Projects That Propel Organizations Forward Christopher Latham Sholes is the American inventor credited with creating the typewriter.10 Sholes had a vision for a writing machine, working extensively on the typewriter from 1868 to 1873. In 1873, he sold the patent rights to the Remington Arms company for $12,000. They continued the work and renamed the machine the Remington Typewriter. It eventually became the top-selling typewriter of all time and helped to usher in the age of industrialism.11 Steve Jobs began a seven-year project in 1978 with the creation of the Apple Lisa Project. His vision was to build a personal desktop computer that everyone could use. The Macintosh, as it is known today, is a series of personal computers that consists of the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, and the Mac. However, this phenomenally successful series was only developed because of the seven years of failure that Jobs and the Apple team experienced through the Lisa Project.12 There are many examples of leaders and organizations who spent considerable time and effort on prolonged projects, which paid a substantial return on the investment. Although long-term projects are not easy to manage, they do provide large payoffs to the organization.
The Payoff Of Seven-Year Projects
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Although seven-year projects are challenging to commit to for leaders and organizations, they should be considered by every leader. Prolonged projects can provide powerful payoffs. When a company can select the right project in which to invest time, resources, and manpower, the payoff is that the investment will propel the company to become a leader in the field—the kind that becomes a differentiator in the marketplace. Companies that commit to prolonged projects can realize several key benefits even if the project is a failure.
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Prolonged projects
can provide powerful payoffs.
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