One Project Completed Beats Twenty Started

Back when I was new to the world of operational excellence, I was lucky enough to be part of a large project aimed at understanding the difference between a company that successfully adopted continuous improvement methodologies and one that did not. Our ultimate goal was to improve operational performance — and continuous improvement methods are a great way to drive that result.

During that project, we selected about 20 companies as our sample. Some were incredible at operations, some had a lot of room to grow, but most were somewhere in the middle. We interviewed various levels of leadership to understand their perspectives, uncover their tactics and tools, and learn how continuous improvement methods supported their larger strategy.

Our findings were quite interesting.

There didn’t seem to be a single method, system, or tool that enabled success. Instead, what separated the pros from the rest of the pack was leadership’s ability to follow through on projects — whether business leaders could consistently take a project from start to finish.

Starting a project is the easy part. Everyone is excited. The team feels like they’re going to do something great. Acquiring new skills can be energizing. And large projects build strong résumés.

In contrast, completing a project is hard. Creating something new means embracing uncertainty. It also means feeling doubt but pushing forward anyway.

In his book The War of Art, author Stephen Pressfield calls this doubt “resistance.” Anytime you’re looking to create something new, you will encounter resistance. Resistance will give you many reasons to quit a project — but the best leaders are masters at navigating it. They quiet the uncertainty in themselves while helping others do the same. If something is worthwhile, they make it happen. They follow through.

One project completed beats twenty started.

We saw a variety of tactics at the companies we studied. Some used routine follow-ups with project leaders and delegated authority for approving small purchases. Others used clear task ownership and discussed project progress in public forums. Regardless of the methods, they all had strong cultures of follow-through.

If you’re a leader reading this, the takeaway here is to be a project closer. If something is deemed important, you need to start it, support it, and complete it. This doesn’t mean you have to own every project, but even if it’s delegated, you are still responsible for its completion.

If you’re a company looking to hire a new leader, the best practice is to hunt for follow-through as a key trait. Ask candidates about projects they’ve completed. What actions did they take to ensure projects crossed the finish line? A few moments spent here can be very telling.

So there you have it. It’s obvious once you hear it, but putting it into action is the part that takes discipline.

Thanks for reading — I hope you found value.

— MB