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1. Performance Review Template

At its core, a performance review is a structured evaluation where managers assess an employee’s work, productivity and professional behavior during a specific review period. The process documents accomplishments, identifies improvement areas and provides feedback that supports employee development, performance management and long-term organizational goals.

This performance review template provides a structured Word document that guides managers through the employee evaluation process. It organizes employee information, performance criteria, goal tracking and review summaries so supervisors can document feedback clearly and conduct consistent employee performance appraisals across teams.

• Employee Information Section: Records key details such as the employee’s full name, job title, department, review period and reviewer name to clearly identify the employee being evaluated and establish the timeframe of the performance review.
• Performance Criteria Evaluation: Allows managers to assess job knowledge, technical skills and overall role competency while documenting concrete examples that illustrate how effectively the employee performs assigned responsibilities.
• Quality of Work Assessment: Evaluates accuracy, attention to detail and consistency of the employee’s work output to determine whether deliverables meet expected standards and organizational quality requirements.
• Productivity and Efficiency Review: Measures how effectively the employee manages time, meets deadlines and uses available organizational resources while maintaining consistent performance throughout the review period.
• Communication and Teamwork Evaluation: Reviews collaboration, interpersonal communication and the employee’s ability to work productively with colleagues while contributing to team objectives and workplace coordination.
• Goals and Development Planning: Documents completed goals, analyzes unmet objectives and establishes new goals that guide employee performance improvement and professional development during the next review cycle.
• Performance Summary and Signatures: Provides space for an overall performance rating, written feedback, employee comments and signatures from both the reviewer and employee to formally acknowledge the evaluation discussion.

2. Performance Improvement Plan Template

Sometimes employee evaluations reveal consistent performance gaps that require structured follow-up rather than simple feedback. A performance improvement plan is a formal document used to address performance issues, clarify expectations and guide employees toward meeting job requirements. Managers use it to document concerns, define corrective actions and monitor measurable progress over a defined improvement period.

This performance review template provides a structured action plan managers can use to document performance issues, define SMART performance goals and track corrective actions. It guides supervisors through outlining expectations, timelines and evaluation metrics so employee improvement efforts remain organized, measurable and clearly documented.

• Administrative Information: The template begins with employee and manager identification details such as employee name, job title, department, contact information and review date to ensure the performance improvement plan is clearly documented and easy to reference.
• Purpose of the Improvement Plan: A dedicated section explains the reason the performance improvement plan is being implemented, helping managers clarify the context behind the employee evaluation and the specific performance concerns that triggered corrective action.
• Performance Issues Documentation: Managers describe concrete examples of unmet performance goals, missed expectations or behavioral concerns so the employee clearly understands the problems that must be addressed during the improvement period.
• SMART Performance Improvement Goals: The template includes space to define clear improvement goals using the SMART framework so employees know exactly what outcomes they must achieve and how their progress will be measured.
• Action Plan and Expectations: Supervisors outline the steps employees must take to correct performance issues while documenting management expectations, responsibilities and specific activities required to improve work performance.
• Improvement Timeline and Evaluation Metrics: The document establishes a defined timeline for improvement while identifying key performance indicators and review checkpoints used to monitor employee progress and assess measurable results.
• Consequences and Final Assessment: The final sections explain the consequences of failing to meet performance goals and provide space for a final evaluation, followed by employee and manager signatures acknowledging the improvement plan.

3. Professional Development Plan Template

Employee evaluations often highlight more than past performance-they reveal opportunities for growth that can shape an employee’s future career path. A performance review creates space to identify those opportunities by examining achievements, strengths and improvement areas while aligning employee development with organizational goals and long-term workforce planning.

This performance review template helps employees and managers organize career growth initiatives by documenting skills assessments, development goals and action steps. It provides a structured framework for planning training, tracking professional development progress and measuring skill advancement over time.

• Personal Information Section: Records basic identifying information such as employee name, job title, department, manager and plan creation date to ensure the professional development plan is clearly associated with the individual employee and their role.
• Current Skills Assessment: Provides space to evaluate existing competencies, strengths and improvement areas while incorporating self-assessment insights and feedback from managers or colleagues to create an accurate baseline for development planning.
• Professional Development Goals: Allows individuals to define measurable short-term and long-term career objectives that focus on acquiring new skills, expanding expertise and supporting both personal career advancement and organizational needs.
• Action Plan for Skill Development: Outlines the specific actions required to achieve development goals, such as training programs, professional certifications, mentorship opportunities, workshops or practical work assignments.
• Development Timeline: Establishes a structured schedule that assigns deadlines and timeframes to each development activity so employees can track progress and remain accountable for achieving their professional growth goals.
• Resources and Learning Support: Identifies the tools, learning materials and support systems needed to complete development activities, including courses, educational content, coaching or specialized software platforms.
• Performance Indicators and Evaluation: Defines measurable performance indicators and reflection opportunities that allow employees and managers to review progress, evaluate results and adjust the professional development plan when necessary.

4. Skills Matrix Template

During a performance review, managers evaluate how effectively employees apply their knowledge, technical abilities and professional skills to their daily responsibilities. These evaluations often highlight strengths, identify skill gaps and reveal training needs. Documenting these insights helps organizations plan employee development, improve workforce capabilities and support long-term performance management strategies.

This skills matrix template helps managers visualize employee competencies across multiple skills while identifying capability gaps that may affect team performance. By recording proficiency levels, assessment sources and recommended actions, the template supports workforce planning, targeted training initiatives and data-driven employee development decisions during performance reviews.

5. Training Record Template

Performance reviews often examine more than day-to-day results-they also consider how employees build skills and complete professional training over time. Managers review training participation, certifications and development progress to understand whether employees are improving their capabilities and meeting evolving job requirements within the organization.

This training record template helps organizations track employee training programs, course completion and certification timelines. It documents training types, providers, start and completion dates and employee status, allowing managers to monitor development activities, maintain compliance records and identify additional training needs during employee performance reviews.

6. 30-60-90 Day Plan Template

A 30-60-90 day plan outlines the goals, priorities and expectations for an employee’s first three months in a role. By breaking the onboarding period into three structured phases, managers can track progress, evaluate early performance and provide feedback that supports performance reviews, skill development and long-term employee success.

This 30-60-90 day plan template organizes employee onboarding goals into three phases while documenting SMART goals, action plans, deliverables and performance metrics. Managers and employees can track progress, identify resource requirements and measure early performance results during the first ninety days in a role.

7. SMART Goals Template for Word

Setting goals without a clear framework leads to vague objectives that are hard to track and even harder to achieve. A SMART goals template helps managers and employees define goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound, giving performance reviews a concrete foundation for evaluating progress and planning the next development cycle.

This SMART goals template for Word walks managers and employees through each component of the SMART framework, providing a structured worksheet to define and validate every goal. By capturing goals that are realistic and tied to a deadline, teams can use this template to set clear expectations before a review period begins and measure outcomes more objectively when it ends.

8. Training Matrix Template for Excel

Tracking employee certifications, skill levels and training deadlines across a team is difficult without a centralized document. A training matrix template gives managers a complete view of workforce readiness, making it easier to identify gaps, plan development activities and ensure all employees maintain the qualifications required for their roles.

This training matrix template for Excel organizes employees by row and training requirements by column, making it easy to record completion status, renewal dates and skill assessments in one place. HR managers and team leads can use it alongside performance reviews to document learning progress and plan upcoming training that supports both individual goals and organizational compliance.

ProjectManager Is an Award-Winning Project Management Software

ProjectManager offers robust project management features such as Gantt charts, task lists, workload management charts, timesheets and real-time dashboards and reports. In addition to that, it’s also equipped with AI project insights, online team collaboration features and unlimited file storage that further help project managers ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Watch the video to learn more!

Related Content

• 15 Goal-Setting Strategies for Individuals and Teams
• 15 Free Goal-Setting and Tracking Templates for Excel and Word
• How to Create SMART Goals (Example Included)
• How to Set CLEAR Goals: CLEAR Goal Examples
• How to Set FAST Goals: FAST Goal Examples
• How to Set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

If you need a tool to help you manage projects, then signup for our software now at ProjectManager. Our online software helps teams across industries plan, track and oversee projects as they unfold. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today!

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The templates below give you proven frameworks for ranking projects, tasks, risks and decisions by what actually matters. Each one is free to download for Excel or Word and ready to adapt to your team’s context. Whether you’re managing a backlog of competing requests or trying to allocate limited resources across multiple projects, one of these will give you a starting point that’s faster than building from scratch.

Project Prioritization Matrix Template

A project prioritization matrix helps teams evaluate and rank competing projects using a consistent set of criteria. Without one, prioritization decisions get made on gut feel, political pressure or whoever talks loudest in the room. A matrix forces the conversation to happen around shared criteria: strategic alignment, expected ROI, resource requirements and risk level. The result is a ranking that stakeholders can see, question and accept, even if their project didn’t come out on top.

This project prioritization matrix template gives portfolio managers and PMOs a structured scoring model for ranking projects across multiple weighted criteria. Assign weights to each factor based on what your organization values most, score each project against those criteria and let the matrix surface the ranking automatically. It’s the right tool for any team that needs to make resource allocation decisions in a way that can be explained and defended to leadership.

Eisenhower Matrix Template

The Eisenhower Matrix is one of the most durable prioritization frameworks in use because it’s built around a distinction that most people struggle with in practice: the difference between urgent and important. Urgent tasks demand immediate attention. Important tasks drive meaningful outcomes. The problem is that urgent tasks crowd out important ones, and without a system to separate them, the high-value work keeps getting pushed.

This Eisenhower matrix template divides your task list into four quadrants: do now, schedule, delegate and eliminate. It gives project managers and team leads a fast way to sort through a backlog and make clear decisions about what gets personal attention, what gets handed off and what gets dropped entirely. Use it at the start of a week or sprint to reset priorities before reactive work takes over the calendar.

Decision Matrix Template

When you’re choosing between options that all have merit, a decision matrix keeps the process objective. It works by listing your options as rows, defining your evaluation criteria as columns and scoring each option against each criterion. Apply weights to the criteria that matter most and the matrix calculates a total score for each option. The highest score isn’t always the final answer, but it gives the team a shared basis for the conversation instead of a room full of opinions.

