In the previous step, you copied the Project Overview template to your own project folder in Google Drive. Now, make another copy of this template inside your project folder, and rename it to [my project name] v1. By using version numbers, you’ll always be able to refer back to prior work and enjoy your progress.
For my students, it is important to not spend more than one hour drafting your responses to the heading topics. This is because we are typically trained to think in conventional ways, while leaders tend to think and speak in entirely different ways that attracts support for their visions and projects. We’ll get you up to speed fast by working together from your original quick draft to create a document that elicits your Leader State, which all leaders use to make powerful decisions and build resonant support in their communities.
To help you start off on the right track, I have copied the topic headers from the Project Overview template with additional guidance about how I teach my students to respond in a way that creates resonance with the listener. If you haven’t seen the Project Overview template yet, click here to get your own free copy.
Project Overview Topics – Explained
1. Project Vision
GOAL: Paint a clear picture in words of the community that will benefit from the project
- What qualities do the community members have in common?
- What are their current challenges?
- What is your vision for addressing their challenges?
- What future conditions and benefits will the community experience when the vision is fulfilled?
Normally, people talk about the features of their project. However, information about your project will resonate much more powerfully if the listener can truly visualize how it affects people. As you address the following points, keep asking yourself, “Can others really imagine how my project will improve people’s lives?”
2. How was the vision created?
GOAL: Tell the inspiring story about how the decision to take action was made
- How did your vision evolve?
- What was the pivotal “aha” moment when your commitment to take action became solid?
In every field, most people are consumers of content. But they love to be inspired. The goal of this section is to let people experience how you came to commit to your current path. When they can feel resonance with your own commitment, that allows them to access their own feelings of commitment. When they experience their own state of commitment, they are much more likely to want to contribute to you and your project.
3. What major milestones will be accomplished via the project?
GOAL: Create a sense of inevitability by describing the main results accomplished so far and the planned next steps. Note the overall budget to achieve the next steps.
In the previous topics, we started with the vision and the “aha moment” where you committed to your path. Many leaders stop there, but most people want to know that there is a concrete plan to turn your vision into reality. This is where you can state the facts as they are about what’s been accomplished so far, and what more needs to be done to fulfill on your mission.
4. How will the money be spent?
GOAL: Create a sense of trust by giving a verbal overview of how the money will be managed and allocated to the project milestones.
Money is the language of commitment. When you present a high level budget, it increases the visceral level of understanding that you are truly committed to your goals, and have done the groundwork needed to succeed.