Throughout my career I’ve witnessed many projects succeed tremendously. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen a fair share of projects get off track and not finish well.  For those that succeeded, the three below questions were answered before the project started.  For the ones that got off track, at least one of the questions was not settled and caused problems later on.

These three questions are paramount to any project’s success. Answer them well and the odds of success rise.

What are you trying to accomplish?This could also be framed as why am I doing this.  What outcome are you ultimately hoping will come in the end.  It’s not the project itself, it’s the impact of the project.  Think way beyond the immediate to the long term. This gives a greater sense of purpose that will drive the team to completion when tough situations come – and they always do.  This will establish the true north when it’s time to make choices among multiple paths – the one that brings you closer and quicker to the impact is the one to choose.

“You’ve got to define yourself by who you impact and how you impact people.” – Tony Dungy

How are you going to accomplish it?  No plan is ever executed exactly as it was written when you started the project.  That is not the point here.  Plans change when circumstances change and that is fine.  The key to answering this question is to be realistic.  Identify the risks, what could go wrong, what roadblocks do you face right now.  Take these into consideration when you plan, and you won’t set unlikely expectations that will inevitably lead to derailment.

“If you align expectations with reality, you will never be disappointed.” – Terrell Owens

Who do you need to accomplish it?  You know what you want to accomplish and how you want to get there – now comes who you need to execute that plan.  And by who, I don’t necessarily mean the name of a person, I mean the skill set. Be clear about the specific actions that need to take place and then you find people with the ability to get that done.  There are likely people right around you on the team that will naturally fill these roles, but it’s always better to first define the goal then fill team with people who will lead you to accomplish the goal.

“It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”– Steve Jobs