This decision matrix template gives teams a ready-to-use scoring grid for evaluating options against weighted criteria. It’s built for situations where a decision needs to be made by a group and documented for accountability, from vendor selection to technology choices to project approach decisions. Fill in the criteria, apply your weights and run the scores to take subjectivity out of the equation.

Stop rebuilding prioritization frameworks from scratch every time you need to make a call. Try ProjectManager free for 30 days and prioritize work, track progress and report to stakeholders from a single connected platform.

Impact-Effort Matrix Template

The impact-effort matrix is the go-to tool for teams that have more good ideas than capacity to execute them. It maps work onto two axes: the impact it’s expected to deliver and the effort required to do it. The resulting quadrants make it easy to identify quick wins, deprioritize resource-heavy long shots and have an honest conversation about which initiatives are worth the investment.

This impact-effort matrix template gives product managers, operations teams and project leads a structured grid for plotting initiatives and surfacing prioritization decisions quickly. Use it in planning sessions to align the team on which work moves first and which ideas get parked until capacity opens up. It’s particularly effective in organizations running continuous improvement programs or managing large backlogs of requests.

Product Backlog Template

A backlog without prioritization is just a list. The whole point of maintaining a product or project backlog is to keep the highest-value work at the top so teams always know what to pull next. In practice, backlogs grow quickly and get messy. Features, bugs, improvements and stakeholder requests pile up, and without a regular grooming process, the team ends up pulling from the middle of the list or spending sprint planning arguing about what should come first.

This product backlog template gives agile teams a structured format for capturing user stories, features and tasks with priority levels, effort estimates and acceptance criteria in one organized view. It supports regular grooming by making it easy to sort, rank and update items as priorities shift. Use it alongside sprint planning to keep the team focused on delivering the highest-value work in every cycle.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Template

Prioritization often comes down to a resource question: given what this will cost, is it worth doing before something else? A cost-benefit analysis forces that question to be answered with numbers rather than assumptions. It adds up the full costs of a project or decision, quantifies the expected benefits and calculates the net value. When you have multiple options competing for the same budget, a cost-benefit analysis gives you the data to rank them objectively.

This cost-benefit analysis template gives project managers and business analysts a structured format for documenting costs, projecting benefits and calculating ROI, payback period and net present value. Use it during project selection or budget planning to compare initiatives side by side and give leadership the financial case they need to approve or reject a project with confidence.

Risk Matrix Template for Excel

Risk prioritization is a subset of the broader prioritization challenge: you can’t mitigate every risk on your register, so you need a way to decide which ones warrant immediate action and which can be monitored. A risk matrix does that by plotting each risk on two dimensions, likelihood and impact, and assigning a severity score based on where it lands. The result is a clear visual of which risks are critical and need a response plan now.

This risk matrix template for Excel gives project managers a color-coded grid for scoring and ranking project risks by likelihood and impact. Log each risk, assign scores and the matrix automatically places it into a severity band, from low to critical. Pair it with a risk register to create a complete risk management process that shows stakeholders exactly where the project’s exposure sits and what’s being done about the highest-priority items.

SMART Goals Template

Prioritization isn’t only about ranking a list of work. It starts with being clear about what success actually looks like. SMART goals, which are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound, are the foundation of any prioritization process that holds up. Vague goals produce vague prioritization decisions. When every objective is defined with a clear outcome, a timeline and a way to measure progress, it becomes much easier to sort work by what actually moves the needle.

This SMART goals template gives teams a structured format for defining and documenting goals that are grounded in each of the five criteria. Use it at the start of a project, planning cycle or performance period to align the team on what they’re working toward before deciding how to prioritize the work that gets them there. It’s a simple but high-leverage starting point for any team that wants better prioritization decisions downstream.

ProjectManager Is Better Than Prioritization Templates

Prioritization templates give you a framework for making decisions, but once the decision is made, you still need a system to execute it. Static spreadsheets don’t connect your priorities to the actual work. ProjectManager does, giving teams a live environment where priorities are visible, work is tracked in real time and the people managing the project always know what’s moving and what’s stuck.

Project Portfolio Management to Execute Your Priorities

Prioritization decisions only matter if the organization can act on them. ProjectManager’s project portfolio management tools give portfolio managers and PMOs a single place to track every active project, see how resources are allocated across the portfolio and monitor progress against strategic priorities in real time. When a higher-priority project needs more resources, you can see exactly where capacity exists and reallocate without rebuilding your spreadsheets. The portfolio dashboard surfaces health, budget and schedule data across all projects simultaneously, so the decisions you make with a prioritization matrix actually get reflected in how the team works.

AI Project Insights for Smarter Prioritization

Knowing what to prioritize next is easier when you have data telling you where the project is at risk. ProjectManager’s AI Project Insights analyzes your schedule, resource allocation and task progress in one click, flagging work that’s behind, identifying bottlenecks before they affect delivery and surfacing patterns that manual review would miss. It gives project managers the information they need to reprioritize in real time, not after the fact.

Related Content

• Project Prioritization: How to Prioritize Projects
• Task Prioritization: How to Prioritize Tasks in Project Management
• Eisenhower Matrix: Manage Your Time Better
• Decision Matrix: Definition, Example & How to Use
• Resource Allocation in Project Management
• Free Project Prioritization Matrix Template

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If you want to guide your team towards success, try ProjectManager. This award-winning project management software helps teams across industries plan, schedule and track work from start to finish. Create detailed schedules, manage resources, monitor costs and compare planned versus actual performance with a full suite of powerful tools. Get started for free today.

1. Roles and Responsibilities Template

Clear roles and responsibilities prevent duplicated work, missed deadlines and confusion during execution. Teams perform more consistently when every person understands their authority, assigned tasks and reporting structure. Establishing accountability early also improves communication between departments, speeds up decision-making and reduces conflicts that can delay projects, operations or client deliverables.

Built with organized role assignment fields, this template tracks departments, contact information, reporting relationships, responsibilities, key tasks and deliverables for every team member. Managers can quickly identify ownership across operations, procurement, finance and field teams while creating a centralized accountability document that supports staffing coordination, project execution and communication planning.

2. Meeting Agenda Template

A meeting agenda is a structured document used to organize discussion topics, presenters, timelines and action items before a meeting begins. Teams use agendas to keep conversations focused, manage time effectively and ensure important decisions are addressed. Consistent agendas also improve accountability by documenting priorities and expected meeting outcomes clearly.

Designed for recurring team coordination, this template includes sections for meeting details, leadership roles, attendees, objectives and scheduled agenda items. Teams can document chairpersons, secretaries and participant contact information while organizing discussions into timed segments that keep meetings structured, productive and aligned with project priorities or operational updates.

3. 30-60-90 Day Plan Template

A 30-60-90 day plan is a structured roadmap used to define goals, priorities and performance expectations during an employee’s first three months. Managers commonly use these plans for onboarding, leadership transitions and performance alignment. Breaking objectives into phases helps teams measure progress while giving employees a clear direction from day one.

Organized into 30-day phases, this template helps managers map SMART goals, action steps, deliverables, performance indicators and resource requirements for new employees or transitioning team leaders. Each section supports milestone tracking and structured onboarding by connecting measurable objectives with practical tasks, reporting expectations and operational performance benchmarks.

4. SMART Goals Template

SMART goals are structured objectives designed to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. Teams use SMART goals to create realistic performance targets, track measurable progress and improve accountability during projects, onboarding and operational planning. Breaking goals into measurable criteria also helps managers evaluate performance, prioritize work and monitor deadlines.

This SMART goals template organizes objectives into five structured categories with guided prompts for documenting success criteria, measurement methods, required resources, business relevance and completion deadlines. Teams can use the worksheet to build actionable goals, align employee expectations and create consistent performance tracking across projects, departments and operational improvement initiatives.

5. Performance Improvement Plan Template

A performance improvement plan is a structured document used to correct employee performance issues through measurable goals, timelines and management support. Organizations use these plans when employees fail to meet expectations, productivity standards or behavioral requirements. Defined milestones and documented evaluations help managers monitor progress while creating formal accountability procedures.

This performance improvement plan template includes sections for documenting performance issues, SMART goals, action steps, support resources, review timelines, evaluation criteria and final assessments. Managers can use it to create structured improvement plans, communicate expectations clearly and track employee progress through measurable milestones, review meetings and signed performance agreements consistently.

6. Skills Matrix Template

A skills matrix is a workforce management tool used to document employee skills, proficiency levels and training gaps across a team. Managers use skills matrices to allocate work, identify development needs and plan training initiatives. Comparing capabilities across departments also helps organizations improve staffing decisions, succession planning and operational coverage.

This skills matrix template tracks employee competencies, departments, proficiency gaps, assessment sources and recommended training actions in a centralized spreadsheet. Managers can compare technical and operational capabilities across teams while identifying certification needs, missing skills and development priorities. The template also supports workforce planning, cross-training initiatives and performance reviews processes.

7. Task Tracker Template

Tracking task progress helps teams identify delays, manage workloads and maintain accountability throughout project execution. Without visibility into assignments and deadlines, small issues can quickly disrupt schedules and priorities. Monitoring task status also improves communication between managers and team members while helping organizations respond faster to operational risks and changing project demands.

This task tracker template organizes assignments by priority, owner, status, deadlines and completion progress in a centralized dashboard. Built-in charts summarize task distribution and workflow status, giving managers a quick visual overview of team activity. The template also helps monitor overdue work, paused assignments and active tasks across ongoing projects.

8. RACI Matrix Template

A RACI matrix is a responsibility assignment chart used to define who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for project tasks. Teams use RACI matrices to eliminate confusion during execution, improve communication between departments and establish decision-making authority. Clear accountability structures also help reduce delays, duplicated work and approval bottlenecks.

Structured by project phases and functional roles, this RACI matrix template maps accountability across planning, execution and control activities. Teams can assign responsibility levels for tasks involving leadership, finance, design and product management while creating a centralized reference for approvals, communication workflows and stakeholder involvement throughout the project lifecycle.

