The RevOps Show

Episode 82: The Lasting Impacts of Finishing Strong

Written by Hannah Rose | Feb 21, 2024 3:00:00 PM

Have you ever ran where you started off strong and had a weak finish? Panting and not feeling great about it. Have you ever ran where you started off strong and finished strong? That’s a confidence boost and I’m sure you felt great afterwards. Having a strong finish also applies to projects. Why is it important and how you can get there are what Doug and Jess answer in this episode.

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Show Notes:

Pre-Show Banter: 

  • Doug asks Jess about the Cowboys and she expresses that they won’t do well in the playoffs. 
  • Will Taylor Swift make it in time to the Super Bowl? Time will tell. 
  • Doug and Jess list off their thoughts on the greatest television shows of all time. For Jess she included The Sopranos, Succession, Sex and the City and Mean Girls. Doug mentions The West Wing, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Hill Street Blues.

Finishing strong in any project is important because it’s how people remember the experience. People tend to remember the last impression more strongly than the first. While starting strong is important, finishing strong has a greater impact and builds confidence and security. 

The challenge with finishing strong comes when disruptions enter towards the end of a project which can cause the client to remember the difficulties at the end more than the successes earlier in the project. 

To mitigate the client developing a fear of shipping and committing to the final product you’ll want to manage expectations and provide a smooth process. One way you can do this is to concentrate the pain in the beginning and end by segmenting the timeline of the project and making it shorter. You’ll want to set clear targets and deliverables for each phase, celebrating milestones and successes along the way. 

By regularly communicating the purpose and goals of the project, you’ll help to maintain focus and keep the end goal in mind to show the positive impact the difficulties will have in the end. It can be good to prioritize and tackle the most painful and urgent tasks first as well as break down the project into smaller, manageable tasks to maintain momentum. You’ll want to stay committed to the timeline but know that adjustments may need to happen to meet deadlines.

Finishing strong is crucial to achieving success. Celebrations, routines, and rituals can help to create a sense of accomplishment and motivate everyone involved. Likewise, early feedback and involvement from stakeholders can lead to faster utilization and buy-in, and setting realistic expectations and not overselling or overpromising can prevent failure. 

Jess’s Takeaways:

  • It’s not what happened, it’s how you feel at the end that matters. 
  • Create waypoints and completes. Make sure that you have context to run what you’re doing. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing is key.
  • Don’t lose the plot, don’t lose your context.
  • Having celebrations, rituals, and making sure you’re celebrating and highlight what you’re doing and sharing that up is important. This is an area that we don’t do frequently enough.

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