Choosing Projects
By Carolyn Leighton-Tal

Whether you run your own business or manage a department, one of your many challenges inevitably includes selecting those projects worthy of your time and resources.

When you're very busy, it's often too easy to turn your attention to projects which are comfortabe, familiar or include working with your buddies. However, there is great value in selecting projects measured against a carefully thought-out list of criteria.

When I started my first company, I learned a lot about project selection when I started working with a brilliant young man who was with Xerox in England.

He and I were trying to prioritize a number of projects for Xerox, (my client, his employer) from a number of proposals which had been submitted to us for consideration.

I was so impressed by the process he suggested for determining our selection, I have utilized this system ever since. I find this especially useful in evaluating the hundreds of proposals submitted to WITI.

Here is a system you may find useful before taking on a project or selecting a proposal:

1. Clearly establish your objectives. Before committing to any project, what are you trying to achieve - from the minimal acceptable outcome to the ideal results.
2. Make sure your objectives support the bigger picture. If you're a part of a bigger organization, do your objectives support the mission and objectives of your company?
3. Turn your objectives into criteria against which you can evaluate all projects.
4. Assign each criteria a numerical value 10 to 1, 10 being highest value. Example ­ if the project proposed leverages our existing resources, it is assigned a higher numerical value.
5. Don't exclude your gut instincts. It can override all statistical data, depending on your gift and track record.
6. Consider adapting models utilized by successful companies, rather than inventing your own.
7. Consider partners which can deliver valuable components missing from your current organization.