9. RASCI Matrix Template

A RASCI matrix is a project management framework used to define who is responsible, accountable, supportive, consulted and informed for specific tasks. Organizations use RASCI matrices when projects involve multiple departments, subcontractors or stakeholders requiring coordinated responsibilities. Adding the supportive role improves collaboration by clarifying operational assistance during execution activities.

Designed around project phases and specialized construction roles, this RASCI matrix template assigns accountability across initiation, design, pre-construction and field operations tasks. Teams can coordinate architects, contractors, engineers, inspectors and clients within one responsibility chart while improving communication, approval tracking and collaboration throughout complex project execution workflows.

10. Training Matrix Template

A training matrix is a workforce management tool used to track employee training requirements, certifications, skill levels and compliance status. Organizations use training matrices to monitor workforce readiness, schedule recertifications and identify development gaps across departments. Maintaining accurate training records also helps managers support safety standards, operational consistency and regulatory compliance.

This training matrix template tracks employee roles, required training programs, certification deadlines, proficiency levels and completion status within one centralized spreadsheet. Managers can monitor active certifications, training methods, expiration dates and assessment responsibilities while identifying employees with incomplete or overdue training requirements across operational, compliance and technical workforce categories.

How to Manage Projects and Teams with ProjectManager

ProjectManager is an online project management solution that provides a complete set of work planning, scheduling and tracking tools, including Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists and real-time dashboards and reports. With these features, teams across industries can build detailed schedules, assign resources and monitor progress, costs and timelines.

ProjectManager also delivers AI-powered project insights to support better decision-making and connects with over 100 tools like Microsoft Project, Acumatica and Power BI. With its open API and wide range of integrations, organizations can seamlessly link ProjectManager to their existing systems. Watch the video below to learn more about how our software supports construction teams!

If you need a tool to help you manage projects, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager. Our online software helps teams across industries plan, track and oversee projects as they unfold. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today!

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Just as speeches get attention by opening with an ice breaker question or joke, a team meeting needs to open in a way that creates a team-bonding environment. So, what are the best ice breaker questions and games for meetings?

Why Should Teams Use Ice Breaker Questions and Games for Work Meetings?

Ice breakers are fun. Yes, meetings are about getting down to business, but opening one with an ice breaker helps break through that bad attitude that many might bring to the meeting. It’s also a way to get to know the people on your team. The closer the relationships, the better people work together.

Don’t think of an ice breaker as just a silly excuse to get people involved. It’s a team-building exercise. This is true for the coworker in the next cubicle or the remote worker on their computer at home. Ice breakers unite people, build better attitudes and create happier, more productive teams.

Who Should Participate in Ice Breaker Questions and Games?

The short answer is everyone. The long answer is that total involvement is essential for team building. Therefore, the person who is tasked with bringing the ice breaker questions to the meeting shouldn’t just be the one leading the meeting. That responsibility should rotate, allowing everyone to bring something to the table.

Ice breaker games for meetings should be collaborative in creation and execution. Have fun with it and learn what the guy next to you likes to have for breakfast or their favorite pastime. Okay, those are pretty lame ideas. Need inspiration? Read on, below are some of the best ice breaker games to make meetings fun.

Fun Ice Breaker Questions for Work

Here are some fun meeting ice breaker questions for work. Try them and let us know what you think. If you have techniques that you’ve used, share them with us. Together, we can use ice breaker games and team-building activities to make meetings less dreadful!

1. Superpower Selection

This classic ice breaker question is ideal for team bonding. Everyone is asked what superpower they would choose and why. There are the obvious ones, such as being able to fly or having superhuman strength, but there’s sure to be an oddball who’ll come with some leftfield power that is going to get some laughs. It’s a lighthearted ice breaker to get to know everyone better.

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2. One Word Game

What’s the one word you’d use to describe yourself? Everyone picks one and then they’re referred to by that name throughout the meeting. It’s more than a silly way to start the meeting; it helps you learn about the personality traits of your team members and lets everyone get to know one another a bit better. The best part of this ice breaker game it’s that it’s great for virtual meetings and remote teams.

Team building ice breakers are important to boost morale, but even the most cohesive group needs the right tools to get their work done. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that empowers teams to plan, manage and track their work in real time. Our multiple project views, including Gantt charts, kanban boards and task lists, all have task cards that facilitate collaboration with real-time commenting, easy file sharing and much more. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

3. Two Truths and One Lie

This is an easy and fun ice breaker game to put your team’s guard down, which allows them to work better together. Each person states three facts, two truths and one lie. They can be personal facts, historical facts or anything else. Now the others must determine which is false.

4. Rapid-Fire Questions

A fast-paced ice breaker game where participants answer quick questions under time pressure. This is a great option for energizing meetings and encouraging participation.

5. One-Minute Show & Tell

A simple ice breaker game where each person shares something meaningful within one minute. It helps build connection and storytelling skills.

6. Guess the Desk

Team members submit photos of their workspace and others guess whose is whose. It’s a simple and fun ice breaker game that’s especially tailored for remote teams.

7. What Kind of Car?

If your workplace was a car, what kind would it be? Or you could tweak that too if you were a car, or if your coworkers were cars, etc. You’re probably seeing how these ice breaker questions are almost a stealthy way to analyze your team and work environment.

8. What’s Your Theme Song?

Music is a great conversation starter and a great team bonding tool. For this ice breaker activity, ask the team to imagine they’re in a movie. What song would play when they walk into a scene? Would it be a rousing number like in Rocky or maybe something more somber? You can use that information throughout the project to, say, play music when a milestone has been completed.

Related: Staff Meeting Ideas: 7 Creative Tactics That Your Team Will Love

9. Bucket List

No, it’s not an ice breaker to name your favorite type of bucket. A bucket list collects the things a person wants to do before they die. Yes, it’s a bit morbid, but understanding that we are but mortal beings might help motivate the team to get their tasks done on time so they might actually cross off some of those bucket list items.

10. What Do You Do to Destress?

Stress is a normal part of one’s personal and professional life. Being able to successfully deal with your stress will make you happier and a better worker. That’s why asking the team what they do to destress is a great meeting ice breaker. It not only addresses that work can be stressful, but it also exposes everyone to many different ways to deal with stress, some of which they may never have thought of on their own. This connects the team, educates them and takes stress out of the shadows where it can do the most harm.

Related: 10 Super Fun Team Bonding Games

11. Movie That Made You Cry

Admit it, you’ve teared up in a dark theater. But there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Movies can be emotionally manipulative. That’s one of the reasons why we go. When everyone on the team opens up about that tearjerker that hit them in the heart, whether it’s Bambi or The Shawshank Redemption, it’ll accelerate team bonding.

12. What’s a Small Win You Had This Week?

This is a simple but effective ice breaker question for work that helps teams start meetings on a positive, encouraging note. It’s one of those fun icebreaker questions that promotes quick sharing, builds momentum and boosts overall team morale right from the start.

13. What’s One Skill You Want to Learn This Year?

A thoughtful ice breaker question that helps team members connect over personal and professional growth. It’s a great way to spark meaningful conversations while encouraging employees to share goals and support each other’s development.

14. What’s Your Go-to Productivity Trick?

One of the most practical ice breaker questions for work, this prompt encourages team members to share tips and strategies that improve efficiency. It’s perfect for sparking useful discussions while helping teams learn from each other.

15. What’s a Recent Challenge You Overcame?

This reflective ice breaker question encourages team members to share experiences and lessons learned. It helps build empathy, trust and stronger connections, making it ideal for creating a supportive and collaborative team environment.

16. Zombie Apocalypse

Okay, this is a strange one, but it’s sure to bring people out of their shells and help build a collaborative environment. Ask how everyone would survive in a world in which zombies ran wild. Not only will this uncover the survivalists in the group, but the ice breaker will show people’s coping skills. Watch out for the guy who says he’d just get killed as fast as possible to get the nightmare over with.

17. Pet Introductions

Not everyone has a pet, but those who do are passionate about them. Take a moment for those pet owners to introduce their pets to the group. If the ice breaker is added to the meeting announcement, they can even bring a picture, which is sure to get some oohs and ahs. For those people who don’t have pets, they can explain why they’re heartless monsters.

18. Time Period

Ask everyone in the meeting about what time period they would like to visit if they had a time machine. It can include the future. This will reveal a lot about the group. For example, who knew the IT guy was into the Renaissance? Well, everyone actually, as he won’t stop talking about last weekend’s Renaissance Faire.

19. Personality Quiz

This one is a great team-building activity that works great for small teams. Simply grab or create a personality quiz and hand it to your team members. Once they fill it out, ask each of them whether they agree with the results and ask them a couple of ice breaker questions. This is a great conversation starter and a great way to know your team members’ personality traits.

Related: 10 Strategies to Motivate Your Team

20. The End…

Write a fragment of a sentence on a whiteboard or a piece of paper or just say it aloud to the group. Now ask them to complete it. You can take this in any number of directions, from a project-related sentence to a morale-related one or even something in a Mad Libs manner.

21. Desert Island Picks

This classic ice breaker game asks participants what three items they’d bring to a desert island. It’s a fun way to spark creativity and conversation.

22. Share the Love

In the heat of work, it’s easy to forget that you’re a group of people and not automatons on deadline. Yes, there’s a part of you that must be dispassionate and devote yourself to the whole, but ignoring the individual and their emotional needs will come back to haunt you and your productivity. Share the love is a game that remedies that by having everyone on the team say something nice about another person on the team. Keep it respectful and in good taste and you’ll watch the smiles rise over the faces of everyone on the team.

Fun Ice Breaker Games for Meetings

Getting a team to work together means building that team. Fun ice breaker games do just that, break that ice that freezes teams in a rigid way. Using these games will help to melt that ice and build the bonds that all well-performing teams have developed.

Related: 10 Super Fun Team Bonding Games

23. Mystery Object Game

This one will take a bit of planning, but that makes it more engaging. The idea for this ice breaker is to have everyone bring in a random object from their workspace and share its story or significance. People love to personalize their desks or offices, but the reason behind the object is not always evident. This will offer a nice window into a coworker’s personality.

