CHAPTER 10 | GETTING PROJECTS UNDER CONTROLyou need to look through the files you just inherited from last
year's conference ("Review Associate Conference archive files").
Or you want to surf the Web to get a sense of what's happening
"out there" on a new topic you're exploring ("R&D search firms
for sales executives").Random Project Thinking
Don't lose any ideas about projects that could potentially be use-
ful. Many times you'll think of something you don't want to forget
when you're a place that has nothing to do with the project. You're
driving to the store, for example, and you think of a great way that
you might want to start off the next staff meeting. Or you're stir-
ring the spaghetti sauce in the kitchen and it occurs to you that
you might want to give out nice tote bags to participants in the
upcoming conference. Or you're watching the evening news when
you suddenly remember another key person you might want to
include in the advisory council you're putting together.
If these aren't specifically next actions that can go directly on
your action lists, you'll still need to capture and organize them
somewhere that makes sense. Of course the most critical tools for
ensuring that nothing gets lost is your collection system—your
in-basket, pad, and paper (or equivalents) at work and at home,
and in a portable version (an index card) while you're out and
about. You need to hold all your ideas until you later decide what
to do with them.
Tools and Structures That Support
Project Thinking
No matter at what level project ideas show up, it's great to have
good tools always close at hand for capturing them as they occur.
Once they've been captured, it's useful to have access to them
whenever you need to refer to them.