PM basic thinking - begin with the end goal in mind

Good day...

I am sure that most of you must have heard the term 'begin with end goal in mind'. This is an infamous quotation from the book 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' authored by Stephen R. Covey.

Picture credit: stevepb

In my experience I found that this habit is particularly true for a project manager. Once you are assigned a project, what is the first thinking comes to your mind? In my case, I will first envision what will the end of the project look like. It could be in the form of project go-live announcement, project success celebration, CEO award, Group CEO award, or even a public recognition by a mass media.

In many cases, this kind of vision will equip me, as the project manager, with enough motivation to move forward with the team, overcoming any road block along the way, until we finally reach the project completion and bring the vision into reality.

It is also important to share the same dream to the team. This will help me in synchronizing the end objective with the team in order to achieve common success. In my case, I will make sure that each member of my project team shares the same dream and vision of a successful state.

Having said that, you might also want to try envisioning the end state of your project success, once you are assigned to a project. Remember, begin with end goal in mind.

Edwin