24. Reverse Pictionary

Almost everyone is familiar with Pictionary. It’s where someone has to draw a word that they’ve been given and the group has to guess what that word is from their drawing. Only this turns the game around. Instead of drawing, describe an object without naming it while others try to guess what it is. This ice breaker is fun and sets a good tone for the start of the meeting.

25. The Marshmallow Game

This ice breaker game was first introduced by Tom Wujec in a TED talk. It’s great for team bonding because it requires people to work together to build a structure using 20 spaghetti sticks, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string and a marshmallow in 18 minutes. There’s one rule for this construction project, the marshmallow must be on top.

26. Paper Airplane Game

This is one of those ice breaker questions that work only for in-person meetings. Here’s how it works. First, pass colored paper sheets to your team members and ask them to write an interesting fact about themselves. Then ask them to make a paper airplane. Once they’re ready, each team member will throw his or her paper airplane to the other side of the room. Pick up the paper airplanes, read them out loud and have them guess whose paper airplane it is.

27. Exquisite Corpse

This is an ice breaker game that was created by the Surrealists in which you divide a piece of paper into three. Three people must draw the head, torso and legs, respectively, without seeing what the person before them drew. Inevitably, the final drawing is a hoot. So, break the group up into threes and have them get drawings as you set up the meeting. Who cares if they draw well or not? The worse they draw, the more hilarious the outcome.

28. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great team-building activity for new hires because it lets them get familiarized with the office. A surprise scavenger hunt is a great ice breaker game to get everybody to know each other and collaborate. Once the scavenger hunt is finished, everybody can have a productive meeting.

29. Hot & Cold

Hide something in the room, maybe some money or the meeting agenda or something random. Then, have the team try and work together to discover it. You only can respond by saying they’re hot or cold when they search. Depending on how big your meeting room is, this might be an absurd assignment, but that just makes it a better ice breaker.

30. The Squid Game

The Netflix hit from Korea, Squid Game is the opposite of an ice breaker, it’s a depressing illustration of “every man for himself.” But the premise is built on playing a bunch of children’s games. When you’re a child, playing an ice breaker game in the mud with a stranger ends with you both best friends. Using the popular show as a starting point, ask the group to come up with things they played in childhood. Whatever games, from blind man’s bluff to dodgeball, it doesn’t matter. You’ll find at the end of the team-building exercise that everyone is laughing and happily working together.

31. Stand Up

Remove the chairs from the room in which you’re meeting and tell everyone that it’s a standup meeting. Not only is there evidence that standup meetings are more efficient, but you’re likely to have a faster and more productive meeting because people will get tired of standing around.

32. Charades

Let’s wrap this up with one of the classic ice breaker questions for work, charades. You’ve undoubtedly played this as a kid or maybe at a party. It’s fun and easy—no equipment needed. If you’re unfamiliar, charades is a game where one person thinks of a word or phrase (you can narrow the choices to movie, song or book titles, animals, etc.) and then has to get the others to guess the word or phrase by acting it out, without speaking. There’s a reason this game is a classic. It’s a great way to loosen the tie (if people still wear ties!) and make a bunch of individuals into a team.

33. Red Light, Green Light

You probably remember playing this game as a child. That speaks to its simplicity, longevity and how much fun it is. As in the old schoolyard game, everyone lines up on one side of the room and a designated leader will shout out green light, which means everyone moves forward, or red light, which means they have to stop. If you keep moving after the leader says red light, you’re out. There’s not much to this game, but then the most fun is usually had with the least complexity. Watch as your team immediately loosens up.

Best Ice Breakers for Virtual Meetings

One of the biggest concerns as teams move to work remotely is accountability. Will they be as productive apart as they can be together under the watchful eye of their supervisor or manager? The answer is yes, but only if you keep them connected virtually and use that digital platform to strengthen the ties that may not be visible but can stretch over time zones.

34. Dinner Party

This ice breaker asks participants to choose three people, living, dead, real or fictional, with whom they’d like to have a dinner party. It’s a great way to learn about other people’s interests as they name the historic figures, fictional characters or whomever and explain why they picked them.

35. Meme Sharing

Yes, memes. They’re not for kids anymore. While the internet didn’t invent the idea of a meme, which is just something that is shared and popular, it did make it even more viral. Besides the internet being the greatest meme generator in history, memes can be a great way to have some laughs before the meeting. Or you can make the ice breaker more targeted, asking people to share a meme that represents their mood or the work week so far.

36. Background Story

Ask participants to explain their virtual background of choice. It’s a virtual ice breaker that also doubles as a fun ice breaker question, encouraging creativity in the digital workplace.

37. Chat Storm

Pose a question and have everyone answer in the chat at the same time. This is an engaging and fast-paced ice breaker game for virtual meetings.

38. Emoji Check-In

Ask everyone at the meeting to share an emoji that represents how they’re feeling right now. Yes, there’s a chance you’re going to get some frowny faces. But it’s better to have a clear picture of the emotional state of those in attendance before the meeting starts. This ice breaker can help the leader better guide them through the meeting.

39. No Smiling

This ice breaker game will make your team members laugh and it works for in-person or virtual meetings. Tell everyone in a very serious tone that you won’t tolerate any smiling. Then tell a joke. See if people can keep a straight face. You might not be a comedian, but it’s harder than you think not to laugh. Chances are that within five minutes, everyone will be laughing their faces off. That’s exactly what good team meeting ice breaker questions do. It’s a great way to start a team meeting, and you’ll find it a more effective one because of it.

40. Emoji Reactions Only

Emojis can go a long way in communicating how you feel. In this playful ice breaker game, team members respond to prompts only using emojis. It’s a simple game that keeps virtual meetings interactive.

41. Two-Minute Coffee Chat

How well does your virtual team really know each other? Break participants into pairs for quick conversations. It’s a simple yet effective ice breaker for work that builds connections.

42. Make a Portrait

Again, this ice breaker game has nothing to do with being artistic. Have team members turn to whoever is sitting next to them and then have each draw a portrait of the other. People aren’t going to be especially happy with the results (no one’s likely to frame these pictures), but they’ll be playful, which is a great atmosphere to start a meeting. This ice breaker game can also work for remote teams.

43. 10 Things We Have In Common

If you’re trying to bond an organization with many disparate departments or remote teams that mostly interact by email or text, get them all together and direct them to discuss among themselves what they have in common. Have the goal for the group be to list 10 things they share. You might find weird commonalities among the group, which is fun, but the real objective is to bring people together. This ice breaker quickly melts the hard exterior of unfamiliarity and builds partnership.

44. Use PM Software for Virtual Teams

You can take the collaborative features of your project management tool, like ProjectManager, to get the team working together on fun ways to start a meeting with remote teams. Have them create a chatroom where they can discuss the meeting to come. You might even send them an agenda, so they can think about what the meeting will be about. Then they have ownership of the ice breaker and buy-in to the meeting.

45. Guess That Drawing

Being able to draw well might help in this meeting ice breaker, but it’s not required. In fact, the game is more fun when you can’t even draw a straight line. The idea is that one team draws a word and the other tries to guess it. Use a tool like Drawarsaurus, which asks you to enter a nickname, create a room and save it as private by creating a password. Then share the link with the virtual team. Once everyone has designated themselves as ready to play, you’ll begin. Whoever guesses the word being illustrated fastest wins. It’s a great way to quickly bond distributed teams.

46. Themed Meetings

It’s a silly idea, but don’t dismiss it as trivial. It’s great for holidays but can be used anytime to lighten the mood before getting to work. You can dress up as your favorite summertime character or in a Halloween costume, depending on the season. You can also just decide that everyone wears a mustache. Whatever theme you pick, make sure it’s in good taste and communicate the theme to everyone before the meeting. You don’t want to make anyone feel left out. That defeats the purpose of the meeting ice breaker. This can be done for virtual meetings, but also for when you’re together in one room.

Best Ice Breaker Questions for Work Meetings

An ice breaker doesn’t have to be a game. In fact, some of the easiest and most rewarding are simply well-asked questions. You can learn things about them that you would never find out from just working together. The more team members know each other and can relate to each other, the better they’ll work together and the higher their morale–and that leads to greater productivity.

47. What’s Your Favorite Year?

As the meeting settles, get people focused by asking what their favorite year is and why. Not only is this interesting, but it’s a team bonding activity that provides an avenue for people to know each other more intimately.

48. What Annoys You?

Ask each person to reveal the personality trait that’s most irritating to them. It’s good for a laugh, though you might fear it could make for a disharmonious team. You’d be surprised, what appears might help you resolve conflicts before they occur.

49. Problem-Solving Challenge

Give teams a quick scenario to solve together. This collaborative ice breaker game promotes teamwork and critical thinking.

50. Common Ground Challenge

Small groups find 5 things they all have in common. This could be anything from a favorite movie to the number of pets they have. This is a classic team building ice breaker game that strengthens connections.

51. Build-a-Story

Want to tell a fun story, but you’re not sure how it will end? Try this. Each person adds a sentence to a group story. This creative ice breaker game encourages collaboration and humor.

52. Role Swap Perspective

Sometimes, getting to know the role of a team member can spark new connections or ideas. Ask team members to describe a day in another role on the team. This ice breaker for work builds empathy and understanding.

53. Who Are You?

Hand out blank paper and ask each person to write or draw a short description of themselves. Then put all the papers face down in the middle of the table and go through them, trying to figure out who belongs to which description. You can do this yourself, which gives the team a chance to further bond as they work together to help you out.

54. M&Ms

Everyone loves candy. Admit it! So, why not get a bag of M&M’s and pass them out? Whatever color the person gets means that they have to answer a specific question about themselves. You can have some fun figuring out what the questions are. This is one of those ice breaker games that are great conversation starters.

55. Stranded Desert Island Picks

You’ve heard the old, “If you were stranded on a desert island, what one book would you have with you?” Well, find out! It could be books, music, food, etc. Again, a silly ice breaker question, but a real team-building activity for in-person or virtual meetings that helps to better know the people on your team.

Related: Staff Meeting Ideas: 7 Creative Tactics That Your Team Will Love

56. Be Honest

It might seem like a dangerous door to open, but ask the team to be honest about their day. The Huffington Post says that “the best business is done when you’re being true and authentic.” If nothing else, you’re sure to get engagement from the team, and that’s how you want to start a meeting, with a fully engaged room.

