10 Project

Mistakes
Setting You
Up for
Failure
[aka Why Projects Fail]

by Adriana Girdler, PMP

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE...
If we haven't officially met, HELLO! I teach project managers to excel in their career using my
proven strategies from 20+ years in the business. I'm President and CEO of CornerStone
Dynamics, a project management and productivity consulting firm.

I'm a certified project manager (PMP) and business productivity specialist. Not only am I
passionate about efficiency and improvement and tie that into everything I do, I've also helped
countless companies and individuals achieve successful project goals.

My clients have seen much success after my help on their projects.

Here are a couple of examples of what people have said about the help I've given them
with project management:

10 Project Mistakes Setting You Up for Failure 02

10 PROJECT MISTAKES
SETTING YOU UP FOR FAILURE
Project success is about knowing how to navigate and stay clear of
roadblocks, issues and problems. Understand the top 10 reasons why
projects fail and what to do to avoid them.

A project is more than just completing tasks. It's about having a team in
performance mode, working together to creatively resolve issues.

To do this, having clear expectations and ways of working is key when it

comes to project success. Not only is it critical for the team to know
WHAT needs to be done, but before the project is in full swing, they need
to know HOW to accomplish it all within the project timeline while doing
PROJECT TEAM their regular day job.
EXPECTATIONS
ARE VAGUE OR If these expectations and ways of working aren’t set, project team
members often get frustrated, tired and burnt out. This leads to a cycle of
UNREALISTIC procrastination, exhaustion and individuals not caring which will not set up
your team for success.

So, set realistic expectations and clear goals before the project starts. A
GREAT project manager checks in with their team members to ensure
everyone understands their role and the part they play in the success of
the project. EVERYONE contributes to the project’s success, and it’s
important for each team member to understand this in order to prevent
the project from falling off track!

Here’s the truth: there are risks in every project. A sure-fire way to see
your project fail is by failing to account for these risks. Change and risk
are sure to arise as you move forward with a project. But by preparing for
this from the start, you’re setting your team up for success to deal with
risk in the right way, that might otherwise throw off your project if you
PROJECT RISK hadn’t been prepared.
MANAGEMENT Risks need to be proactively anticipated. Identify risks (known and
potential) and as a team, rank the probability and put together mitigation
and contingency plans. Don’t let your project fail because of improper
risk management!

10 Project Mistakes Setting You Up for Failure 03

 Ever think that you communicated something well, but you find out later
that your team just didn’t get the message, or someone misunderstood
your instructions? Or perhaps it’s been the other way around, and you’ve
completely misunderstood someone. I think we’ve all been on both sides
of that situation, and both ways are equally as frustrating.

If you’ve watched many of my videos, you’ll know that one of my favourite

tips to give is to OVER-COMMUNICATE! This may sound like a simple tip,
but don’t skim over it – let me COMMUNICATE to you how important this is
POOR because there’s more to understand here than you think.
COMMUNICATION
The key to project success is to over-communicate project information.
Even if you feel like you’ve said everything, you need to say, say it again;
people are busy, preoccupied, and distracted, and it’s better to be on the
safe side when it comes to communicating things that are critical to the
project’s outcome.

The last thing you want on a project is to have everyone on a different

page. As a project manager, you ought to be involved with your team,
meaning, don’t just tell everyone as a group what to do; do one-on-ones,
check in with individuals, and ask your team if they’re facing any issues or
confusion.

And, for the sake of over-communication, I’ll say it again: REPEAT

instructions, ASK clarifying questions and LISTEN to what is said to ENSURE
team understanding...then do it again!
I’m sure you’ve heard of (or experienced) a situation that goes something like
this... An individual in the organization is succeeding and THRIVING in their
department or position. Because of their success, they get promoted to
leading a project. Great! ...Right?

Wrong. If this person, who’s been successful in one area, has no experience
THE NON- in project management and doesn’t get the proper training to be an
PROJECT adequate project manager, they’re likely missing the skills and understanding
MANAGER required to successfully do the job. I've seen many careers negatively
impacted and projects fail because of this!

Good news for you, this won’t be a reason your project fails – after all, you’re
here, doing the dedicated work of learning how to be a great project
manager! Stick with me for a while longer, learn more of what I’m here to
teach you, and you’ll be able to avoid ALL ten things on this list and see a
successful project.

