Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Project Called......Life.

It has been a whirlwind week and it is only Wednesday!  In the last 2 weeks, I have given 8 speeches in 2 countries and 6 different cities.  I have also made major strides in seeing a huge dream of mine come to fruition.  I am so full of energy, inspiration, and adrenaline as I have seen a dream turn in to an action plan.  What was a wish now has a due date.  What was a vision now has a task list.  As I reflect, I am so blessed to have had an opportunity to learn, teach, and perform the art of project management.  I want to issue you this challenge:  Where is your project plan for your life?

Now I know there are many project managers that get a bit crazy with this and plan their lives down to the 10 minute increment, but that is not what I am talking about.  What I am talking about is the things that we do everyday are the skills and activities that people flock to hear in self-improvement seminars.  We tend to take these things for granted.  Think about it.  What is your plan for the next year?  If you were to attend a commercial course or go hear any variety of motivational speakers, the message is the same.  You must plan your success, it doesn't seek you out.

What are your goals for the coming year, two years, or five years?  What are the building blocks to achieve those goals?  What action can you take now to start down that path?  This is a work breakdown structure for your life!  Some of the most successful systems out there ask you to make a problem statement (i.e. scope).  Then list milestones (key deliverables) and then break the milestones into "mini-goals" (i.e. the next level of the WBS)  Then you take the mini-goals and create actionable tasks.  The final step is to schedule actual work against the actionable tasks, estimate effort and duration, and create a way to measure success.  Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the project plan for your life!

Try it!  It can really be powerful.  This year, my business partner and I set a five year goal and announced a concept.  Each day, I try to plan an activity to move us towards the concept.  In just the past week, the momentum is taking a life of its own and we went from a concept to a planned date, activity, and scope.  It is amazing that we have had the tools all along to assist ourselves in achieving the next level, we just are not using them to our benefit.  They say that the cobbler's kids have no shoes ;)

Let me end with this question.  What are you going to do tomorrow to take the next step in attaining your goals?  If you do not know, then start with your scope.  Then follow your instincts, project management can guide you the rest of the way.  Good luck!

No Day But Today,

Rick

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