how not to boil the ocean 
for project managers and business leaders it is especially important to avoid boiling the ocean management can accomplish this by focusing on the most critical parts of a project they can make sure they have the right team and the right resources in place before starting a project they may break large projects into smaller units accomplishing steps rather than failing by bounds it s critical to focus on the core pillars of a project and not let it run out of control creating boundaries within the given resources can help to achieve this and stopping any efforts to expand the scope of the project is imperative having clear agendas a timetable and frequent discussions on the progress of a project can help ensure that it does not become impossible to achieve the stated goals criticism of boiling the ocean some business experts believe that the term boil the ocean should be retired or used only specifically as it does not adequately provide sage advice these critics believe that the phrase works for complicated problems whereby breaking down tasks and assigning them to those best suited is a smart move that saves time and resources however these critics also believe that the ocean should be boiled when approaching complex tasks this is so because most complex tasks within an organization have a link to all parts of the organization and working on a larger scale ensures that any changes or new implementations impact all parts of the organization equally and positively working in isolation could be fruitless furthermore complex problems can be so vast it can be difficult to know where to start and what awaits down the line as a project progresses therefore avoiding one area to focus on another might not be the best strategy here being all inclusive and expanding the breadth of the project may be the quickest and most successful way to achieve the intended goal examples of boiling the ocean say a manager directed a team to prepare a presentation for an american business client based in houston instead of requesting a straightforward presentation the manager may insist that the employees prepare versions in spanish french japanese chinese and italian as well as english just in case someone at the presentation prefers to hear it in one of those languages the manager has taken a simple project and turned it into something which is nearly impossible in fact the ocean is boiling another example might be a six month old startup company that has set a goal of obtaining venture capital funding and going public by the end of the year such a goal might seem laudably ambitious to the company s founder the employees who are tasked with getting it done know it s boiling the ocean 