When you run a marathon, success is finishing, whether first or last place. When you climb Everest, success is making it back home in more or less one piece. When you raise children, success is… well, it depends on the day.

The definition of success varies with our goals. Oftentimes, we think of a project as a success when it comes in on time and on budget (or under in one or both categories). But that is only one indicator of success and, as it turns out, it’s not necessarily the best one either. When do we know if a project is really “successful”? What does that mean?

You know those people who can start a conversation with anyone, about anything, at any time? These people are effective communicators. For parties and social occasions, their conversation is lighthearted and fun. For business, it is serious and knowledgeable. People like this are able to evaluate their audience and situation. One skill that crosses all lines of business is communication. Being able to tailor your style is essential.

You’ve followed protocol and you’ve executed a well designed and informative client satisfaction survey. Now what do you do with all the feedback?  Understanding what the client has to say about your performance is only the first phase in effectively using your survey results. To get the most from the information, create conversations with stakeholders, engage in knowledge transfer and identify and target lessons learned to guide future projects.

Despite all the inspirational quotes on the importance of failure, of learning from failure, of failure being a prerequisite to success, no one likes to fail. When it comes down to it, we may believe Thomas Edison when he said, “I failed my way to success,” but we don’t think it applies to us. The fear of failure often drives our decision-making processes, and this can be a huge impediment to success and can lower the ceiling for that success. Creating an environment in which decisions are made with positive results in mind shifts the focus and provides motivation in place of dread.

Help. It’s such a simple word, but it’s one of the most difficult to say. We hate asking for help, whether it is because we don’t want to admit that we don’t know or can’t do something or because we fear that it reflects badly. Usually, the call to hire a consultant comes from a senior executive, but, occasionally, it may fall upon a project manager to wave the white flag. In that case, how do you convince the boss that you need a consultant?