SharePoint for Project Management

Chapter 9. Project Closing

Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.

—Thomas Hardy, novelist

Uncle Eric works seven days a week running a conglomerate of furniture-related businesses that include furniture imports, retail furniture stores, and a sofa manufacturing facility. Uncle Eric shuttles back and forth between various countries in Asia and the U.S. every other month. His is a classic rags-to-riches story—he had a few hundred dollars when he first moved to the U.S. and his passionate drive and impeccable work ethic have brought him tremendous success in spite of his humble beginnings.

I spent a few years working with Uncle Eric in the late 90s and discovered his three essential elements for success: (1) make sure you completely finish anything that you start; (2) put your best foot forward in any endeavor you pursue from the beginning until the end; (3) take notes and keep track of what worked and what didn’t, so the next time around you will make a better effort based on what you learned last time.

Project managers often fall short as the project lifecycle progresses. We are excited when a project gets started, but as the project progresses, our zeal and motivation slowly dissipate. Once we think that the project is finished, we move on to the next project without closing the current project appropriately.

Analyzing how a project went and considering the lessons learned should be the last ...