Starting Right to Finish Strong
By Adriene Russell
Posted December 23, 2024
For any project-driven initiative
It’s easy to stay busy and still feel unproductive—especially in L&D and project-driven environments. This reflection challenges us to take a closer look at how we define success before we begin.
Whether you're designing a training program or tackling a leadership initiative, starting with the right goal can mean the difference between impact and exhaustion. Here's how I reset my thinking—and how you can, too.
Have you ever felt like you were just treading water? Super busy, doing great things, but at the end of the day, you still feel like you haven’t accomplished anything?
The problem might not be the effort you’re putting in. It could simply be the way you’re starting.
It doesn’t matter what we’re talking about—whether it’s a project at work or something at home—the key is to start with a goal in mind. This isn’t groundbreaking information; I’m sure you’ve heard it before.
But here’s my challenge for you (and for myself)...
Make sure you have the right goal!
Get into the habit of questioning your goals. It only takes a minute to ask yourself, “What am I really trying to accomplish?”
Now, here’s the tricky part: our brains tend to work out of habit—it’s the easiest way to get through the day. So, your brain might spit out the first, most obvious answer. Let’s look at this from a business perspective and focus on a training project.
My brain might say, “I’m doing this to create an engaging and innovative training experience.”
But is that the real goal? No—that’s the easy goal. Let’s dig deeper.
Why do I need to create an engaging and innovative training experience? My brain might answer, “So that people can learn to do their jobs better.”
Keep digging ...
And why is that important? “So we can reach our business goals.”
Now we’re getting somewhere—this is the right starting point!
You can create fun, engaging, and interesting training sessions that don’t achieve much beyond a high engagement score. But that’s just spinning your wheels—or worse, wasting company resources.
For every project you tackle at work, whether it’s training or something else, start with a solid, meaningful goal. That way, you’ll know when you’ve achieved your purpose. And that’s how a good day of hard work turns into a great night of sleep.
Enjoy your work!
Commit or reject
At this point, you determine if you will accept the risks or not.
• Some risks will not be worth taking.
• Some risk can be taken on a limited basis.
• Perhaps a small pilot to validate the benefits and work out the kinks.
• Others can be accepted with open arms and implemented immediately.
Whatever your decision, commit to it and move forward!
Time to innovate!
Do you have a problem or gap you are trying to solve?
If so, your first question might be, “Is there something that I know already works that I can tweak or modify to fill this gap?”
Don’t get stuck in what has always been or the pressures of creating something brand new. Simply look for the principles that work and build on them to solve the issue.
Happy innovating!
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