July 12, 2025
Result vs Contribution
If you’re focusing on the wrong things, then by definition, you’re not focusing on the right things.
And when it comes to project work, hours are always the wrong thing to focus on.
Obsessing over hours prevents everyone from paying attention to the progress metrics that actually contribute to the success of the project.
Which progress metrics actually matter, you ask?
Beats me.
It’s different every time.
You need to find that out from your clients before you even think about writing a proposal.
Ask them something like, “What would a home run look like?”
Once they answer this to your satisfaction, you’ll have your success metric - aka the RESULT they are looking for.
Then, ask them something like, “How do you imagine what I do will contribute to that success?”
This will give you your progress metric - aka what they see as your CONTRIBUTION to their desired result.
As long as you are confident that you can control the progress metric (i.e., your contribution) and the client believes that your contribution will lead to their desired result, you’re golden.
Yours,
—J