When a new project starts, you and your team are probably filled with enthusiasm and energy. There’s the thrill of possibility, the excitement about the chance to flex your creative muscles, and undeniable appeal of doing something new. Inevitably, though, the energy wanes as the work becomes more challenging, obstacles are encountered, and other projects and tasks start to encroach on your time.
Sometimes, it doesn’t take long for something that was once a beacon of innovation for your company to become little more than drudgery, and to stall out in the process.
As an entrepreneur, nothing is more frustrating than a stalled project, especially when you are counting on its success to help move your company forward. Yet you also know that sometimes, new projects have to take a backseat to more pressing issues. So how do you keep your projects moving forward when it seems like everything else is pulling your attention away from them?
While you may be able to develop some technological solutions for the problem, often the trick is to develop a few decidedly low-tech skills.
Build Your Measurement and Evaluation Skills
One way to ensure the effectiveness of all of your projects is to learn skills in measurement and evaluation, and to determine the effectiveness of your projects and ways of identifying problems before they start so you can make corrections ahead of time.
In fact, the skill of project measurement and evaluation is so in demand at this point that there are even degree programs leading to a MS in Project Evaluation for professionals who want to maximize their project management skills and ensure the success and value of their projects. Building your own skills in this area can significantly improve your ability to not only evaluate the success of your projects, but help you better plan future projects to avoid the same mistakes and improve efficiencies.
Manage — Don’t Micromanage
As an entrepreneur, your business is your baby. You want to control every aspect of every project, and always know what is going on and who is working on what. However, micromanaging every aspect of every project is only going to create resentment among your team and cause slowdowns as they spend time responding to your queries and constant feedback.
It’s okay to check in and ask how things are going and to request periodic updates, and confirm that they have everything they need to complete their tasks, but don’t hover or constantly check in. Trust your team to do what you hired them to do, and make it clear you’re available when necessary, but otherwise, focus on the big picture and intervene only when necessary.
Communicate Early and Often
Communication is vital during every stage of your project. When developing new software or technology, surprises are the last thing you want, so schedule regular check in meetings to ensure that everything is on track and nothing has come up that will delay or otherwise impact the project. That being said, while planned meetings are important for updates and clarification, you should also maintain an open-door policy and make yourself available for questions and concerns throughout the project.
Your team shouldn’t feel as though they have to wait until the next meeting (which may be next week or later) to ask questions or bring up an idea or concern. By making yourself accessible, you can determine what issues need to be addressed immediately and which can wait, thereby preventing bottlenecks before they become a serious problem.
Set and Keep Deadlines
When you have a new and exciting idea, you want to implement it now, and see it come to life as soon as possible. However, for a project to be successful, you need to set realistic deadlines and understand what can be reasonably be completed in a given amount of time, given the cost and scope of the project.
At the same time, if you want to keep a project on track, you need to actually set and adhere to deadlines, and avoid a “when you get to it” mentality. Setting deadlines and expecting your team to meet them — and responding accordingly when they aren’t met — will help keep your project on track.
As a tech entrepreneur, there is always the possibility that your next idea is going to be “the” idea that takes your company to the next level. That can only happen, though, if you develop the necessary skills to keep your projects on track and your team motivated until the very end.
That is some awesome advice! I believe that the tech industry is constantly developing so tech entrepreneurs will have nothing to lose by following the guidelines above, on the contrary! If handled properly, their business will flourish day by day.