What learned during one of the most challenging and rewarding weeks of my career

Last week was one of the most challenging and rewarding weeks of my professional career. I had the opportunity to lead the organization of Transformation Day (the largest scale event I have ever led) as well as a shoot with the CTO of Amazon.

There was much I learned during this week and I wanted to take the opportunity to share these learnings with my network while they are still fresh in my mind:

• Be clear on your objectives: It always pays to have clarity on your objectives. This allows you to set priorities and know when to push back and when to accommodate. It will also insulate you from all the different distractions and noise around you.

• Ensure early alignment with your key stakeholders: Having alignment with your key stakeholders ensures they will support your plan, especially when alignment takes place early as it allows them to feel part of it. It will also save you time in the future justifying your actions and seeking buy-in.

• The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step: Taking on big project can often be daunting. The best thing you can do is avoid seeing it as a mountain to scale, which makes it hard to find a starting point. Instead, try to break it into separate manageable sprints over specific periods and only focus on one sprint at a time.

• "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail": I had a math teacher who always used to tell me this when I was younger and he was absolutely right! It pays to prepared and organized, especially with a large-scale project. You need to ensure you are clear on your budget, milestones, timelines, etc. You need a project plan to continuously consult and ensure you are on schedule. To build this project plan, you need to work backwards from the launch date and build your plan.

• Delegate, Delegate, Delegate: This is super critical. Often you will be charged with running a large-scale project with no direct reports. This is where you will need to lobby and influence to get these resources (and this is where the above points can really help your case). You may need to get creative and pull in people from different geography, functions, etc. They key thing to ensure is that they are motivated, competent, and dedicated to taking on the task at hand. Anything is possible with the right attitude. I am blessed to work with an amazing team of builders who inspire me every day!

• Work Hard, Have Fun, Make History: Take on projects that will take you out of your comfort zone. Do the kind of work that you will be able to look back on with pride. And just as importantly, don't forget to celebrate your wins, take your down time, and have fun along the way!