Is your project selection approach like throwing mud at the wall and hoping something will stick?

I am always learning something new, at worst, its affirming something that I know to be right. Yesterday I had a conversation with a manufacturing company’s newly appointed CEO who was frustrated that there was little if any cohesive plan for selecting and executing improvement projects.

His support engineers and team leaders have been ‘doing projects’ for some time with a remarkedly low level of success which was a frustration to him.

He often found out that a ‘project’ would be completed but there was limited finishing or follow up on the level of success. Worst was some improvement projects had to be dismantled as they had made processes and support operations worse.

The lesson learnt for me following this conversation was that improvement projects should not just be a random event, like throwing mud at a wall and hoping something will stick, but they need to be selected because there is a real purpose in completing them. That before anything gets agreed as an improvement initiative there is some selection criteria applied to a project before it starts, a sponsor and a gate keeper and a goal.  

More importantly, does the project have a purpose in supporting the corporate strategy, will it impact the annual objectives, and are the resources in place to see it through and finish it? To just do something without understanding its purpose and why, is not a smart use of what resources you have.

Take the time to understand what you want to achieve, look at the initiatives, look at the resources and capabilities, match and select them against a criterion that will work within your organisation.

Do not just throw mud, I can confirm it does not always stick well. Getting a result is as much about planning as doing, but whatever you do, do smartly, it will pay off in the long term.