Navigating Project Chaos: My Four-Step Strategy For Structure And Success
Three weeks ago I was invited to join my CEO in a last-minute meeting. Without giving too much detail (for obvious reasons), we were meeting a marketing executive from a major brand. He was interested in our technology and wanted to learn more. It was a first meeting, so we did the usual demo and discovery questions; we showcased relevant case studies and brainstormed high-level ideas. Very unexpectedly, we came away from that meeting with a project outline and a mandate to be ready to pitch in less than a month. Great—if only every meeting went so well and every (potential) client moved so decisively! But walking out of that meeting I was immediately facing two issues:
- Internally, how do I allocate my resources and talent to deal with a fast turnaround pitch, and a potentially long-term project to follow? And how do I do that without impacting my existing projects?
- How do I nurture a forward-facing relationship and manage the expectations of a new partner?
Because of its quick turnaround, this project, in particular, required clarity and a very proactive approach to planning and execution. As an executive producer who works predominantly in start-up and early-stage environments, I work across multiple touchpoints with multiple stakeholders. And I’m usually working with very limited resources. Implementing a framework is vital to defining the vision of a project and keeping it on track.
Whether working across business development, creative and content production, or tech integration, I work through the same four-step process. It’s a simple framework that I adapt to every project. And it’s exactly the framework I used on this project.
(Aside: We pitched early this week and received a great response. I hope to have an update soon and will share more when I can. It’s a very fun project. I can’t wait to tell you about it.)
1. Assessment
This step is all about clarity. Start by defining objectives and goals, and know the difference between the two: the goal is the long-term outcome; the objective is a measurable short-term action that helps you achieve it. In this instance, my goal is to secure a new client partnership, initially producing a single project with additional projects in the future. The immediate objective was to create a pitch and presentation that fulfilled the brief provided to us in that first meeting.
With your goals and objectives in mind, assess your resources. How much time do you have? How many people are available and what do they do? What technology is available to you? What content already exists? What processes are in place and where are the gaps? Be specific here, and think about why it matters. This is your energy tank: knowing what you have and how you can use it will make for a much more efficient process further down the line.
2. Planning
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan… There is no other route to success." —Pablo Picasso
It’s time to define the project and build a plan. In this step, you are thinking about strategy and tactics. Both terms originated as military terminology in Sun Tzu’s writing The Art of War but are now used in a variety of everyday scenarios, especially in the workplace and business environment.
Strategy comes first. This is the "big picture." It’s an overarching plan of how you intend to achieve your objectives and goals. Tactics, on the other hand, are the specific steps you will take to execute that strategy.
Strategy is where you want to go, and tactics are how you will get there.
The type of strategy and the framework you use will vary depending on what type of project you are working on. If your objective is efficiency and process, you might focus on an operational strategy; you could analyze technology usage or measure the effectiveness of existing systems. Either way, the emphasis is on internal capabilities and how they can be improved. A content strategy might be beneficial if you are trying to drive visibility or sales-centric messaging. This type of strategy is more externally focused and designed to build awareness.
Process mapping is also useful at this stage. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good diagram or flowchart, but visualizing a workflow or plan is actually a very effective communication tool, particularly if you are working across multiple stakeholders or departments. These can be as simple or as complex as they need to be and can be used to demonstrate existing processes as well as suggestions for future optimization.
In the case of our pitch, we used process maps to demonstrate our production process and the integration of technology into existing workflows. We also used them creatively to illustrate content narratives and moments of audience interaction and participation.
The key here is to remember that your strategy and tactics should always be aligned with your objectives. Collectively you want everyone and everything to be moving in the same direction and towards the same common goal.
3. Implementation
Most people get caught in the planning stage, but this is the time to execute. In a start-up environment, especially with limited resources, it’s easy to fall into a pattern of reactivity and respond to situations rather than actively driving them. The key to being proactive is to draw on your previous planning and mobilize your action plan.
As an executive producer, it’s my responsibility to understand the bigger picture, and in turn to educate, facilitate, and mentor everyone else who is working on that project. Start this step by assigning roles, getting clear on responsibilities, reinforcing timelines and budgets, and clarifying that everyone understands the objectives and expectations. This is where the earlier assessment of resources comes into play too, ensuring that everyone has the tools they need to complete their tasks.
Good communication is integral to maintaining momentum towards your goal. Decide on your preferred methods of communication in advance, whether it’s a group Slack or Telegram channel; schedule regular check-ins and stand-ups; and agree on how best to pre-empt and address any blockers.
Task management tools are a great way to monitor progress, especially on a fast-paced project with lots of moving parts. I personally stick with Google Drive and have used Zapier to integrate my emails, Slack, and calendar. Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Trello, and Smartsheet are all great platforms too. My advice is to try them out and see which one works best for you and your team.
And if all else fails: communicate! communicate! communicate!
4. Optimize
This is where you measure and review the project. How effective were you at achieving your objective? What worked? What didn’t? What other opportunities did you find? The actual data points you are measuring will depend on the project specifics, but these should be agreed on when you are defining your objective. You’ll measure before the project begins to set your baseline, and again after to see how you performed.
The types of metrics are usually categorized according to efficiency, performance, accuracy, or financial impact. You might also consider whether a measurement is leading or lagging. Does it offer insight into future performance? Or does it assess the impact of past actions or strategies? Both are valuable.
We were pitching a content project that involved aspects of user engagement, and so our suggested KPIs were: active users; new users; session time; retention; and revenue. We’re also including AI functionality, so we added some KPIs to measure accuracy and performance.
Metrics are a great way to measure project successes, but they can also uncover areas of weakness, providing opportunities for improvement. Be sure that you are measuring the right metrics and—you should know this by now—ALWAYS REVERT BACK TO YOUR OBJECTIVE.
Plans are not static and step four is not the end.
It’s time to take all the information you’ve gathered and feed it straight back into step one, ready to start all over again. The world of start-ups and production can be fast and frantic, but implementing structure is a game-changer for productivity and efficiency.
In the next few weeks, I’ll dive into more of the processes I use to manage workflows and will showcase some of the exciting projects I’ve had the privilege to work on. Stay tuned for a mix of unfiltered opinions on everything related to creativity, planning, and interactive technology.
