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7 Project Planning Mistakes That Cost You Money

There’s a couple things I do better than most. 1) Vaca Prep  & Pack lists; 2) Pizza Sauce; and 3) Quickly getting from A to B.

While numero 1 and 2 won’t get you very far in business. . . number 3. . . that’s my jam. In one plan I can map out what you need to do, what is the very basic to most bells and whistles options and we can banter back and forth on your ideal plan. But not everyone has that eye or ability to assemble and get to work quickly. Most people get caught up in one (or more) of these 7 things in project planning that actually COST you money (well before you even see a return).

#1 Planning too much

This is seriously the most expensive mistake you can make. Don’t get me wrong, I am a planner and a break it downer. BUT planning every itty bitty thing about the project before you actual start is costing you money. Why? How? Isn’t be best strategy to be girls scout prepared?

No. It is not.

You need enough to get started, but you do not have to see every pine needle to get your rear in gear. You will spent MONTHS planning this thing PLUS MONTHS actually putting it together and 6 months later you might have a doable project. Who has 6m of ROI to waste? I certainly do not. 

#2 Planning too little

Yes I see the irony here. This is kinda hypocritical, but here is cost associated with planning to little. Like I said, you need a minimum amount of planning to get started, but you still have to have a plan. If you don’t plan your starting point and your next few steps you’ll likely end up somewhere you didn’t intend and waste so many hours by being 3 degrees off your ideal target. That can add up and cost you so much in money, time, and mental energy.

Ideally, I like to plan specifics is 60 days-90 days. You learn so much about your business, your ideal client, and yourself in 90 days and that is a good sweet spot to aim for. 

#3 No get of jail free card

One of your main jobs as the CEO of your company (or if you are lucky to have an #allthethings manager like me) is to subjectively look at the resources in and product out. Sometimes you have to make a tough call to shelve an idea or scrap completely because it is simply not coming together.

That is HARD and many times we are so emotionally connected to the idea in all its glitter and sunshine and glory. It’s hard to let it go. I get that. BUT the worst thing you can do is continue to force a round peg square hole scenario, continue to pay actual dollars for your team’s focus, the inputs, and your attention. When you are working on an idea, whether its revenue generating, growth focused, or BTS if you continue to work on the idea without a clear and completed stage or viable end product then you gotta make the call.

It is FAR easier to do this when setting the priority and focus of your team into sprints, you also set the ‘get out of jail free’ date too. This mean is by 1 sprint worth (or maybe 2 if you are feeling it) and you haven’t made significant progress to a milestone or completion, then you move on. 

#4 Planning in a vacuum

It is so easy to make grand plans for projects, without considering the environment. Here’s some examples: Launching product 2 weeks before a vacation or busy family season; planning for Stage 2 of a product when Stage 1 isn’t finished or ready for refinement; Planning a launch without considering the development stage; Taking the project’s end goal (money, program numbers, or extensive growth) without milestones and benchmarks to help you reach it.

Its easy to make the plans, but hard to execute when it extends yourself and your team too far. You should aim for the stars- but in practice you need to have a layer of practicality and don’t marry a project or idea without living the real world with it. Vacations, family time, your team’s schedule, development, and goals ALL matter- but you want to feel accomplished not defeated at the same time so don’t plan your company’s sink or swim projects in a vacuum. 

#5 Not delegating

Right now, if you were to look at your active projects you can probably pinpoint at least 3 items that you do not need to be doing yourself. Even if it is easier for you to just schedule the thing, follow up on that, write the email, or pull the graphics. .  .that may not be your job and how you best serve your team.

The lack of delegation (even if unintentional) will keep you off target, working on items outside your zone, and cost you money because you are doing something you are paying someone else to do. It also is training your team that you will pull up their slack, keeps them from asking questions, and- by no fault of their own- decrease their opportunity take initiative. 

# 6 Not keeping the end goal in sight

This should be easy right? Set the project, lay out the tasks, pace yourself to complete XYZ. How many times have we started off on a simple 3 email sequence and it has bloomed into a multi-step funnel that will nurture, retarget, and hard sell the product. You look back and think, ‘what was this in the first place?’ Answer: a simple sequence. Working on the project with no clear end goal in site allows for the project to morph into something that it is not. Which is not only wasting resources working on something you didn’t need and causes unnecessary stress working on a level 20 task when it started at an 8.

# 7 No Minimal Viable Product defined

I love big ideas. I love working on massive projects that set up businesses for success and open the doors for mire opportunities. BUT what I really hate is when at a certain point in time, we have a viable product (meaning something ready to sale or complete) and we continue to push towards adding bells and whistles and hype music. The goal of how I manage is to get you quickly to A to B. That involves not only breaking down steps towards your ideal vision, but also keeping in mind when we have something ready to sell- to bring it to the people! I see this a lot with perfectionists. Does it really need those extras right now? Especially if you have a primed, warm, or ready to buy crowd? MVP is made easier to see when you set up benchmarks and milestones during project development. 

These mistakes can cost you money time and resources. What I love about using an agile framework, The Progress System, to break down and manage projects is that it keeps you from falling victim to one of these mistakes.

