Being able to take a large or complicated project and breaking it down into more manageable chunks or phases is a habit and skill used by successful people in all walks of life. In the 5 Golden Pillars series, we are taking the management of a real estate investment project and breaking it down for the investor into five distinct phases. The first pillar is...

UNDERSTAND THE PROJECT AT HAND AND KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE

Clearly understanding the project that you are getting involved in, what will be required, what your exist strategy is, what are risks and so on will improve the probability of a successful investment experience. We can break the first pillar down further with the following key learning points...

GOOD PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS THE KEY TO ACHIEVING YOUR DESIRED RESULTS

Knowing your costs, having a schedule, having selected the right team, having backup plans for each phase of work just in case... these are things that fall under good project management. Bottom line is that the management of your project is going to make the difference between profitability or loss.

We have probably all heard that a mediocre idea or product with a good team around it will do much better than a brilliant idea or product with a mediocre team. Execution is the key to success and it is very important that investor either understands good project management themselves or hire a recommended project manager.

THINKING THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROJECT

You must think through the entire project from beginning to end, multiple times, before launching into it. Winging project management on the fly and dealing with things will at the very least cause major delays and many additional costs over mistakes and poor planning.

Thinking the project through from start to finish and then reverse thinking it from finish to start will help to ensure that you don’t overlook anything of significance. It is during this process that you figure out things like the phases of the project, potential risks, what your strengths are, where your best opportunities are and so forth.

DEFINING THE PRIORITIES AND VISION

Have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish and know what the priorities will be to focus on in accomplishing your vision. One of the most respected and used principles of successful entrepreneurs and investors is visualizing their goals constantly so that their decision making and priorities are in tune with their dreams.

Have a very clear vision. Know your why. And know your priorities.

KNOW THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS

What are your strengths on this project? What are the constraints that you will have to work with or around? What are all of your risks? How are you planning to minimize these risks? What will be your opportunities on the project?

These are all questions that you need to have answered and any others you can think of or are asked by your team and advisors. Knowing the important elements of the project at hand will enable you to make clear decisions.