7. Why do this now?

When the priorities are clear, resourcing is not a problem. If you can’t get the resources then you might need to question Why do this now?

Funding follows priority. So does the attention of the small number of people that every project depends on.

Does this project or program have a problem getting the right project manager assigned, or access to the best Subject Matter Experts? Most organisations of reasonable size have a few key resources – the IT architect, the data specialist, access to the retail outlets for trials or the slot in the board papers to get key decisions ratified.

If you are not the main gain, this won’t happen and you end up in the limbo land of a project complaining about slowing down due to lack of access to the right resources.

Priority also clarifies what the team needs to focus on. Coming back from a break or taking a day out with the team to think often creates a rare moment of clarity. With a bit of distance, it becomes easier to see what truly matters and what has crept in around the edges. That clarity is worth protecting.

It’s easy to get distracted. Seth Godin describes this as yak shaving – investing time and energy in adjacent activities that are loosely connected to the goal, but don’t actually move it forward. In these instances everyone looks busy, but little changes.

If the main thing isn’t being treated as the main thing (to steal a line from Stephen Covey), the project will stall no matter how hard people work.

So question seven is all about priority and allocating limited resources and attention: Why do this now?