. Second of all, what do you do if you don’t have the authority to fire them? You need to make sure that people are on top of things.
Now, some people might be thinking that I’m talking about micromanaging, but I’m not. The difference is not so much in the words as it is in the actions. STOP ASSUMING refers to letting go of the idea that everything will take care of itself because odds are things will be forgotten, deadlines will be missed and then whose job is on the line? Yours! START ASSURING refers to the manager’s ability to know what is happening and when it is happening in comparison to what is supposed to happen and when it is supposed to happen. When you START ASSURING you are simply reminding the responsible parties of their obligations, not dictating how they get them done.
You still need to follow the basics of project management like not adding ‘safety’ time into project timelines, clearly listing inputs, outputs and definitions of success, defining team roles and responsibilities. The STOP ASSUMING START ASSURING method is more of an insurance policy for your project than anything.
The only other thing I want to add is that if I am a project manager and have to go into a project review meeting to give a monthly update….I’d rather be ASSURED of the progress that we’ve made, and not rest my career on the fact that I’d ASSUMED it all got done!