10 Project Mistakes Setting You Up for Failure 04

 I’ll let you in on a secret... You CAN'T wing a project and have it be
successful.

You need a solid plan!

Don’t skip out on planning your project – poor planning is a common

reason for projects to fail. A SOLID PLAN enables you to understand
WHAT'S THE what needs to be done from start to finish, by whom and when.
PLAN?
Remember, a project plan is not just a task list but a guide that helps
you manage project scope, quality, timelines, budgets, risks, resources
and more.

Think about it this way... When you’re properly planning your project,
you’re mapping your way to success!

Why are we looking? Well, what happens if you don't have these
foundational elements outlined? You guessed it: the project fails!
What better way for a project to fail than to
simply set it up for failure from the start by not A basic project
charter tells you:
NO highlighting these key pieces of information at DELIVERABLE
the beginning of the project.
CHARTER
SPONSOR

PROJECT MANAGER
The charter is the project's foundation. Without PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT
it, the project is sure to start off on the wrong PROJECT FOCUS
foot. Overlooking the project charter means PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS
your project is starting off severely lacking all MILESTONES + DATES
the key elements it needs to succeed. Don't PROJECT BUDGET
make this mistake!

This is a sad but true way that projects are GUARANTEED to fail...

Why is executive support so important? Well, the senior executive

team can ensure that the project is aligned with corporate objectives
and strategies as well as remove any project roadblocks. Trying to
MISSING complete a successful project without this support is difficult!
EXECUTIVE
SUPPORT The executive team ought to be engaged in the project, ensuring that
the project is seen through to the end and that the project team is
DEDICATED to its progress!

10 Project Mistakes Setting You Up for Failure 05

 If you’ve been around my YouTube videos for a while, this is another one
you’ve heard me say before...Document, document, DOCUMENT!

The mistake many people make on projects is that their documentation

is not organized or centralized, or worse yet, there is a lack of detail
regarding tasks, status and deliverables. Great documents have real,
measurable points!
LACK OF
DOCUMENTATION A project needs multiple documents to be successful such as scope
statements, charters, project plan, change management plan, etc.
Formalize and centralize documents! Make sure they are ALWAYS
updated. This is key to ensuring that everyone is working on the latest
and greatest information.
A project’s requirements often change over the course of the project or need to
be reassessed due to customer needs that are ever-changing. When important
project stakeholders change requirements, this is called scope creep!

A GREAT project manager (like the one you will be) KNOWS scope creep is a
likelihood, EXPECTS it and PLANS for it.

SCOPE CREEP, A GREAT project manager knows how to analyze a project and respond to
POORLY changes in such a way that scope creep is well-handled and doesn’t cause a
project to fail.
MANAGED
A GREAT project manager knows how to manage scope creep effectively within
the project and from external stakeholders that don't understand that "adding this
one simple thing" CAN and WILL negatively impact project timelines and budget.
Trust me... failing to address a team dynamics issue is one of the worst
things you can do for your project and your team.

If an issue is brought to your attention or you notice a conflict, address this

right away! Failing to address a team dynamics issue promptly and properly
only cultivates a negative work environment, rather than a positive one.
DODGING
By practicing good conflict resolution, your team will not only trust you, but
CONFLICT there will be less bumps in the road, they’ll work better together, and the
RESOLUTION work environment on the project will be POSITIVE. Every individual on the
team has the power and choice to help cultivate a positive environment, but
it’s up to the project manager to lead by example.

When conflict resolution is ignored, the right environment for project failure
is being cultivated. But it doesn’t have to happen that way. This is easily
fixed if you, as a project manager, deal with conflict immediately!

10 Project Mistakes Setting You Up for Failure 06

NOW, WHAT'S NEXT?
I'M HOSTING FREE TRAINING ON THE
FAB FIVE FUNDAMENTALS OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

In this webinar, you’ll learn the 5 most

important things you need to do on EVERY
project to bring it to success. So, if you can
only focus your time and attention on 5
things when running your project...you need
to see this webinar.

WHO IS THIS FOR?

It's designed to level up your ability to lead and deliver
successful projects, regardless of your title.

I WANT THE
FREE TRAINING!

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