57. What’s One Project You’re Excited About?

This is a great ice breaker question for work meetings that helps teams align on priorities and share enthusiasm. It’s one of the best ice breaker questions for encouraging engagement and giving visibility into what everyone is working on.

58. What Keeps You Motivated at Work?

A thoughtful ice breaker question that opens up conversations around productivity and mindset. It’s a useful addition to ice breaker questions for work, helping teams learn what drives each other.

59. What’s the Best Piece of Career Advice You’ve Received?

This is one of those fun icebreaker questions that also delivers real value. It encourages knowledge-sharing and makes it a standout among best ice breaker questions for work meetings.

60. What’s One Thing You’d Like More Support with Right Now?

A more intentional ice breaker question for work that promotes transparency and collaboration. It helps teams identify opportunities to support one another, making it both practical and impactful.

How ProjectManager Gets the Most Out of Teams

Once the ice is broken and the team is formed, the real work begins. ProjectManager is award-winning software that helps teams work better together. With ProjectManager, teams can plan projects, schedule work and collaborate on tasks. Plus, with unlimited file storage, they can upload as many documents and images as they need to get the work done.

Projects can be created by simply uploading a task list. Once started, teams love the multiple project views, such as kanban boards that visualize workflows and keep teams focused on the tasks at hand. Kanban boards also give managers visibility into the process, so they know who is working on what. Celebrate victories with ProjectManager and its online project management software.

Foster real teamwork with the right tools. ProjectManager is online software that takes teamwork to new heights, whether people work in-house or remotely. See how ProjectManager can improve everyone’s productivity by taking this free 30-day trial.

The post 60 Ice Breaker Questions & Games for Work appeared first on ProjectManager.

In this blog, you’ll find:

• Inspirational teamwork quotes
• Motivational teamwork quotes
• Funny teamwork quotes
• Uplifting teamwork quotes
• Appreciation teamwork quotes
• Leadership teamwork quotes

Don’t forget that, while employee motivation is key to success in the workplace, it’s not all you and your team need to succeed. You’ll also need project management software like ProjectManager. Our award-winning software offers teams the tools they need to plan, schedule and keep track of all their projects and strategies in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Tips to Manage Teams & Promote Teamwork

Before we look at the best teamwork quotes from history, let’s start with some key team management tips. In the video below, Jennifer Bridges, Professional Project Manager (PMP) explains how leaders can motivate their team members and help them better collaborate with each other.

Best 70 Teamwork Quotes

In the list below, we’ve included the best teamwork quotes along with a visual version of each quote so that you can easily drop your favorite teamwork quote into an email or Slack channel when your team needs that extra motivation. So, without further ado, here are 70 of the best inspirational quotes about teamwork.

Inspirational Teamwork Quotes

Inspirational teamwork quotes can help teams stay aligned, focused and committed to a shared goal. Whether you’re leading a project or building a collaborative culture, these quotes about teamwork and collaboration can spark fresh perspectives and reinforce the importance of working together.

1. “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” – Henry Ford

Henry Ford built cars, but his most famous innovation was the factory assembly line, which took teamwork to a whole new level and revolutionized the automotive industry. Besides that, he’s got great team success quotes.

2. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Don’t tell Helen Keller that she had disabilities. She knew that a person is more than the sum of their parts.

3. “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.” – Napoleon Hill

Self-help author Napoleon Hill wrote a book called Think and Grow Rich. Those are two things we can all get behind.

4. “None of us is as smart as all of us.” – Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard is a management guru, best known for his 13-million-copy-selling tome The One Minute Manager. It takes even less time than that to read his insightful quote.

5.“A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of themselves and their contribution to praise the skills of others.” – Norman Shidle

This is one of the best teamwork quotes, showing how trust and recognition strengthen teams. It’s perfect for inspiring collaboration and highlights the value of uplifting teamwork quotes.

6. “The best teamwork comes from people who are working independently toward one goal in unison.” – James Cash Penney

A strong addition to motivational quotes for teamwork, this quote reminds teams that alignment and shared focus drive success.

7. “No team works out teamwork.” – Dwyane Wade

This concise teamwork motivational quote emphasizes the effort required to build effective collaboration, making it ideal for team meetings.

8. “You are either supporting the vision or supporting division.” – Saji Ijiyemi

A powerful, uplifting team building teamwork quote, perfect for encouraging unity and shared goals.

9. “A successful team is a group of many hands and one mind.” – Bill Bethel

This quote reinforces collaboration and can be used as a best teamwork quote to inspire aligned efforts across teams.

10. “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

If anyone deserved to run a company named after the most famous symbol for knowledge, it was Steve Jobs. At Apple, he rallied teams to successes that continue to resonate today through excellent team management. There are many famous teamwork quotes that came from his motivational speeches at Apple.

11. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan

What can’t Michael Jordan do? The basketball star has parlayed his post-sports career into a powerful empire, and his sneakers are pretty great, too. He’s also right about teamwork.

12. “Teamwork makes the dream work.” – John C. Maxwell

John C. Maxwell was a leadership visionary, but even from his perch on top, he could see the importance of teamwork.

13. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson is a man who has experienced teamwork in the athletic world. Like other sports legends, he’s remembered for his teamwork quotes. This phrase captures the importance of collaboration in any team, project or organization.

14. “Success is best when it’s shared.” – Howard Schultz

This is one of the most impactful motivational quotes for teamwork, highlighting how shared success motivates teams and encourages collaboration.

15. “None of us can do it alone.” — Ray Kroc

A simple and effective teamwork motivational quote that emphasizes collective effort over individual work.

16. “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

A thoughtful addition to uplifting team building teamwork quotes, showing how collaboration enhances creativity and innovation.

17. “When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back.” — Michael Schumacher

This motivational quote for teamwork emphasizes the importance of building early collaboration for long-term results.

18. “Collaboration allows us to know more than we are capable of knowing by ourselves.” — Paul Solarz

A strong uplifting team building teamwork quote that highlights how teamwork expands knowledge and drives collective success.

19. “You don’t get any medal for trying something, you get medals for results.” — Bill Parcells

This teamwork motivational quote encourages accountability and outcome-focused collaboration.

Motivational Teamwork Quotes

Motivational teamwork quotes for work energize teams and encourage shared effort. They’re ideal for project leaders and employees looking for inspiration to achieve collective goals.

20. “The nicest thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” – Margaret Carty

You might have come across this quote by Margaret Carty. It’s a good one. Oddly, there’s little-to-no biographical information on her. It’s a mystery, and who doesn’t love a mystery?

21. “Many hands make light work.” – John Heywood

This classic is one of the best teamwork quotes for highlighting how collaboration eases workloads. It’s a perfect example of motivational team building, teamwork quotes that remind teams why shared effort matters.

22. “The nicest thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” – Margaret Carty

A heartening appreciation teamwork quote, this emphasizes the support and trust that make teams successful. It’s ideal for reinforcing positive collaboration and boosting morale.

23. “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” – H.E. Luccock

This inspiring quote is a standout among motivational quotes for teamwork, showing that collective effort creates results no individual could achieve alone. It also works as an uplifting team building teamwork quote for encouraging unity and shared purpose.

24. “A single leaf working alone provides no shade.” – Chuck Page

This uplifting team building teamwork quote visually demonstrates the power of collaboration. It encourages teams to rely on one another for maximum impact.

25. “Together, ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results.” – Becka Schoettle

A standout among best teamwork quotes, highlighting how cooperation leads to exceptional outcomes and inspires team confidence.

26. “It takes two flints to make a fire.” — Louisa May Alcott

This poetic teamwork motivational quote illustrates how collaboration creates momentum and sparks success.

27. “When we work together, we can accomplish far more than we ever could alone.” – Unknown

A classic motivational quote for teamwork, perfect for inspiring collective effort and reinforcing the value of unity.

28. “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek

This uplifting teamwork quote emphasizes the power of collaboration and shared purpose.

Uplifting Teamwork Quotes

Uplifting teamwork quotes can boost morale and encourage a positive team culture. These quotes remind teams that support, trust and cooperation are central to long-term success.

29. “To me, teamwork is a lot like being part of a family. It comes with obligations, entanglements, headaches, and quarrels. But the rewards are worth the cost.” – Pat Summit

While no family has the perfect relationship, the rewards often outweigh the hardships. Pat Summit sums it up beautifully in this teamwork quote.

30. “Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek

American poet Mattie Stepanek understands the importance of teamwork. While you certainly have your own goals you want to achieve, doing so in a group setting requires leaning on others to find success, which is also true when executing projects.

31. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African proverb

There’s something to be said about relying on other people to get you to the finish line. Think of your teammates like your biggest cheerleaders and you’re all working toward a common goal.

32. “Growth is never mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” – James Cash Penney

James Cash Penny, also known as J.C. Penny, understood that achieving goals was a process never left up to chance. It’s important to lean on those around you to help accomplish things that you couldn’t do alone.

33. “People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.” – Vince Lombardi

American football coach Vince Lombardi didn’t stumble into his success. He knew that teamwork was one of the most effective ways to overcome any obstacles or bring any plan to fruition.

Leadership Teamwork Quotes

Leadership teamwork quotes highlight how strong leaders inspire collaboration, guide their teams and achieve shared goals. These quotes showcase the value of effective communication, trust and vision, making them perfect for motivating employees, managers and project teams to work together toward success.

34.“The best way to serve the individuals on the team is to see that the whole team wins.” – John C. Maxwell

Renowned American author, speaker and leadership expert has a good reminder for all of us. When working toward a goal, know that you will only be as successful as your team.

35. “I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” – Abby Wambach

American soccer legend Abby Wambach knows that her success on the field can always be attributed to a teammate. The same can be said for off-field scenarios as well.

36. “We may all have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” -Martin Luther King Jr

Civil rights leader and advocate Martin Luther King Jr. had a way with words. His teamwork quote is a good reminder that despite any previous differences, we can all come together as one.

37. “To build a strong team, you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness and not a threat to your position or authority.” -Christine Caine

American author and activist Christine Caine reminds us that skills, strengths and weaknesses can benefit one another in a team setting.

38. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton is one of the most notorious intellectuals that the world has seen. Even a brilliant man like him knew the importance of teamwork. In this quote, Isaac Newton explains he didn’t achieve all his accomplishments by himself, but rather through teamwork and the work of those who came before him.

39. “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

If anyone deserved to run a company named after the most famous symbol for knowledge, it was Steve Jobs. At Apple, he rallied teams to successes that continue to resonate today through excellent team management. There are many famous teamwork quotes that came from his motivational speeches at Apple.

40. “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” – Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin spent many years analyzing a wide variety of animal species to develop his famous evolution theory. During those years, he realized that teamwork and collaboration are not only inherent to humankind but are also important in the animal kingdom.

Related: 10 Strategies to Motivate Your Team

41. “[Teamwork] is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” – Andrew Carnegie

Industrialist philanthropist Andrew Carnegie knew that if each team member gave their all, the collective effort would lead to success.

42. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

Constructive criticism should be always welcome in any team. We must strive to help our teammates flourish, in any way we can. Because when one member of the team becomes great, then the team becomes great, as Mark Twain says.

43. “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” – Harry Truman

Harry Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, surely knew a thing or two about leadership. This is a great teamwork quote from history because it shows the importance of selflessness when being part of any team.

Achieving better results alongside your team often requires reflecting on what went well within your project. This helps you establish what went well and what can improve the next time. Take advantage of our free lessons learned template for guidance.

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44. “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” – George Shinn

George Shinn, an American entrepreneur and owner of sports teams, knows that teamwork is key to achieving goals, whether those are personal goals, business objectives or the completion of a project.

Funny Teamwork Quotes

Funny teamwork quotes for work help relieve stress while reminding teams of the importance of collaboration. Humor can boost engagement and strengthen relationships.

45. “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

This teamwork quote helps us understand the importance of letting others contribute with their talent. It’s important to let our teammates do their job and provide them with a collaborative environment where they feel welcome, as this teamwork helps us grow and makes our own ideas better.

46. “Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” – Vince Lombardi

Vince Lombardi is another sports legend who’s known for his famous teamwork quotes. He truly experienced the power of teamwork, as he expressed in this quote.

47. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” – Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, is an experienced entrepreneur who understands how teamwork helps organizations grow. This short teamwork quote sums up the power of working as a team.

48. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is best known as the author of the children’s classic The Little Prince. He was also an enthusiastic aviator and knew that it was better to fly as a flock than to fly alone.

49. “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.” – Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was a great leader for a number of reasons, and one that’s famous for his teamwork quotes. One of them is that he understood that teamwork wins the fight, and quotes like the one below show how good he was at motivating not only the troops but everyone into supporting the war effort.

Our online tool helps teams collaborate on projects in real time with comments, status updates and file sharing—with immediate notifications in-app and through email when tasks are updated. We’re not saying that WWII could have ended sooner with our software, but we have squeezed greater efficiencies out of projects both big and small. Get started with ProjectManager for free today.

50. “It takes two flints to make a fire.” – Louisa May Alcott

Author Louisa May Alcott wrote the novel Little Women, which is as influential now as it was when first published in 1868 and knows that characters, like people, work best together.

51. “If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it.” – Bear Bryant

Paul W. Bryant, commonly known as Bear Bryant, was the head coach of the University of Alabama football team for 25 years. During that time, they won six national championships and 13 conference championships. Now that’s teamwork!

52. “In union there is strength.” Aesop

You’ve read Aesop’s fables in school. Maybe you should go back and read the Greek storyteller again. There’s a lot of wisdom in those stories.

53. “When he took time to help the man up the mountain, lo, he scaled it himself.” – Tibetan Proverb

A proverb is a simple saying that gains popularity over time. This Tibetan proverb is deceptively simple and offers a great lesson on teamwork.

54. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

Margaret Mead was a cultural anthropologist who spent her life studying the holistic view of human nature. So, who better to comment on the nature of teamwork than the icon herself?

55. “When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing.” – Bo Schembechler

Bo Schembechler was one of the most victorious college football coaches in history. So, it’s wise to listen when he’s offering advice on teamwork.

56. “In teamwork, silence isn’t golden, it’s deadly.” – Mark Sanborn

Entrepreneur Mark Sanborn is a wealth of wisdom, and thankfully he likes to share the wealth.

57. “Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.” – Patrick Lencioni

Management and teamwork expert Patrick Lencioni is best known for his bestselling book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, so he’s someone all teams should listen to.

58. “I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I sure can pick smart colleagues.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Franklin D. Roosevelt got the United States through the Great Depression and the Second World War. He knew it wasn’t just what you can do, but what you and your team can accomplish.

59. “You are either supporting the vision or supporting division.” – Saji Ijiyemi

Leadership pro and author Saji Ijiyemi knows that a leader is only as good as the team supporting them.

60. “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” – Henry Ford

We’ve already mentioned Henry Ford on this list, and it turns out that he was full of knowledge about teamwork. This quote is a good reminder to keep your eyes on the prize.

61. “The ratio of We’s to I’s is the best indicator of the development of a team.” –Lewis B. Ergen

Fake news? Maybe. Lewis B. Ergen is another attributed quote whose author is elusive to the research department here at ProjectManager. But if this is a fake quote, the sentiment behind it isn’t.

62. “Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.” – Kenyan Proverb

If Africa is the cradle of civilization, then there’s a lot we can learn as this Kenyan proverb proves.

Appreciation Teamwork Quotes

Teamwork appreciation quotes are a meaningful way to recognize contributions and celebrate team success. Recognizing each role motivates employees and strengthens culture.

63. “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

Baseball legend Babe Ruth is so famous they named a candy bar after him. But his real worth is that he was but one part of one of the winningest teams ever, the New York Yankees.

64. “The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of its behind.” — Joseph Stilwell

Army general Joseph Stilwell led troops during the Second World War. For him, teamwork was the difference between life and death.

65. “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” – Ryūnosuke Satoro

Japanese short story writer Ryūnosuke Satoro is best known as the author of “In a Grove.” It was famously adapted by director Akira Kurosawa as the movie Rashōmon, which retold a story from several different participants’ perspectives.

66. “Alone we can do so little; together we can recognize so much.” – Adapted/Unknown

An appreciation teamwork quote that combines recognition and collaboration, reminding teams that every contribution matters.

67. “Appreciation can make a day—even change a life.” – Margaret Cousins

A highly effective appreciation teamwork quote, showing how recognition can boost morale and build a positive team culture.

68. “Everyone on the team matters. Every role counts.” – Unknown

An uplifting team building teamwork quote emphasizing inclusivity and shared responsibility across the team.

69. “Recognition is the greatest motivator.” – Gerard C. Eakedale

A strong best teamwork quote, reinforcing how appreciation and recognition fuel engagement and performance.

70. “A successful team beats with one heart.” – Unknown

This teamwork motivational quote highlights unity and alignment, perfect for reinforcing collective purpose.

Related Quotes

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• 34 of the Best Planning Quotes
• The 25 Most Inspiring Leadership Quotes
• 60 Best Business Quotes to Inspire Entrepreneurs & Go-Getters

If you’re looking for project management tools like Gantt charts, Kanban boards and project calendars to kickstart your teamwork efforts, then try ProjectManager, online project management software. It has the tools your team needs to communicate and collaborate in real time. Get started for free. 

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What Are FAST Goals?

FAST goals are a goal-setting framework designed to help teams maintain focus, accountability and alignment while executing complex work. The acronym stands for Frequently discussed, Ambitious, Specific and Transparent, meaning goals should be reviewed regularly, stretch team performance, define clear outcomes and remain visible across the organization. The main purpose of a FAST goal is to keep priorities active in day-to-day operations so teams continuously track progress, coordinate work and adjust execution when project conditions change.

Related: 15 Free Goal-Setting and Tracking Templates for Excel and Word

Once goals are defined, teams need tools to plan the work and track progress. ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that helps turn a big hairy audacious goal into an executable project plan by organizing tasks, building project timelines and monitoring progress in real time. Teams can track milestones, manage resources and visualize progress through dashboards and Gantt charts, ensuring their goals stay aligned with schedules, budgets and priorities. Get started for free today.

Who Should Set FAST Goals?

Modern organizations operate through teams, not isolated individuals. That’s why FAST goals are designed to guide groups that collaborate, track progress and deliver results together. Whether a team manages projects, develops products or executes strategic initiatives, this framework helps maintain alignment, visibility and measurable progress across shared objectives.

• Product development teams: Teams building software, hardware or digital products benefit from FAST goals because frequent progress discussions and transparent metrics help coordinate feature development, sprint planning and product release timelines.
• Project management teams: Groups responsible for planning and executing projects use FAST goals to maintain alignment around project objectives, track milestones and ensure progress stays visible across stakeholders.
• Executive leadership teams: Senior leaders can apply FAST goals to translate strategic priorities into visible, organization-wide objectives that remain ambitious while staying specific enough for teams to execute.
• Operations and process improvement teams: Continuous improvement initiatives rely on measurable performance targets, and FAST goals help operational teams monitor progress while keeping improvement efforts transparent across departments.
• Sales and revenue teams: Sales organizations benefit from ambitious but specific targets that are discussed frequently during pipeline reviews, helping managers track revenue progress and adjust strategy quickly.
• Cross-functional initiative teams: When multiple departments collaborate on large initiatives, FAST goals create shared visibility and accountability, ensuring every team understands the objectives and how their work contributes to overall outcomes.

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Fast Goals Template

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What Are the Benefits of FAST Goals?

When teams treat goals as living priorities instead of static statements, execution becomes far more coordinated. A fast goal helps organizations keep objectives visible, measurable and actively discussed throughout the project lifecycle. By tying goal-setting to regular conversations, clear outcomes and shared transparency, FAST goals strengthen alignment, improve accountability and help teams maintain steady progress toward meaningful results.

