Effective project management in a small business means reaching the project goals on time and within budget, despite having fewer resources than large organizations. It involves identifying which project management methods you can apply to further project goals and which don’t add value in the less structured, small business environment. Tools that simplify collaboration and encourage sharing information are useful, while procedures that require rigid structures and detailed task descriptions don’t work well in smaller organizations. A combination of high-quality reporting and flexible organization is the most effective.
Success could be blowing past your quota, doubling your marketing conversion rate or shipping your new product updates faster than your competitors.
While success looks different from person to person, the ingredients required for success are pretty standard. When we have all the right ingredients for success, however we define it, success appears. We accomplish what we’ve set out to do.
Then, hopefully, we receive all of the wonderful benefits that come with success.
You’re already aware of the ingredients of success:
- Create a conscientious team.Everyone is focused on getting things done because they need to be done. No one’s keeping score, or retorting with, “it’s not my job,” when they’re asked to make things happen.
- Consistent standards. You have to know what’s expected of you, how things should be done and what should be avoided. You have to know this ahead of time. A good team knows how each member helps to establish and maintain consistency.
- Expect disasters, difficulty and setbacks. Reality will shake the best made plans apart. Persistence is a subset of time, an obvious trait that often requires pain, suffering and struggle. It’s baked into persistence itself. If you want to reach your goal, to achieve results, prepare for pain.
- Focus is about prioritization. Maybe your customers want you to add a feature that takes you away from your mission or brand values. Maybe you’re wasting your time on a product that isn’t as important for you, when you should be focused on products you already have. Focus keeps your attention fixed on the details you’ve prioritized with your team.
- Cooperation is a must. There’s simply too much involved for one person to build a successful business alone. Entrepreneurs love to state that they’re self-made, but they forget about the army of accountants, lawyers, developers, managers and customers who made them. It’s the same with your team. You need help if you’re going to get the results you’re looking for. Cooperating with others is a tacit admission that you’re vulnerable and you need help.
- Encouragement is valuable. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. It’s lifting your teammates up when they’re weak and vice versa. Pushing forward to accomplish a common goal. Support builds confidence, reciprocation and camaraderie with your teammates. When they know you’re their rock, they know they can count on you.