A simple and powerful question to get answered before working on a project, major task, or organizing an event is to ask the client/supervisor/customer: what does success look like to you once this project/task/event is completed ?
Getting the above question answered is very important. I’m realizing that more these days. The project owner usually has an idea of how the project should turn out to be. He or she has a certain vision in mind. If we don’t take the time to understand that vision, then we are setting up ourselves to under deliver or even failure. If the expectations and outcome are not clear from the onset, then no matter how many hours or changes we make over the course of the project, we will still not meet the project owner’s expectations.
Once we understand what success would like when we work with a client/supervisor or customer on various projects, we can both be on the same page and deliver excellent results from our side.