Ever have a project you’ve invested time, money, sweat and heart in, only to realize (often well after you should) that it’s not going to reap the right results? It can be difficult to pull the plug on a venture that once was full of potential and excitement.
It’s as important to know when to stop something as when to start something. Unfortunately, it’s a lot less fun and exciting to stop investing energy in something with little or no chance of success. There’s much sound advice in HBR’s article, Start Stopping Faster. Among the pearls of wisdom:
- Break big projects into a series of less costly tests, and be willing to stop if it looks like they are not working. Read more about how to conduct these innovation experiments here.
- Make sure the work is visible to key stakeholders. Invisible projects allow for more investment in something that may not reap real benefit.
- Give people more opportunities to experiment if their current work does not pan out. (This reduces the fear factor that accompanies pulling the plug on a failing project.)
Today may be a day for new beginnings, and it may also be a day to STOP doing some things that are not going to yield results.
What are your tried-and-true methods for knowing when to bail on a plan? Comment below or message us.