• Stronger team alignment: FAST goals create a shared understanding of what success looks like. Because goals are transparent and discussed frequently, every team member understands how their work connects to broader project objectives and organizational priorities.
• Better accountability across teams: Visibility is a core element of FAST goals. When objectives and progress metrics are openly shared, individuals and teams naturally take greater ownership of deliverables, deadlines and performance outcomes.
• Faster decision-making: Regular conversations around FAST goals allow teams to quickly identify obstacles and adjust priorities. Instead of waiting for quarterly reviews, leaders and project managers can make timely decisions that keep initiatives moving forward.
• Clearer performance tracking: Because FAST goals are specific, they define measurable outcomes that teams can monitor over time. This clarity makes it easier to track progress against milestones, project timelines and strategic targets.
• Greater transparency across the organization: A fast goal encourages open visibility of priorities, progress and results. Teams gain a clearer view of how different departments contribute to shared initiatives, reducing silos and improving collaboration.
• More ambitious organizational targets: This goal-setting strategy encourages teams to set ambitious goals that push performance beyond incremental improvements. Stretch objectives can inspire innovation while still remaining grounded in specific and measurable outcomes.
• Continuous progress through regular discussion: Frequent goal discussions keep priorities active in daily work rather than buried in planning documents. As teams revisit FAST goals during meetings and project reviews, they stay focused on execution and long-term strategic outcomes.

How to Write FAST Goals

Turning priorities into consistent action requires more than writing a goal statement. FAST goals work when teams actively manage them throughout the project lifecycle. By keeping project goals visible, measurable and discussed regularly, organizations ensure objectives guide daily work. The framework focuses on four characteristics—frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent—that keep teams aligned and focused on execution.

1. Make Your Goal Frequently Discussed

Within the FAST goals framework, goals should remain part of regular conversations rather than sitting in static planning documents. Teams review progress frequently in meetings, project updates and performance discussions. This consistent dialogue keeps priorities visible, allows managers to identify obstacles early and ensures that everyone remains focused on the outcomes that matter most.

Consider a product development team responsible for launching a new feature. Instead of setting a goal and revisiting it months later, the team reviews the FAST goals during weekly sprint planning and project status meetings. By keeping the objective visible in dashboards and discussions, the team continuously tracks progress and adjusts tasks when development milestones start slipping.

2. Make Your Goal Ambitious

A central idea behind FAST goals is that objectives should challenge teams to stretch their performance. Donald Sull and Charles Sull emphasize setting ambitious goals that push organizations beyond incremental improvement while still remaining achievable. Ambitious goals encourage innovation, motivate teams to pursue meaningful outcomes and help organizations focus effort on strategic initiatives that truly move the business forward.

Imagine the same product development team deciding that releasing a minor update is not enough. Instead, their FAST goals aim to launch a feature capable of reducing customer onboarding time by 40 percent. Because the target is ambitious, engineers, designers and project managers must collaborate closely to redesign workflows and accelerate delivery.

3. Make Your Goal Specific

FAST goals require clear and precise outcomes so teams understand exactly what success looks like. Specificity ensures goals are measurable and actionable rather than vague aspirations. When objectives define concrete metrics, milestones or deliverables, teams can track progress over time and evaluate whether project execution is moving in the right direction.

Returning to the product development example, the team refines its FAST goals by defining a measurable result: reduce customer onboarding time from ten minutes to six minutes before the next product release. With a specific target and a defined timeline, the team can monitor user testing data, measure improvements and adjust development priorities until the outcome is achieved.

4. Make Your Goal Transparent

Transparency is a defining characteristic of FAST goals in the framework introduced by Donald Sull and Charles Sull. Instead of hiding objectives inside department plans or leadership documents, a FAST goal is visible across the organization. When goals and progress metrics are shared openly, teams understand priorities, track results collectively and coordinate work more effectively across multiple projects.

Continuing the earlier example, the product development team publishes its FAST goals and progress metrics in a shared dashboard visible to leadership, marketing, customer success and engineering teams. Everyone can see the target of reducing onboarding time from ten minutes to six minutes and monitor progress as updates are delivered throughout the product development cycle.

FAST Goals Template

This FAST goals template helps teams evaluate whether an objective follows the FAST framework by organizing goals according to four criteria: frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent. It allows teams to clearly define objectives, explain their purpose and verify that progress can be tracked and shared across the organization. We’ve also created other goal-setting templates you can use to establish personal, project and organizational goals.

3 FAST Goals Examples

Understanding the FAST framework becomes easier when you see how organizations apply it in real scenarios. The following FAST goals examples illustrate how teams can define ambitious objectives, track progress through regular discussions and maintain transparency across departments while executing complex initiatives.

1. FAST Goal Example #1

A software product team is preparing a major platform update designed to improve user onboarding and reduce customer churn. Leadership wants a goal that pushes performance while remaining measurable and visible to every department involved in product development.

Reduce customer onboarding time from ten minutes to six minutes before the next product release by redesigning the onboarding workflow, testing improvements weekly and publishing progress metrics on the company’s product dashboard.

2. FAST Goal Example #2

A manufacturing company is expanding production capacity to meet growing demand for its products. Operations leaders want a goal that encourages innovation while ensuring the entire organization understands how the production expansion will be tracked and measured.

Increase monthly production output by 30 percent within twelve months by upgrading manufacturing equipment, optimizing production workflows and reviewing performance metrics during weekly operations planning meetings.

3. FAST Goal Example #3

A marketing team is launching a new digital campaign to expand brand visibility and attract qualified leads. Leadership wants a clear performance target that keeps campaign progress visible while encouraging teams to experiment with new marketing strategies.

Generate 50,000 qualified leads through digital marketing campaigns within nine months by optimizing advertising channels, tracking campaign performance weekly and sharing results across marketing and sales teams.

ProjectManager Is an Award-Winning Project Management Software

ProjectManager offers robust project management features that are ideal for planning, scheduling and tracking the work required to achieve the FAST goals defined by an organization, such as Gantt charts, task lists, workload management charts, timesheets and real-time dashboards and reports. In addition to that, it’s also equipped with AI project insights, online team collaboration features and unlimited file storage that further help project managers ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Watch the video to learn more!

Related Content

• 15 Goal-Setting Strategies for Individuals and Teams
• 15 Free Goal-Setting and Tracking Templates for Excel and Word
• How to Write SMART Goals: SMART Goal Examples
• How to Set CLEAR Goals: CLEAR Goal Examples
• How to Set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)
• SMART Goals Template

If you need a tool to help you manage projects from start to finish, then signup for our software now at ProjectManager. Our online software can help project managers plan, track and oversee projects as they unfold. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today!

The post How to Set FAST Goals: FAST Goal Examples appeared first on ProjectManager.

What Is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal?

A big hairy audacious goal is a bold, long-term objective designed to push an organization far beyond incremental progress and toward transformative achievement. Introduced in Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, a big hairy audacious goal provides a clear focal point that aligns teams, energizes employees and directs strategic decision-making toward a single ambitious outcome that may take decades to accomplish.

Related: 15 Free Goal-Setting and Tracking Templates for Excel and Word

Once goals are defined, teams need tools to plan the work and track progress. ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that helps turn a big hairy audacious goal into an executable project plan by organizing tasks, building project timelines and monitoring progress in real time. Teams can track milestones, manage resources and visualize progress through dashboards and Gantt charts, ensuring their goals stay aligned with schedules, budgets and priorities. Get started for free today.

Who Should Set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal?

Fast-growing organizations, established corporations and mission-driven institutions benefit the most from a big hairy audacious goal. Companies operating in technology, manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare and other innovation-heavy industries often adopt a big hairy audacious goal to unite large teams around a long-term strategic direction that demands persistence, creativity and breakthrough performance.

What Are the Benefits of a Big Hairy Audacious Goal?

When organizations commit to the BHAG goal-setting framework, they gain more than an ambitious target. A big hairy audacious goal can reshape how leaders plan strategy, how teams collaborate and how employees understand the long-term mission of the organization.

• Creates a clear long-term strategic direction: A big hairy audacious goal gives teams a single, compelling destination that guides strategic planning, investment decisions and organizational priorities.
• Aligns teams around a shared mission: Because a big hairy audacious goal is easy to understand, it helps employees across departments see how their work contributes to the company’s long-term vision.
• Encourages breakthrough thinking: Pursuing a big hairy audacious goal forces organizations to abandon incremental thinking and explore bold ideas, new technologies and unconventional strategies.
• Strengthens organizational identity: Over time, a big hairy audacious goal becomes part of a company’s culture, reinforcing the values and ambitions that define the organization.
• Motivates employees with a compelling challenge: Many teams perform better when they feel they are contributing to something ambitious, and a big hairy audacious goal provides that sense of purpose.
• Supports long-term strategic planning: Leadership teams can use a big hairy audacious goal as a guiding reference when building strategic roadmaps, project portfolios and long-range growth strategies.
• Drives sustained performance improvement: Because a big hairy audacious goal often takes decades to accomplish, it encourages consistent progress and continuous improvement over time.
• Inspires innovation and competitive advantage: Organizations pursuing a big hairy audacious goal often develop new capabilities, products or services that strengthen their position in the market.

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BHAG Template

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How to Set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal

Designing a big hairy audacious goal requires more than writing down an ambitious target. Leaders must translate long-term vision into a challenge that people across the organization understand, believe in and work toward consistently. The following steps reflect how visionary companies described in Built to Last structured a big hairy audacious goal so it inspires action for decades.

1. Set a Bold and Audacious Goal

At its core, a big hairy audacious goal must stretch an organization far beyond normal expectations and push its vision. Collins and Porras describe it as a powerful long-term challenge that demands extraordinary commitment and pushes the organization toward breakthrough performance. A big hairy audacious goal should feel daunting but still believable, forcing teams to think beyond incremental growth and pursue transformative results.

Imagine a renewable energy company that currently powers small regional communities. Leadership might establish a big hairy audacious goal to supply clean electricity to an entire national grid within twenty-five years. That challenge immediately changes how teams approach project planning, technology development, partnerships and infrastructure investments across the company.

2. Make the Goal Clear and Compelling

Clarity is essential for a big hairy audacious goal to work. In Built to Last, the authors explain that visionary companies express their big hairy audacious goal in simple, memorable language so every employee understands it instantly. The goal must communicate a compelling destination that energizes teams and makes the organization’s strategic direction easy to rally around.

