***Ensuring the Success of Your Project***

**Before You Start**

1\) Be sure there is a **real business need.** You're competing for
scarce resources and you must uphold the public's trust.

2\) Recruit the **right group of stakeholders** to work with you. You
need effective "change agents" that have lots of energy. Match managers
to management issues and technical staff to technical issues, while
realizing that some cross-fertilization is normally required for any
endeavor.

3\) Be sure that you have **executive buy-in** for this effort. They may
not support even the most logical and compelling conclusions if they
don't perceive the need for your solution.

**During the Process**

1\) **Good communications** are critical to your success.

2\) Try to facilitate meeting logistics so they are **equitable to all
participants**. Look for technology solutions such as WebEx ^™^ or video
conferencing that will allow your participants to work from their own
office when needed.

3\) **Manage the personalities and skills** of your working group to
take advantage of, and recognize their strengths and weaknesses.

4\) Develop solutions through a **consensus-based process**. Don't force
untenable compromises or let your working group members begin to view
the process as "winning" or "losing."

5\) Work to create an environment of **mutual respect** that fosters
participation by all working group members.

6\) Write your plans with **focus, brevity and clarity**. Management
will reward you for taking this simple step.

7\) **Use conservative estimates** in all financial areas. Management
can recognize efforts to improperly "tweak" the numbers.

**After Completing the Planning Effort**

After completing strategic or business plans, many managers expect to
receive attention and funding for the simple reason that they have a
plan in place. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The real work
begins after completion of the planning process and you won\'t get
attention, or funding, unless you aggressively market and pursue
implementation of your plans.

1\) After the "group think" is over, **evaluate whether or not you
created a realistic and workable solution** for the problem that you
identified in your planning process. You should have done this in the
planning process, but if you didn't, ask the group to take another look
and refine the plan.

2\) Make sure that you can **articulate the compelling reasons** why
your project must be funded. If you can't, who will?

3\) You must **repeatedly ask** (within the limits of good taste) for
the funding, staff and other resources that are needed to implement your
plan and objectives.

4\) The **right people must always remember** what you asked them to do.
You have to simplify your message and make sure it is concise and clear.

5\) All of your stakeholder groups need to **ask for the same thing**.
If they don't, you're destined to fail.

6\) You have to deliver a **consistent message about solving problems**
that will be remembered. When elected officials and executives think
about how to solve their problems, will they remember your solutions?

7\) You need to **be \"right\" and ready to make your case** whenever
the opportunity arises. Make sure there are no "holes" or
inconsistencies in your plan that will reduce your credibility. Always
carry your plans and marketing materials and be prepared to give a 15
second to 10 minute summary of the plans.

8\) You should **be reasonable and ready to make the right
compromises**. Always anticipate where negotiations on program features,
budget or other resources will go, and be prepared with intelligent
compromises based on facts (or consensus with your stakeholders) that
you have already assembled.

9\) **Be prepared to take the "other guy\'s" money** when they slip-up.
It's a cutthroat world and like it, or not, you are competing for
limited resources. When someone else fails to deliver on a grant or to
get their paperwork in on time, be prepared to step in and take their
funding to accomplish your goals.

10\) **Understand your \"friends\" and your \"enemies\"** in the
process. When you take the time to know what motivates the other guy,
you will be in a much better position to reach consensus on the tough
issues. The key is listening to what they say and understanding their
position even when you don't agree with it.

11\) **Don't despair** **or allow negative attitudes** to convince you
that something can\'t be done. Assuming that your planning efforts have
created a realistic solution, you should simply ignore negative comments
and early failures. Most strategic objectives take years to implement
unless you are just plain lucky, or they were born from executive
interest and have immediate political support. **Be patient**.

12\) Be "guilty" of making an **honest effort and working hard** to
achieve your goals. There simply are no substitutes.

13\) **Mange the expectations of your stakeholders**. Don't let them
believe that achieving the goals is a simple process. If you do, they
will loose interest after early failures and they will not be there to
support your efforts when they are most needed.

***Ensuring the Failure of Your Project***

1\) **Don't do all of the** **above**.

2\) Make your plans so **complex or confusing** that management has to
guess what your project is really about.

3\) **Inflate the cost benefit or ROI figures** in your plan. You will
lose any credibility that you have.

4\) **Underestimate the risks involved** or their impact on your plans.

5\) **Skip the number-crunching** and try to do it all with text.
Management wants to see the numbers.

6\) **Forget common sense.** The pie in the sky will wind up on your
face.

7\) **Assume that people know what you're talking about.** "Check-in"
with the stakeholders and executives on a regular basis and create
feedback loops to see if they do understand the issues.

8\) **Always work from the top down.** People at the top typically
don\'t have much time, are focused on a very specific agenda, and know
little about the technology that people use or need.

9\) **Always work from the bottom up.** People at the bottom may not be
able to communicate a good idea up the chain of command even if they are
excited about it

10\) If you're trying to sell something to a group that is well-funded,
**don\'t come on too strong**. They probably have a well-developed
instinct for other groups trying to get at their money.

11\) **Be afraid to seek publicity.** Even an average "PR" piece will
expose the name of your program and what you do.

12\) **Waste time fighting the agents for status quo.** You need to find
the people who are looking for a better way.

13\) **Underestimate peer pressure.** A big selling factor for
technology is "buzz" and everyone wants to be first, biggest and best.

14\) Forget that **the point of technology is to empower people**. It
has to be simple enough that they can take ownership of it and use it to
help themselves.

15\) **Do it all for "them"** and expect "them" to like it. Others will
often do more with something that they have invested in than something
that they got for free.