I had a client attempting 400 projects at once

I had a client attempting 400 projects at once.

They showed me a vast wall with all the index cards stuck to it.
Almost filling an entire conference room.

"How many people work on these?"
About 100.

Were they ok with permanently blocking 75% of their work?

Definitely not. The goal was faster delivery times.
Their typical 18-36 months for a project was painful for business.

Over the next 6months, we worked to cut that list down.
Soon we hit our goal of 15 items at a time, maximum.

Project lead time was now in the range of 6-12 weeks.
The CFO couldn't believe it.

It was the same team, technology, and workflow.
All we had changed was the focus.

Instead of spreading themselves as thin as possible, the focus is on finishing.
We had stopped starting new projects until one was completed.
Stakeholders loved it. They could ask for something and get it that same quarter.

You could see how much calmer everyone felt.

None of this is rocket science.
But while it's pretty easy to understand, doing it is not usually simple.

Working through how to sequence our efforts with the stakeholders and sticking to the sequence is the hardest part of building the habit of focus.

My experience says it's absolutely worth it.

Imagine how a change like this could impact your team.

What would your CFO think?