Planning specific projects

[vangogh]

Yeah, and in addition to the deadlines and getting you to think about things, it seems that if you are thinking about the different aspects of making your product a success you have a better chance of getting those different aspects to work together.

There's no reason for example why you couldn't start you marketing early in development with the goal of getting some feedback. The feedback could then be baked into your product development. Maybe a high enough percentage of your market is tell you they'd like to see a certain feature that you originally weren't thinking was necessary to add.

[KristineS]

We always build marketing into every product launch, or we have since I've been with the company. I do research about what's already out there, we find industry experts to test things, we have our own experts test things, and we develop collateral material that gets reviewed before it is released to the general public. It's a great help in making sure we're all saying the same thing in the same way about something new.

[vangogh]

That's along the lines of what I'm thinking. It's probably more difficult in some ways for a small business to do, but at the same time a small business doesn't have to try to get several different departments talking to each other.

[Spider]

For those of you who make plans and forget them, and those who make plans but don't write them down and feel as a consequence that implemetation takes longer than it should, I would like to offer a coaching technique that I have found works wonders.

Write a one paragraph statement that states in general terms what your plan is, including mentioning - again in general terms - the key elements of that plan. For example (and I am making this up as I go):

By the end of the year, I will have created [new product] that will do [this] and [this] and [this]. I will accomplish that by 1. researching the specifics the market will require and listing them, 2. including these specifics in the product design, and 3. creating a pre-launch adverrtising plan.

Write this statement on a card and leave that card on your bedside table.

Read this statement, out loud, every morning as the first thing you do when you wake up, and again, out loud, as the last thing you do before you lay down to sleep at night. By all mean, read it aloud several times morning an night.

Those of you familiar with personal development techniques will recognise this method of affirmation. Unfortunately, some of you may consider it hocus-pocus - but that is your loss.

If you do this, I can promise you, you will find yourself being more focussed and your mind more often drifting towards doing the things you need to do to achieve your goal.