LEADERSHIP

MASTERMIND YOUR ACTION LIST • 67
Capture these “milestone events.” They will become crucial
control and communication points as the project unfolds.
Step 7: Organize, review, and validate against the stated
purpose, assumptions, conditions, and triple constraints.
Now that you’ve chosen the most promising approach to
your project and carefully thought through the work, you’ve
probably learned a great deal. Before proceeding, validate
what you now know against your project's stated purpose,
assumptions, conditions, and constraints.
If the adventure ahead looks simple, safe, and likely to succeed,
you’re ready to proceed. Rally your team, announce your
intentions, and leap into action. Charge ahead with alacrity!
If the outcome looks dubious, it’s time to do a reality check.
Go back and reconsider the project and/or the approach. Rethink:
should we move forward with what we now know;
shall we loop back and adjust our purpose, conditions, or constraints;
or should we kill this project before it has a chance to
kill us.
Trust your instincts. Leaders recognize that people are the
organization’s most important resource. Knowingly casting
yourself, or your team, into a likely-to-fail project is at best an
act of desperation. At worst, it is closer to the behavior of a
supervillain than that of a superhero.
Worthy leaders champion their people.
Step 8: Publish the Action List.
The interaction required to create the Action Listing
(WBS) has many benefits, not the least of which is improving
the participants’ buy-in and commitment. To build on this
effect, publish the task listing—make it as visible as possible.
Think the opposite of “out of sight, out of mind;” think “al-