Khalfan wanted to arrange a surprise event to celebrate his best friend Ahmed's recent graduation from the university. The venue was booked, a special cake was ordered, and an invitation list to friends was sent. Everything seemed to be easy and in order, yet the reality was not in sync.
The venue was not confirmed by the hosting provider, the cake order was cancelled by accident by the bakery and literally about 78% of the guests did not receive the invitation that was sent as an email (probably landed in junk mail). You can imagine how the event turned out at the end.
With all the good intention and a great idea in place, Khalfan ended up in frustration during the day trying to ensure everything continues to go well, instead of enjoying the actual graduation party/celebration with his friend Ahmed. Khalfan’s disappointment is not unique and I can confidently state that many people encounter the same, in one way or another.
We all have great ideas and I am pretty sure that many of these ideas are also planned for 2025. Nevertheless, unless these ideas are turned into projects with clear scope and timelines, then doom (and a failure) is just around the corner. Ideas, big or small, be it for personal or professional purposes, from losing personal weight, gaining professional certificates, attaining promotion at the workplace, starting a new business, building a house, etc., can easily become overwhelming and frustrating if one doesn’t have a clear plan in place.
Turning ideas into projects and then ensuring these projects are managed properly is critical for ensuring the materialisation of the ideas. Project management is not just a skill in business and for the corporates (in my humble opinion). Project management should be for anyone who would like to see their ideas turn into success — trust me, I speak from personal and professional experience, of all those great ideas I have been exposed to over the years.
I periodically meet a lot of people, be they family members, friends, colleagues at work, or also associates from networks I am engaging with, both professional and in community platforms. The kind of ideas we talk about and ultimately generate are noteworthy; nevertheless, the biggest challenge we face is seeing these ideas turn into reality. The problem is simply due to putting commitment and setting timelines to the same. Research shows that poor planning and organisation waste a lot of resources (money and time included).
According to a Project Management Institute article I read recently, approximately 13% of resources are wasted due to inefficient project management and execution. Why? Because there was no clear project plan and management in place. Having good project management in place can surely help turn most of the ideas into a successful reality.
Excited, motivated, supported, encouraged and all inspired to get those brilliant ideas off your mind and into action will unlikely become a reality unless you seriously consider putting them all in writing (where you can see), setting timelines (so you can track) and putting them into accountability (so you can assign responsibility). Without having them jotted/noted into paper (or digitally via your smart device), the ideas may remain temporarily in your mind until other idea(s) or distraction takes over (no thanks to overload information and social media's everlasting distraction).
You don’t need many ideas; what you need is a clear plan. A plan that can turn those big, few and prioritised ideas into achievable, focused and time-bounded steps. These all can be materialised with effective project management in place. How to list, select an idea and then turn them into projects is a subject I would like to explore in depth in my upcoming article so that whether you’re tackling a work assignment, a passion project, or just trying to stay on top of life, all will eventually be possible.
2025 is two weeks away. My last article focused on the importance of managing time wisely. This article focused on the importance of turning those initiatives, plans, wishes and aims (i.e., ideas) into projects. Next week, I will try and share basic steps that one can use in order to manage time and projects successfully. Until we catch up again next week, stay positive and continue winning.
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