Start Backward to Go Forward

 

Working as a project manager in the Fall of 2009 I was presented with an Olympic sized challenge.  It began as an idea to have a few brands advertise during the 2010 Winter Olympics. The project quickly morphed into a massive program of over 10 different brand teams, a gaggle of creative agencies, countless retail promotions, and a significant “on the ground” presence at the games themselves. Most importantly, the program evolved beyond marketing. It became an authentic tribute to world class athletes and the lifetime of sacrifice made by their families. We had to get it right!

In a surreal moment I found myself on a small leadership team sitting with the Chief Marketing Officer. He explained that we had 4 months to execute one of the largest multi-branded marking campaigns in the company’s history – and he was counting on us to deliver with excellence.  You can imagine the collective "gulp" sound that came from around the small table.

Project managers dream of these types of challenges and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to lead. One of the most effective project planning techniques we used was visualizing a successful outcome.  It should be noted that this is also an effective technique used by high performing athletes.

Because of the high level of urgency there was a temptation to immediately jump into all the work that was already underway.  Instead, we took a brief “time-out” to ensure the minimum scope was defined. Since the Olympics ran for more than two weeks, we painstakingly defined every single activity and marketing execution hour by hour. This was visualized on large-scale posters and copies were distributed to every supporting team.  We identified numerous redundancies and unnecessary activities.  Once we had alignment, the posters acted as a lighthouse to guide everyone’s actions. We then developed the individual project plans by working backwards to determine the minimum set of activities “that had to be true” in order to deliver.  

This approach allowed us to clearly communicate a vision for success, identify and quickly escalate issues that might prevent us from achieving the goal, and to get people focused on the most important work. It also empowered us to eliminate or ignore scope that didn’t add value. Admittedly, there were plenty things that didn’t go perfectly, but in the end we made it happen!

If you’re ever feeling completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude or compressed time-frame of a project, here’s one suggestion. Invest in developing a visualization of the outcome and then develop your plan by working backwards. By getting everyone on the same page you’ll have a solid foundation to successfully manage the work and cut through the clutter that can slow you down.

** This content in this article was originally published by Jon Hanley on the practically project management blog