For some of the projects, in the beginning there is only Unknown!
- Nothing has been built yet.
- No clear role models exist—only distant possibilities of feasibility.
- The team is entirely new.
- Committing to a deadline comes with a high risk of missing it.
In these situations, the best strategy a manager can adopt is ** controlled chaos **. This doesn’t mean having no strategy at all; rather, it means learning to navigate and leverage chaos effectively. The key is to embrace the unknown while continuously working toward order.
### **Build the Team**
Building a team isn’t just about hiring people and putting them in a shared space—physical or virtual. A strong team is one where every member feels motivated, empowered, and safe to take action. There’s no universal formula for this; every manager and every team is different. Experiment with different approaches, discard what doesn’t work, and adopt what does. Most importantly, recognize that team-building is an ongoing process, not just something that happens in the first month.
### **Learn from Progress (Both Success and Failure)**
Failure is an inevitable part of any ambitious project, but it’s also a valuable learning opportunity. The key is to create a culture where these lessons are absorbed and applied. Learning from both successes and failures must be embedded in the team’s DNA, otherwise, these insights will be lost.
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