I have worked on many projects over the years from one with a budget of millions of dollars to projects that just involved time, effort and energy.

There is a natural tendency for projects to start with passion and energy and then fizzle towards the end.

That said, throughout the project, one of the most important elements I have found is to capitalize on momentum.

If you do a process improvement initiative brainstorming session, try and make the changes immediately.

If people are available and hungry for work or to be assigned tasks, give them important and even challenging things to do without delay.

Far too many times I have seen people spend time analysing data, even to the extent of spending years on the analysis and interest disseminates.

Or months are spent writing charters or setting up the project plan and no action is taken.

And implementation ends up being an afterthought and whatever has been built or developed, stays on the shelf and the benefits are never realized.

Now, you might be wondering how you can spot momentum and that would be a good question.

From my extensive experience, here is what to look for.

When momentum is in full force, ideas will be flowing.

People are engaged and talking about the project.

You might even have strong differing of opinions and disagreement which can be great as this is an indication of engagement and much better than apathy.

There is a forward energy that is hard to stop and might even feel a bit scary.

People will talk and act with confidence and won’t be shy to step up for assignments.

And, perhaps most importantly, the fear of change that is often present, will not be.

Conflicts may arise, yet with a good framework set-up in advance, conflicts will be managed quickly.

Decisions are made in a timely manner.

And when wins happen, people will want to celebrate.

Success feels good and people will want more of it, and this will act to motivate into the next phase of the project.

Conversely, when momentum is lost or not capitalized on, projects stall.

Delayed action, indecision, a lack of follow-up or support can act to derail the entire project and even destroy any sense of optimism that might have existed.

People will start shifting their energy and focus elsewhere and those that initiated or led the project may lose credibility.

In such an instance, it will be at least 4x harder to restart the project.

What is vital to understand is that a stalled project does not just lose time, you also lose trust.

And, if key stakeholders lose interest, the project may end up failing entirely.

As a project lead, it is vital that you not only employ classic project management tools and techniques, be on the lookout for signs of momentum or the lack thereof.

As the title says, timing is indeed everything and when you see momentum, jump on it, sustain it, encourage it.