Stop Listening to Consultants!! Your Project Will Succeed
I hope that you had a successful “end-of-year” and had time to have a restful and peaceful holiday season. Now that we are into February, I see that most of my clients have powered through their year-end tasks and are now focusing on completing strategic projects.
Recently, I have seen far too many articles, blog posts, and marketing emails telling the nonprofit community that their projects will fail. Some of the titles I have seen are:
75% of Nonprofit CRM Projects Fail
7 Signs Your Project is Bound to Fail
What To Do When Your Project Is Bound To Fail
Why Projects Fail
3 Reasons Why Nonprofit Technology Projects Fail
Good grief! I guess nonprofit professionals involved in complex projects should just stay in bed.
Here is the truth. Your project is not going to fail. You will find a way to get to the finish line.
Will it be hard? Yes.
Will it be hard to manage expectations? Yes.
Will it be hard to manage risks? Yes.
Will it be hard to convert the data? Yes.
Will there be a six-month period to let the new system settle in? Yes.
You can examine every challenge a project can have, and the answer to the question, “Will it be hard to…?” is “Yes.”
That said, I have yet to meet a client that has told me:
“I am sorry, we don’t have financial statements because our project failed.”
“I am sorry, we can’t take your donation because our project failed.”
“I am sorry, we can’t refer you to the neurologist you need because our project failed.”
There are many things an organization can do to help their project succeed; if you want to talk about them, please get in touch with me, and I will share them with you for free. Having the right mindset is the most important asset a project team member can bring to the table. If your team has the proper mindset, they can face and overcome significant challenges.
Don’t prepare to “not fail”. Prepare to succeed.
This rant will probably get me kicked out of the Consultant’s Union, but maybe I can buy everyone a cold pop at NTEN and smooth things over!
My name is David Price, and I help nonprofits with their technology strategy, projects, and operations. To talk about anything of interest to you, please reach out to me at david@dvprice.com or visit my website at www.dvprice.com