Ideas That Matter Podcast with Vusi Thembekwayo

Episode Title: Everything is a Project
Release Date: September 16, 2024
Host: Vusi Thembekwayo

Episode Overview

In this episode, Vusi Thembekwayo dives deep into the concept of treating every initiative—whether personal or professional—as a project. Responding to a listener's questions about sustaining motivation, building community, and effectively managing early-stage business investments, Vusi shares actionable frameworks, real-world examples, and his candid philosophy on strategic execution. The episode centers around mindset, intentional planning, and the leverage of project management tools to transform ideas into lasting impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Listener Engagement and Main Questions Raised

• The episode opens with voice notes from listeners across Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, expressing appreciation for previous topics such as “imposter syndrome” and the transformative power of mindset.
• Chima’s three main questions:
  a. What foundational principles have kept you going and growing in business?
  b. How do you build a committed community around your vision?
  c. How to balance investing in quality equipment and workforce at early business stages?

2. Vusi’s Core Principle: "Everything Is a Project"

• Treating Life and Work as Projects
  Vusi introduces his central philosophy: "I have learned to treat everything as a project."
  (04:55)

  “Once you start learning to treat things as a project, then how those things actually play out becomes different... Projects have a start date, an end date, deliverables, and an outcome.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 05:10

• End Goals vs. Beginnings
  Everyone draws motivation either from focusing on the destination or revisiting their “why.” Vusi, instead, emphasizes structure and finite planning over relying solely on motivation.

3. The Four ‘S’s of Project Design

(06:35 – 13:20)
Vusi references McKinsey’s 7S model, focusing on four “hard S’s” when defining projects:

• Strategy: Where are we going? What’s the timing?
• Structure: What organizational/team structure is required?
• Skills: Who are the people involved and what is their expertise?
• Shared Value: What outcomes deliver value to us and our customers?

“Shared value is simply understanding what it is that this project will deliver for us and what this project will deliver for the universe of people for whom we are executing.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 09:40

4. Five Project Management Must-Haves

a) Clear Results/Deliverables

(13:40 – 17:40)

• Begin with the end in mind (nod to Stephen Covey).
• Set finite, executable outcomes—not vague hopes.

“Hope is not a strategy. You need to have a finite, executable outcome.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 16:50

• Example: Premium pen sale—define quantity, customer profile, state, and price point. Adjustments (customers or product) must align with the primary goal.

b) Resource Planning

(17:40 – 20:00)

• List every resource (capital, people, infrastructure, networks).
• Create a “resource bank” to avoid self-deception.

“It's wrong to lie to the world, but it's really tragic to lie to yourself. The reason you do the resource calculation at the beginning is so that you don't lie to you.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 19:35

c) Stakeholder Mapping

(20:00 – 24:00)

• Identify all stakeholders: clients, team, suppliers, regulators, etc.
• Visualize relationships, assign responsibility for each.
• Don’t overlook regulators or operational partners.

d) Stage Gating (Monitoring and Evaluation)

(24:00 – 27:10)

• Break projects into smaller stages with measurable checkpoints.
• Only “open the gate” when each stage’s requirements are fulfilled.

“You've got to take the big project and break it into five smaller parts and each smaller part have the thing that you are executing against.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 26:35

e) Roles and Responsibilities

(27:10 – 29:30)

• Ensure absolute clarity—everyone knows their role and deliverables.
• Vusi’s global team can operate independently because this foundation is set.

5. Practical Tools for Project Management

(29:40 – 33:30)

• Software Recommendations:
  • ClickUp: AI-enabled, builds out project maps from plain sentences.
  • Asana: Company-wide usage—stores all project documents and communication for years.
  • Trello: Simpler, “kanban” style for tracking stages visually.
  • Microsoft Projects: For those on Office 365.
  • Smartsheet.com: Free for up to three users; ideal for budget-conscious founders needing ready templates.

6. Motivation vs. Planning

(33:30 – 35:25)

• Motivation is useful to begin, but cannot sustain you through adversity.

“Motivation is great... but when it's month end and you've got to pay salaries and you don't have enough cash flow, motivation doesn't get you through that.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 34:25

• Warning: The modern trap is being “over motivated and under planned.”
• Thorough planning is as critical as the will to succeed.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On treating everything as a project:

  “When things don't go great or when I don't necessarily feel inspired... for me is this: I have learned to treat everything as a project.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 05:00

• On hope vs. strategy:

  “Hope is not a strategy. You need to have a finite executable outcome.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 16:50

• On self-accountability:

  “It's wrong to lie to the world, but it's really tragic to lie to yourself.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 19:35

• On roles and independence:

  “Now I don't have to work in the business, I can do this, and they work in the business.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 28:30

• On over-motivation and lack of planning:

  “Be very careful not to be over-motivated and under-planned... the results you get are not just a function of your motivation but also a function of how thorough you are in your planning.”
  — Vusi Thembekwayo, 35:00

Summary Table: Project Management Framework

| Step | Key Task | Key Quote (Timestamp) | |------------------------|----------------------------------------------|---------------------------------| | Results/Deliverables | Define clear, finite outcomes | “Begin with the end in mind” (13:40) | | Resources | Inventory all required inputs | “Resource bank” (17:50) | | Stakeholders | Identify, map, assign responsibility | “Map the stakeholders” (20:10) | | Stage Gating | Break into phases, monitor at each “gate” | “Stage gating” (24:30) | | Roles/Responsibilities | Specify each role’s duties and outcomes | “Refined roles and responsibilities” (27:15) |

Closing Takeaways

• Think of every endeavor as a project—structure, plan, execute, and re-assess.
• Invest in the right tools and processes early; they scale with your business.
• Planning trumps motivation when sustained success is the goal.

Final advice to listeners:

“Plan. Build everything into a project. And if you use just the tips and tools I've given you here, I guarantee you're going to make it.”
— Vusi Thembekwayo, 35:10

For questions or contributions:
Listeners are invited to send WhatsApp voice notes to share feedback and continue the conversation.