Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

Launching a project before you have a good sense of all its components will likely slow down your operation. Make sure you get your priorities right before setting your project in motion:

1. Clarify the assignment. Don’t start until stakeholders agree on the goals and the general timetable.

2. Organize your troops. Get team members involved at the get-go so they feel ownership. Agree on a way of working – how often you’ll meet, how you’ll communicate, etc.

3.Create a project plan. Ask your team to help you identify project activities and how long they will take. Put them in sequence and identify which are interdependent and which can run at the same time.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from Guide to Project Management.

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Also, you may wish to check out the new book Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, based on HBR’s Management Tip of the Day by clicking here.