Specific to launching a new corporate main event/top project, what are some pitfalls to avoid??

When embarking on a major strategic initiative, most business leaders worry about not having enough data. However, in today’s world, it’s not possible to have all the data. You have to gather as much as you can, and them move forward knowing that you don’t have all the answers.

For that reason, the biggest pitfall I see is not pausing to analyze the decision-making process behind the initiative. Not from a content point of view, but from a process point of view.

Before launching any major initiatives, evaluate the following:

• Quality of the information. Is your data coming from multiple independent sources or just one source saying the same thing in different ways?

• Decision-making process. Did the team engage in honest, open debate, or did it engage in “groupthink” in order to avoid conflict?

• Leadership deference. Did the leader’s opinion unduly influence others in a certain direction?

• Group mindset. Did the group accept the data without challenging it? Was there a rush to achieve consensus that might have caused key elements to be overlooked?

• Assumption testing. What assumptions about your customers, your market and your industry did people bring to this project? Are they still valid, or do they need to be updated?

• Environmental scan. What has changed within your industry in the past three to six months? What has changed outside your industry that might affect how you add value to customers?

• Making stuff up (MSU) test. What are you making up about this project? What voids of information are you filling in? What decisions are based on your MSU’s (making stuff up) rather than on hard data?

In today’s chaotic markets, you can’t afford the high cost of “do-overs.” Taking the time to analyze key decisions before you implement them will go a long way towards ensuring that you get it right the first time.