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I am advising some university students on their senior project. They've decided to create some project tools for managing projects. I'll tell you more as their project develops. I was asked today to offer some initial comments. So here it is:

Start telling the story of the project.

I've found most project managers don't know where to begin. I've offered pointers for this before. Here it is again [Story-Telling Reforms the Project],

What is there to tell? Tell the stories of ambition, achievement, satisfaction, worthwhileness, and determination. Tell the stories of cooperation, collaboration, learning, and resilience. Tell the stories that unite, bond, and build trust. Tell the stories that dispel, focus, invite, and encourage. Tell the up-coming story of accomplishment. Just tell stories. It is the one avenue available everyday for reshaping the collection of individual realities into a collective reality.

But the real issue is not including all the 'right' elements. The issue is giving yourself the permission to tell the story without knowing how it will come out. That's right. Start telling before you know how it will all work. Stories are made up. They are not true. They'll never be true, especially the stories we tell before the fact. The power in telling the story is in setting a context for others to carry out their roles, learn, improvise, and innovate. Further power comes from inviting others to contribute to the story and its unfolding.

I'll leave you with this, [Declare the 'Game' of the Project]

The project leader's role is to keep the game of the project from sliding into the background by restating the promise to the customer, reminding people of the role they are playing, and re-telling the story of the project.

So, get in the habit of telling and re-telling your story. The success of your project depends on it.