Start Finishing by Charlie Gilkey(2019) | Book Summary

Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey essentially talks about two things: turning ideas into best work and executing projects to get things done. In other words, it falls into the familiar PMO responsibilities of how to find the right things to do (by portfolio management) and how to do things right (by project management). 

Turning ideas into best work starts from answering the basic questions "Whom do I want to be?" The best work implies the work that has a meaningful purpose, you can do better than anyone else, and it matters because you want to do it or the world needs you to work on it. 

Gilkey defines a SIMPLE project creation method and an IABCD key for execution success. SIMPLE means a project should be simple, meaningful, actionable, realistic, and trackable. IABCD means intention, awareness, boundary, courage, and discipline. 

​There are some ideas from the book worths highlighting: 

• ​​Creating a project roadmap: We have to monitor projects to lead to the destination we want to reach. Therefore, we create a roadmap to link projects and closely chase the result. The ultimate goal is not to get things done but to achieve our goals. 
• Applying the 5-Project Rule: With limited time and engird, we can only do five projects at a time. Therefore, picking them up with careful considerations. 
• Project minor to the current and bridge to the future: projects are essential to our lives to achieve our goals. Then management them well. 

The books talk about many project management skills, such as time management, productivity, prioritization =, stakeholder management, and resource management, which we talked about in our blog. The concepts are pretty similar. You may refer to our blogs for a more comprehensive summary on teach topic.

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“Whatever your best work is, it’s something that only you can do. Only you have the set of experiences, expertise, skills, and perspectives to do it. In this great orchestra of creation of which we’re all a part, no one can play your instrument the way you do.” ―Charlie Gilkey, Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done

Editor's Note: We find out that too much planning is also not a good thing because you waste your time on planning. We saw many people spend much time on daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and multiple-year plans. Are these all necessary? Eventually, what matters is not the plan but what got done. ​We have to ⚠️ be cautious on minimizing the management overhead.