Management Tip of the Day: 4 Tips for Deciding Whether to Accept a Project

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Management Tip of the Day
Harvard Business Review
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JANUARY 21, 2010
4 Tips for Deciding Whether to
Accept a Project
Being presented with a new assignment can feel flattering, or like an increased burden. Consider these four tips when making your decision to accept or not:
  1. Imagine yourself doing the assignment. When you envision yourself performing the tasks involved, do you feel invigorated or unmotivated?
  2. Research the project's history. Find out as much as you can about the origins of the project and what brought it to you.
  3. Know what the stakeholders want. An obvious step is to know who the stakeholders are. But go a step further and find out what their interest in the project really is.
  4. Look at your whole plate. It may be that your plate is simply too full. Assess the project with your other commitments in mind.
Harvard Business Review Blog Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Should You Accept That Assignment?" by Steven DeMaio.
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