Ready to commit

After all that work – those meetings, the debates, misunderstanding and clarifications, the “I thought you meant …” frustrations, and “ah ha” moments – after all that … the deadline arrives and the final document emerges.

Still shaky on it’s legs, it now has to survive the cold scrutiny and harsh light of the ultimate decision maker.

Unless … as you get closer to the presentation, you equivocate. Stamp it DRAFT or WORK IN PROGRESS. Pull the punch. Listen to that voice in your head that says, “They won’t like it, you should’ve tried harder, left some wriggle room, asked for more time. Say it’s not the final proposal.”

Don’t listen to the voices.

It won’t make you sound like you’re on the way to a better version. It just makes you sound unsure. And funders, contract tenderers, customers, partners, directors and decision makers don’t like a team who’ve been beavering away for months and still don’t know what they think.

Every document is a work in progress. Every plan gets improved after the green light.

That’s why the best people actually run projects and don’t just hand them over to robots. It’s all in the execution.

You don’t get to start without a Yes. And you won’t get a Yes without a plan you stand by.

Skippy strategy: Write the best plan you can. Take a deep breath. Commit.

First published 20th June 2015.

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Category:
Focus