When it comes to client and project management, I use weekly status reports. Not rocket science, I know. Many entrepreneurs and businesses use them, and they most likely use them for the same reasons I do.
Completed Work
The first section of my status reports details completed work. It states what work was sent to the client. It traces other actions, too, whether it was outreach to garner a speaker for a webinar or research for a white paper. The aim is to be transparent about what was accomplished and to ensure that the email gods didn’t gobble up the deliverables. They’re greedy and finicky, those email gods.
Upcoming Work
The second section is for work that will take place in the upcoming week. It can include actual deliverables like the white paper mentioned above. It can also mention work that’s getting started. I view it as a way to soothe clients. Everything’s on schedule. No one’s going to get left sitting on the tarmac for seven hours.
Open Items
Open items are components needing the client’s input or directions. It’s a tactical maneuver designed to address potential bottlenecks and roadblocks. It’s also a technique to prevent the horrible, horrible email back-and-forth that sometimes happens. Nothing good ever comes of that. Feelings get hurt; things get lost in communication. I stop everything if several emails have gone back and forth and ask to speak terms on the phone. It’s simply the best and smartest way to keep the peace.
Weekly status reports. A business grows or languishes by them. They keep projects on track, and they keep people aligned and aimed toward the same goals. Without them…without them, things go to pieces. The email gods get fat; everyone’s stranded in separate airplanes; and peace is impossible.