The purposes you always forget

I suppose we can agree that it is important to understand the purpose of the project you are working with? and understand how it fit into the goal hierarchy? Yes!

But what about our own purpose for being involved in, manage or sell the project - are these objects important as well?

Yes, certainly, but no one spends time on them - we hope obviously that they will be fulfilled by themselves, but this is of course not so. Here are some examples and some challenging questions:

We have sold the project to a customer for 'making money': 1) Are there other purposes? - For example. build a good relationship? Penetrate a new market? - And how are the objectives weighted? 2) How much do we hope to earn? 3) How do we think we will make the money? 4) How do we organize the work as it happens?

We are a project team who want 'success of the project ': 1) Success for whom? The customer? ourselves as a group? The project? - How do we weighted these purposes? 2) What are the objectives of the individual? - And how we meets them?

I am the project manager and want to 'try out the challenge': 1) What does try mean? - It is a professional or managerial challenge? 2) Do I have other purposes? - And how are they met?

If you dare, try to ask some of these questions in your own project - it can be a surprisingly valuable talk!