47.2 Action After Deliberation

 47.2 Action After Deliberation

Question:

What should be the primary focus during the execution phase of a project?

 

Answer:

 

The project will be ruined if you do things that ought not to be

done or you do not do things that ought to be done.                   (Couplet – 466)

 

Things that may be done at leisure can be implemented slowly

and deliberately. But things requiring immediate attention

should not be delayed at all.                                                               (Couplet – 672)

 

செய்தக்க அல்ல செயக் கெடும் செய்தக்க

செய்யாமை யானுங் கெடும்.                                                  (குறள் – 466)

தூங்குக தூங்கிச் செயற்பால தூங்கற்க

தூங்காது செய்யும் வினை.                                                    (குறள் – 672)

 

Explanation:

In any project of considerable complexity, there will be several tasks. These tasks may vary in their relative importance. Valluvar believes that a project will be unsuccessful if the essential tasks are not accomplished. He also adds that the project will end up as a failure if the irrelevant, unnecessary, and unimportant tasks are completed.

 

In addition, to focusing on the essential tasks, one should also prioritize the tasks. The tasks of a project may be dependent on each other. In order to succeed in a project, during the organizing phase, all the tasks relevant to the project must be carefully analyzed and prioritized based on their dependency, importance, and urgency. These days, project planners use sophisticated software to analyze the task dependencies and the resources required to complete the tasks and schedule them in the proper order based on their importance, dependencies, and urgency.

The concept of prioritizing tasks is essential and applicable in our day-to-day lives too. There is a simple method for prioritizing the tasks known as the Eisenhower Principle, named after the US president, General Dwight Eisenhower. According to this principle, the tasks should be prioritized as follows: The important and urgent tasks must be done first. Tasks that are important but not urgent should be handled next. Tasks that are not important but urgent would belong to the next category of tasks to be performed. Lastly, tasks that are neither important nor urgent should be postponed, avoided, or delegated to other people, if possible. Stephen Covey, the American educator, author, businessman, refers to this type of prioritization as  “Habit three – Put first things first” in his famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Couplet 672 conveys the same idea as the Eisenhower Principle and Steven Covey’s Third Habit.