Whether its dates, or planning, delegating, or end goals. . . you can see the progress and how quickly you are getting there all the while make adjustments on the fly if needed. You can learn how to adapt the system to your operations and project planning (and avoid these costly mistakes) by download your complimentary Progress Gameplan. It’s all you need to pace yourself, set goals, and keep the gears moving in the right direction. 

Progress Issue #4: Adapting too late

You’ve seen the picture perfect, color coordinated, works of art that are project plans following an agile system. I can’t function without the columns planned and coordinated like the rainbow, BUT I also see a different side of projects and 90 day planning, since I’m elbow deep in them each day.

The need to adapt and adjust on the fly.

The need for adjustments can be attributed to three most likely scenarios:
1. Planning well beyond 90 days.
2. The lack of planning.
3. Normal hurdles during the course of a project or progress.

Runners up would be: changing goals, making the call to scrap something, or hunkering down to absorb life and business bumps.

And it’s not always easy to make the call when you are pressed for time and red/green/yellow light decisions need to made like yesterday.

Here is why I LOVE working with progress in mind, specifically following the Progress System. You are planning 90 days out, BUT you are remaining flexible to adapt as you need paying particular attention to the timing of events.

A rule of thumb that I teach in the Progress System: Trello Edition is that you plan for projects and tasks 90 days out, but you don’t have to have every single task perfectly detailed out and accounted for. Rather, as you near the 60 day mark you firm up the details to 100% firm by the 30 days and current sprint. You are giving yourself room to make decisions at the 90+ mark, but you aren’t marrying yourself to that because a lot could change during that time.

What could change that would affect other decisions or work?:

*A break in tech
*A funnel that simply isn’t converting, calling for a retool sooner than expected
*Losing a key team member
*Adjusting current services (booked up or not booked at all)
*Change in marketing or strategies

Keeping things flexible doesn’t mean you aren’t forward thinking, rather it means that IF you need to adjust (add in another step, section out a part to delegate, bring in a new team member, etc) you are managing your resources (time, money, and energy) and making smart decisions that help you adapt BEFORE things blow up.

Adapting is the balance of: Not waiting too long to plan and having to make an important decision on the fly, but also not planning too far in advance that you’re wasting time/money/energy backtracking over work.

This is why Launch Debriefs, Sprint Reviews, team collaboration, and proper sprint planning are soooooo important.

BUT HEAR ME ON THIS:

Adapting doesn’t mean we don’t plan or just plan for the next few months out. We actually do a ton of forward planning and I am constantly going over if A happens, then we keep with B & C. If A doesn’t, then I’ll implement 1,2,3 that makes B move over and C is now on pause. It’s a constant evaluation based on progress.

Still sounds weird?

Here’s what I mean. . . I usually sprint plan for the regular ‘ole stuff beyond the 90 days. Blog posts, newsletters, IG, podcasts, important progress markers, etc likely have a standard day they release (those are easy). . . but other things like developing a new service, retooling a funnel, adding a bell or whistle- may need to be developed and planned for amidst other work. That also means you may have to be flexible in making room for the work AND be able to handle pop-up fires that occur naturally when operating a business.

So if you are little like me and like to plan but keep some options open, then I think the Progress System would be a great match. I mean who doesn’t love color coordination?

Progress Issue #3: Separate Bubble Syndrome

So you’ve grown a team, which means you’ve got yet another hat to wear: Manager of the stuff AND the people. It’s not always glamorous but deadlines and delegation do matter. Progress without collaboration is just plain BORING!!

I’ve seen plenty of teams who get the job done, however they do it separately in their own little universe. And while that may seem to work for some (definitely not sustainable though) it doesn’t really work for those of us who want true collaboration and teamwork.

Just like when I spot too much work in not enough time or stalled progress. . . another common place for inefficiency is separate bubble syndrome. This is when teams work on projects or pieces of the pie in their own little world, without really working with each other. You know like when toddlers play BESIDE each other but not really WITH each other. That’s the kind of work scenario I’m getting at.

I’m really passionate about teamwork. To me, that’s the ONLY way to work, even though we as super boss ladies are fully capable to run the show ourselves it takes a village to make the dream work.

No matter what your team runs on (Asana, Monday, Trello, etc), if you can’t take a sweeping view across the tasks and if your team can’t see how their slice of the pie fits into the larger vision (or works with the whipped cream and cherries on top) then your team collaboration needs some retooling.

Here’s what can happen: Your copywriter writes a blog two weeks in advance. It sits there until your social guru plugs aways with custom quotes and sends them over to your VA (or creates them in Canva herself). You sit to write a newsletter and have to go find the post to make sure you’ve properly written that paragraph.

Technically you are each getting it done, YET that whole process could have been reworked and several days shaved off the process from beginning to end.

Try this on for size: Your copywriter writes a blog two weeks in advance. Pulls 4-6 quotes for the social guru and tags her in your system. Your social guru decides, sends over the content and the graphic gal is super happy to have several to batch at once. The quote cards are attached to the blog post section in your Asana and you know exactly how to phrase or write that quote because you are staring right at it. In fact, your copywriter and your social gal just had an exchange on edits and new ideas for upcoming stuff for the next round of posts.

All that is done collaboratively and within the week you’re all set, instead of wasting time waiting on so-and-so to finish so you can do your tasks. Everyone is chipping in bringing their expertise to the table.

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

This may be my FAVORITE part of the Progress System. Bringing everyone together!