5 Project Planning Mistakes That Can Derail Your Success (And How You Can Avoid Them)

As a sales trainer in the medical solutions sector, I’ve seen countless sales managers face challenges that could have been avoided with better project planning.

One of my students, a sales manager overseeing a CT scanner installation at a hospital, shared his experience of how things went wrong despite careful preparation.

This story offers valuable insights that will help you avoid the same mistakes in your projects. Here are five common project planning mistakes, along with solutions to keep your projects on track.

1. Forgetting the Real World:

The Expecting Everything to Go Smoothly Mistake

It’s easy to assume everything will go as planned when you’ve spent time and effort preparing. But the real world rarely cooperates.

One of my students managed a project to install a CT scanner at a hospital. They had everything lined up—perfect timeline, clear deliverables, and an eager client. But just before the installation, they received a call from the manufacturer. The key components were delayed. This wasn’t just a small delay—it threw off the entire schedule. The hospital was counting on the installation, and now everything had to be rearranged.

Solution: Build Flexibility into Your Plan The truth is, life happens, and things don’t always go according to plan. That’s why flexibility is crucial. Instead of expecting everything to go perfectly, plan for disruptions. By adding buffer time and adjusting your expectations, you can handle delays with less stress.

In the Project Planning Bootcamp, we focus on helping you build adaptable plans that anticipate disruptions without compromising your goals.

How This Helps You: With a flexible plan, you’ll be able to pivot quickly, minimize disruption, and keep the project moving forward—even when things go wrong.

2. The Illusion of Control:

Thinking You Have Everything Covered Mistake

As a sales manager, it’s tempting to believe that you have control over every aspect of the project. But there will always be factors outside of your control that can disrupt your plan.

 n the CT scanner project, my student thought everything was under control—until the vendor’s delays hit. They realized that, despite their best efforts, they didn’t have control over certain aspects of the project. They had relied too heavily on the assumption that all factors would fall into place.

Solution: Anticipate Where Things Could Go Wrong Recognizing that there are always elements outside your control is a crucial step. By identifying potential risks and creating a strategy to manage them, you can better prepare for the unexpected.

In our Project Planning Bootcamp, we help you understand what you can control and where to plan for outside influences, like vendors or market shifts.

How This Helps You: By planning for uncertainties, you can manage the unexpected with greater ease and confidence.

3. Narrow Focus:

Forgetting the Bigger Picture Mistake

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details of the project and overlook the broader context, such as external factors or stakeholders’ schedules, that can affect your success.

Story: My student was so focused on getting the CT scanner installed and ensuring the technical details were perfect that they overlooked the contractor’s availability and the hospital’s internal scheduling conflicts. When the installation date had to be adjusted, it impacted all other aspects of the project. Solution: Step Back and Look at the Bigger Picture It’s important to step outside the weeds of your project and look at the overall picture. External factors, like stakeholder availability, regulations, or market changes, can have a significant impact on your project’s success. In our Project Planning Bootcamp, we teach you how to maintain awareness of these factors to avoid blind spots and ensure you’re not caught off guard. How This Helps You: By considering the broader context, you’ll be able to prevent disruptions and keep your project on track.

4. Planning Fallacy:

Underestimating What You’ll Need Mistake

It’s natural to want to be optimistic, but underestimating the time, resources, or effort needed for a project is a trap that many entrepreneurs fall into. Story: When my student managed the CT scanner project, they didn’t allocate enough time for site preparation and staff training. They thought they could make up for lost time—until they realized they couldn’t. The project was delayed, and the client grew frustrated. Solution: Be Realistic About What You Need Setting realistic expectations is crucial. Instead of overestimating what can be done in a short time, assess each phase of the project carefully. In the Project Planning Bootcamp, we show you how to use tools like Gantt charts and critical path analysis to plan your project more accurately and avoid underestimating the resources and time required.

How This Helps You: Realistic planning ensures you have the time and resources to meet your goals, without stress or burnout.

5. History Neglect:

The Not Learning From the Past Mistake

How often do we start a new project with the hope that things will go differently, without looking back at previous projects for lessons learned?

Reflecting on the CT scanner project, my student realized they hadn’t taken the time to reflect on past projects. They didn’t use lessons from earlier projects, where they’d faced similar delays, to anticipate problems. Instead, they just hoped this time would be different—and it wasn’t.

Solution: Learn from Your Past Projects Take the time to review previous projects—both successes and challenges. Identify areas where you could have improved, and use those insights to strengthen your planning.

In Project Planning Bootcamp, we guide you through how to conduct a “lessons learned” review, so you don’t make the same mistakes twice.

How This Helps You: By learning from your past, you can make smarter decisions and improve your future project outcomes.

Conclusion:

Set Your Projects Up for Success These five mistakes—forgetting the real world, overestimating control, overlooking external factors, underestimating time and resources, and neglecting past lessons—can all derail even the most well-prepared projects. By building flexibility into your plans, anticipating risks, and learning from your experiences, you’ll be able to manage projects with confidence and success.

If you’re ready to stop making these mistakes and start delivering projects that go off without a hitch, join our Project Planning Bootcamp. I’ll help you learn how to create adaptable, realistic plans that will keep your projects on track, even when challenges arise.

Ready to take your project planning skills to the next level? Join our Project Planning Bootcamp today and start building successful projects that deliver results!