Can We Do This? (Organizational Decision-Making, Part 2)
Moving from XY charts to a Venn diagram today.
Organizational leadership should ask two questions of every project.
1. Should we do this?
This is the most important question and should be the first one answered. Don’t wast your resources, not the least of which being own personal brain power, on things you shouldn’t be doing anyway. Seems obvious. But so many organizations find themselves far away from their original mission because they don’t properly answer this question.
2. Can we do this?
There are four factors to consider.
- Time
- Energy
- Ability (raw talent)
- Money
Here’s how I see them interacting with each other.
You need all four of these things. Your team should be very close to the center of this diagram before green-lighting a project.
There are ways forward if you’re not at the center.
Time + Money = you can hire someone to do the work.
Money + Energy = You can find a mentor who will teach you the skills you need to make this thing happen.
Time + Ability = you might be able to shoestring this thing. Creatively minimize the budget and leverage your capacity to move forward.
Energy + Ability = Consider a side hustle. Carefully.
There are options if you don’t find yourself square in the center of this chart. But when choosing one of those options, proceed with caution. An ongoing lack of any of these resources will result in burnout and failure. A project budget should consider all four of these things.