Practical Project Management; Part 2

On Tuesday, we posted the first two steps of Brian Tracy’s Practical Project Management article. You can find the first half of the article at http://shar.es/mDsRf  As promised, here are the remaining steps.  To get a copy the entire article it will be available on Friday July 2, go to www.HighGrowthBusiness.com/articles.

Deadlines

Once you have determined exactly how you want the goal to look when it is complete, you set specific dates and deadlines, starting from the departure date back to the present. By doing this, you have a clear time line from where you are to where you need to be on the day that the plane takes off.

Organize

The next step in project management is to organize your list of all the things that will need to be done for you to get to your goal — the completion of your project. There are two ways to organize a list in project management. The first way is sequential. This is when one step follows another. The first must be done before the second can be started. The second must be completed before the third can be started, and so on. These are often called dependent activities. One depends on the successful completion of another.

The second type of activities in project management is parallel or concurrent activities. These are tasks that can be worked on at the same time, separate and apart from other activities. For example, if you are planning a new brochure or newsletter, you could be writing the copy at the same time you are selecting paper stock or gathering possible photographs to illustrate the content.

Select & Delegate

Once you have the goal in mind and have listed everything that you must do to achieve the goal, and organized everything in terms of whether it is sequential or concurrent, you are ready for the core exercise of effective project management. It is the key to your future in the world of work. It is the process of selection and delegation. The bigger the project, the more people, the more specialists in different fields, will be required to carry it through to successful completion. Your ability to select the right people and then to delegate effectively to them will determine your success or failure. A mistake in selection or a miscommunication in delegation can be enough to derail the entire project or to set it back, or to have it run over budget.

You can use project management to develop a new account, to increase your income, to attain a high level of physical health and fitness, to plan a vacation, to move across the country, to start and build a business, to write a book, paint a picture or sail a catamaran around the world.

In every case, the proper use of project-management techniques, such as those we have discussed here, can give you the winning edge. It can enable you to kick in the afterburners for your life and your career. The skill of project management will enable you to move ahead further and faster than you ever could without it. Although the steps to project management are simple, the skill of project management is complex, and it is vital to your success.

The cumulative results of your developing the skills of project management will enable you to accomplish bigger and bigger tasks with greater responsibilities and greater income with greater rewards of all kinds. Project management is a powerful key to the future.

About The Author

Brian Tracy is legendary in sales addressing more than 400,000 men and women each year on the subjects of management, leadership, and sales effectiveness. He has produced more than 300 audio/video programs and has written over 26 books, including his just-released books “TurboStrategy,” and “Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.” He can be reached at (858) 481-2977 or www.briantracy.com.