Project management, one task at a timeGetty Images/iStockphoto
In every project, you will hit resistance, moments when you think of giving up. Having completed hundreds of projects and abandoned an equal number, entrepreneur Rajesh Setty says you must, in particular, be committed to hard slogging at three points in the project, each accounting for about 10 per cent of the project time:
The real start: The real start is when you put something valuable on the line other than time, such as money. "This is probably the hardest 10 per cent that people have to go through and that's why most projects take birth and die in the minds of people," he writes on his blog.
The real breakdown: Breakdowns will occur in projects, but the most important one occurs when you end up at a crossroad, with one road moving you forward and the other pointing to a U-turn. But the road going ahead has all sorts of barriers that seem insurmountable. It's easy at this point to come up with some excuses, and quit.
The real finish: When you near the end of the project, it always takes longer and costs more money to complete the venture than you think. "If the first 90 per cent of the project takes 90 per cent of the time, the last 10 per cent will take another 90 per cent," he quips. You may begin to wonder whether it's worth the effort, but must persist.
Harvey Schachter