How to Start a Project
Learn how to be entrepreneurial and champion your own causes and ideas in 4 easy steps.
How to Start a Project
If you work in a company that actually encourages innovation, you might take the leap of starting a project on your own, to prove it will work. If you don’t work for someone else, maybe you want to go into business for yourself. Or start a non-profit, or some other extra-curricular project.
Steps to Follow
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Step 1: Choose the Right Project
The first step is choosing the project. You need something specific enough to take action, yet flexible enough that you can expand the vision as it grows. “Let’s revolutionize transportation” is way too vague. But a more specific might fit the bill: “Let’s prototype a car that works entirely by pedal power.” Fred Flintstone would be proud.
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Step #2: Choose the Right People
No great movement happens alone. You need people! Decide who to recruit. If it’s a work project, you should probably choose people from work. Find people who can get excited about the idea and bring skills and perspectives you need for success. You might choose the following:
- People whose skills complement yours,
- People who will be good moral support,
- People who have resources you’ll need,
- People who have good connections and networks, or
- People who are so poised and confident that you can’t even tell they have new hair plugs.
Approach your chosen people, outline your vision, and ask them to sign up. Check out my earlier article, “How to Ask for What You Want,” for help asking. If they say “No,” go on to the next person. You’re not trying to persuade people; you’re giving them information and sharing your vision. You want them to believe enough to commit, so they take partial ownership and start making things happen. Too much selling can be too high-maintenance when you’re up and running. You want people who co-own the idea from day one.
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Step #3: Get People to Take Specific Actions
Small actions today start creating commitment that leads to bigger actions tomorrow.Once someone’s on board, give them something specific to do, or have them suggest something. Even small actions today start creating commitment that leads to bigger actions tomorrow. Today, you ask for a small favor, like designing a flyer or making a phone call. Later, you can ask for really big favors, like handling that awkward cleanup job when you find a severed foot caught in the rear door of your rental car. It happens all the time. That’s why this is called the “foot-in-the-door” technique.
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Step #4: Recruit Others
Lastly, start recruiting others. The more people who are committed to your project, the more momentum you’ll gather. Give people your ideas and invite them to make the project even cooler and take it to the next level on their own.
When everyone feels ownership, you support each other if things don’t go well. When things do go well, everyone gets to be a star, and it’s all because you took the initiative.
Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!
Resources:
/relationships/professional/how-to-ask-for-what-you-want – How to Ask for What You Want episode
Listen to the Get-It-Done Guy’s podcast episode with Jamie Kent
- – Interview with Jamie Kent
Visit Jamie Kent’s official website
- – Jamie Kent’s music collective web page
Project image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
