Around the Project Manager's Control Tower, the distinction between activities and achievements is an important one. Activities are the means to an end, achievements are the desired end result. PMs who can drive projects from an achievement perspective versus an activity perspective have some notable advantages. Before listing these advantages, let's make sure the differences between assigning activities and achievements are clear.
Example #1: Assignment to a Teenager
Activity: "Clean up your room!"
Achievement: "Put all of the empty soda cans in the trash can."
With the first assignment, all we've done is tell the child to perform an activity: cleaning up the room. Odds are that the work will not live up to our standards when the child reports the task as finished. It's even possible, though highly unlikely, that the child will do too much work, exceeding our standards. The key flaw in an activity assignment is that we do not create a clear performance expectation. As a result, we cannot gain commitment to the assignment, nor can we reasonably dole out consequences for good or bad performance. Aside from some vague and arguable expectations about what a "clean room" is, there is no performance standard to measure against.
