Reach Partners
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Case Studies
  • How We Do It
  • Who We Are
  • Blog

How to Tame Your Project's Fuzzy Bunny

2/12/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
Every great project and event starts with great strategy.

This is why we carefully guide our clients to identify their intent: What do they want to accomplish? How will success be defined? Once goals are determined, we identify constraints, such as time, financial resources, human resources. We think through possible risks and barriers.
 
We expect that good strategy will save time, money and mental energy. And, of course, everything will proceed smoothly.
 
Except sometimes it doesn’t.
 
Surprisingly, one of the biggest threats to a successful project isn’t poor strategy or poor planning: it’s the seemingly harmless fuzzy bunny.
Picture
Fuzzy bunnies are well-meaning distractions that keep you from focusing on what needs to be addressed.

Speaking of fuzzy bunnies, when I hear the phrase I picture a small rabbit that my dad found in a field nest and brought to our house one Easter. My cousin Maggie, at age 3 or 4, was visiting. She wore a red print dress with a white overlay and she carefully cuddled that little bunny in her tiny hands. So cute. So adorable.

And so off on a tangent.

See?

The point is that fuzzy bunnies are cute and good and cuddly. The latest, new idea is pretty darn cute, too (or at least some individual or group you are working with will think so). That is a problem when the great idea derails a project or doesn’t align with the strategy.

Fuzzy bunnies come from anywhere. Sometimes it’s the visionary folks who thrive on the big picture who can’t help themselves. They enjoy coming up with lots and lots of ideas and they’re pretty good at it, too. Sometimes it’s the more detail-oriented members of a group who fixate on ideas that won’t actually move the project forward.

We’ve worked with clients who wanted to spend precious meeting time discussing menu items that were too expensive for the budget. We’ve guided teams who kept contributing “great ideas” for programs well beyond the time they could be implemented.

Yes, when managing a project you need to be flexible and nimble. But there’s a difference between changing plans because there isn’t a staff member available and changing plans because a new idea popped up.

Bad ideas, of course, are easy to dismiss. But the good ones?

That’s when we turn to the strategy document. If good strategy work has been done, it is relatively easy to determine whether an idea should be explored or set aside.

A strategy document can be simple or complex, but it can’t be placed on a shelf. Its true value appears when it is kept close at hand throughout the entire project. It can be used to review all new ideas, all new solutions to determine whether the idea is helpful or a fuzzy bunny.

Should you entertain the idea of serving lobster on the lunch buffet? Check the budget in your strategy document. Should you rent a billboard because it’s a good deal? Review your strategy document.

It’s powerful and rewarding to see real and tangible experiences rise up from strong strategy. Even more so, it’s exciting to see strategy used to combat the fuzzy bunnies that rear their crazy heads in midst of shaping a project or event.

Let’s keep the fuzzy bunnies where they belong.

-- Anita


EDITOR'S NOTE: Blog adapted from 12/2/14 post.
1 Comment
Barbara Christenson link
2/20/2018 10:36:37 am

What a great message. You make a valuable point, and drive it home with a memorable visual analogy. I will remember this and hopefully can use it to bring clients back on task. Thank you very much.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Reach Partners

    Categories

    All
    Anita
    Beauty
    Communication
    Connection
    Empathy
    Events
    Facilitation
    Gratitude
    Integrity
    Meeting
    Partner Stories
    Possibility
    Project Management
    Rachel
    Resources
    Strategy
    Team

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

Join our newsletter
CONTACT US
Reach Partners, Inc
3330 Fiechtner Dr. Suite 100
​Fargo, ND 58103-2321
701-271-8170
Copyright (C) 2022  Reach Partners Inc.
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Case Studies
  • How We Do It
  • Who We Are
  • Blog