Returning to the renewable energy example, leadership would avoid vague statements like “become a major clean energy provider.” Instead, they might frame the big hairy audacious goal as “power the entire country with 100% renewable energy by 2050.” That wording paints a clear picture employees, investors and partners can immediately grasp.

3. Establish a Clear Finish Line

Another defining trait of a big hairy audacious goal is the presence of a recognizable finish line. Collins and Porras emphasize that a big hairy audacious goal should function like a long-term mission with a clear point of completion. Teams must know what success looks like so they can organize projects, milestones and strategic initiatives around reaching that endpoint.

For the renewable energy company, the finish line becomes measurable and concrete: achieving enough renewable generation capacity to supply the entire country’s electricity demand. That milestone gives engineers, project managers and executives a shared reference point when planning large infrastructure projects, building partnerships and tracking long-term progress.

4. Think in Long-Term Horizons

Unlike short-term performance targets, a big hairy audacious goal operates on a time horizon that can span decades. Collins and Porras observed that visionary companies use a big hairy audacious goal to guide progress over 10 to 30 years. The extended timeframe allows organizations to pursue transformational breakthroughs, build capabilities gradually and coordinate major strategic initiatives without being constrained by quarterly performance pressures.

Continuing the renewable energy example, leadership recognizes that powering an entire national grid with renewable energy cannot happen within a few annual planning cycles. Instead, the big hairy audacious goal stretches across multiple decades, allowing teams to plan massive infrastructure projects, invest in research and development and gradually scale renewable capacity until the target becomes achievable.

5. Create a Unifying Focal Point

One reason a big hairy audacious goal works so effectively is that it becomes a central point of focus for the entire organization. Collins and Porras describe a big hairy audacious goal as a powerful rallying objective that aligns decisions, motivates employees and channels collective effort toward a single long-term challenge that everyone understands and supports.

Within the renewable energy company, the big hairy audacious goal of powering the country with renewable electricity becomes a constant reference point in meetings, strategy sessions and project planning discussions. Engineers, operations managers and executives all evaluate new initiatives by asking a simple question: does this move the organization closer to achieving that national energy milestone?

BHAG Goal Template

This example shows how a big hairy audacious goal can be created using clear criteria. Each row explains why the goal qualifies as a BHAG by demonstrating its ambitious scope, defined finish line, long-term horizon and ability to unite teams around a single transformative strategic objective. We’ve also created other goal-setting templates you can use to establish personal, project and organizational goals.

BHAG Goal Examples

Understanding a big hairy audacious goal becomes easier when looking at practical scenarios. The following BHAG goal examples illustrate how organizations translate a bold vision into a clear long-term challenge that aligns teams, guides strategic planning and drives transformational progress across the entire company.

1. BHAG Goal Example #1

A fast-growing electric vehicle manufacturer wants to accelerate the global transition to sustainable transportation. Leadership decides that incremental market expansion is not enough and establishes a big hairy audacious goal designed to redefine how vehicles are produced, sold and powered worldwide.

Build the world’s largest electric vehicle ecosystem and replace gasoline-powered transportation in at least 20 major global markets by 2045.

2. BHAG Goal Example #2

An international healthcare organization aims to address global health disparities. Rather than focusing on individual programs, leadership defines a big hairy audacious goal that challenges the organization to dramatically expand medical access in underserved regions around the world.

Provide reliable access to essential healthcare services for one billion people living in underserved regions by the year 2040.

3. BHAG Goal Example #3

A space technology company believes humanity’s future includes permanent settlements beyond Earth. Instead of focusing solely on satellite launches, leadership establishes a big hairy audacious goal centered on building the infrastructure necessary for sustained human presence on another planet.

Develop the technology and infrastructure required to establish a permanent, self-sustaining human settlement on Mars by 2055.

ProjectManager Is an Award-Winning Project Management Software

ProjectManager offers robust project management features that are ideal for planning, scheduling and tracking the work required to achieve a big hairy audacious goal, such as Gantt charts, task lists, workload management charts, timesheets and real-time dashboards and reports. In addition to that, it’s also equipped with AI project insights, online team collaboration features and unlimited file storage that further help project managers ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Watch the video to learn more!

Related Content

• 15 Goal-Setting Strategies for Individuals and Teams
• 15 Free Goal-Setting and Tracking Templates for Excel and Word
• How to Write SMART Goals: SMART Goal Examples
• How to Set CLEAR Goals: CLEAR Goal Examples
• How to Set FAST Goals: FAST Goal Examples
• SMART Goals Template

If you need a tool to help you manage projects from start to finish, then signup for our software now at ProjectManager. Our online software can help project managers plan, track and oversee projects as they unfold. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today!

The post How to Set a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) appeared first on ProjectManager.

What Are Goal-Setting Strategies?

When teams move from vague ambitions to clearly defined outcomes, they rely on goal-setting strategies to guide planning and execution. A goal-setting strategy provides a structured way to define objectives, measure progress and coordinate work across people and timelines. Instead of relying on intuition, teams use a goal-setting strategy to translate priorities into measurable targets, milestones and actionable plans.

Once goals are defined, teams need tools to plan the work and track progress. ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that helps turn goal-setting strategies into executable plans by organizing tasks, building project timelines and monitoring progress in real time. Teams can track milestones, manage resources and visualize progress through dashboards and Gantt charts, ensuring their goals stay aligned with schedules, budgets and priorities. Get started for free today.

When to Use Goal-Setting Strategies

Whether planning a project timeline, launching a new initiative or improving team performance, goal-setting strategies provide the structure needed to turn priorities into measurable objectives. Managers, professionals and organizations use these frameworks whenever goals must be clearly defined, progress must be tracked and teams must stay aligned around shared outcomes.

Here are some common scenarios for the use of goal-setting strategies.

• Project planning environments where managers must translate high-level business objectives into measurable project goals, milestones and deliverables within a defined project timeline.
• Performance management programs where employees and supervisors align individual objectives with organizational priorities, ensuring work contributes directly to strategic outcomes.
• Strategic planning sessions in which leadership teams establish long-term objectives and define measurable performance targets that guide company initiatives.
• Product development roadmaps where teams define launch goals, development milestones and performance metrics that track progress toward release targets.
• Sales and marketing planning processes where revenue targets, campaign goals and performance metrics must be clearly defined and monitored.
• Personal productivity systems used by professionals who want to structure priorities, track progress and stay focused on meaningful outcomes.
• Operational improvement initiatives where departments set measurable efficiency targets, cost reduction goals or quality benchmarks to guide continuous improvement.

15 Goal-Setting Strategies for Individuals and Teams

We’ve gathered the most widely used goal-setting strategies for individuals and teams across industries, we hope they’re helpful for you or your team.

1. SMART Goals

Among the most widely recognized goal-setting strategies, SMART goals help teams transform broad objectives into clearly structured targets. The framework requires goals to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. By applying these criteria, teams ensure project goals include defined outcomes, measurable metrics and a clear project timeline, which makes progress easier to monitor and manage.

Across industries, SMART goals appear most often in project planning, performance management and strategic execution. Managers use this goal-setting strategy when defining project milestones, performance targets or operational objectives that must be tracked over time. Because the structure emphasizes measurable outcomes and deadlines, SMART goals are especially useful when progress must be monitored regularly.

• Clarifies project objectives by turning broad intentions into measurable targets that teams can realistically plan around.
• Improves project planning because clearly defined outcomes make it easier to structure milestones and timelines.
• Helps teams track progress using performance metrics instead of relying on subjective assessments.
• Encourages accountability by assigning specific results and deadlines to individuals or project teams.
• Supports better decision-making because measurable goals reveal whether strategies and action plans are working.

2. OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

OKRs are a goal-setting strategy that connects ambitious objectives with measurable results that prove progress. Teams define a qualitative objective describing what they want to achieve, then attach several key results that measure success. Because each key result must be quantifiable, OKRs make it easier to track performance, evaluate execution and align day-to-day work with strategic priorities.

Fast-growing organizations and technology companies frequently rely on this goal-setting strategy when aligning teams around quarterly priorities. Leadership sets high-level objectives while departments define measurable key results that support them. Product teams, marketing departments and operations groups commonly use OKRs to coordinate initiatives, monitor performance metrics and keep execution aligned with strategic goals.

• Aligns departments around shared objectives so teams understand how their work supports company strategy.
• Creates measurable progress indicators through key results that track outcomes rather than activity.
• Encourages ambitious thinking by allowing teams to pursue challenging objectives with measurable benchmarks.
• Improves transparency because teams can easily see which objectives are progressing and which need attention.
• Strengthens accountability by linking strategic priorities to clear performance metrics and measurable results.

3. CLEAR Goals

Designed for collaborative and adaptive work environments, CLEAR goals represent a goal-setting strategy that prioritizes flexibility and team engagement. The acronym stands for collaborative, limited, emotional, appreciable and refinable. Instead of focusing strictly on rigid targets, CLEAR goals emphasize teamwork, manageable progress and continuous adjustment as projects evolve.

Agile teams and cross-functional project groups often adopt this goal-setting strategy when work requires collaboration and frequent adjustments. Because CLEAR goals can be refined as circumstances change, they are commonly used in product development, innovation projects and environments where teams must adapt quickly to feedback, evolving priorities and new project constraints.

• Encourages collaboration by ensuring goals are shared across teams rather than owned by individuals.
• Keeps objectives manageable by breaking complex outcomes into smaller, achievable milestones.
• Builds motivation by connecting goals to meaningful outcomes that teams genuinely care about.
• Supports adaptability because teams can refine goals as project conditions or priorities change.
• Improves engagement since collaborative goals strengthen alignment and commitment among team members.

4. HARD Goals

Another goal-setting strategy designed to strengthen motivation is the HARD goals framework. The acronym stands for heartfelt, animated, required and difficult. Instead of focusing only on measurable targets, this approach emphasizes emotional commitment and meaningful outcomes. When teams care deeply about an objective, they are more likely to push through challenges and maintain momentum during demanding projects.

Leadership teams, entrepreneurs and innovation-driven organizations often rely on this goal-setting strategy when pursuing ambitious initiatives. Because HARD goals emphasize emotional investment and challenging outcomes, they frequently appear in transformation projects, startup environments and high-growth companies where teams must stay motivated while tackling complex objectives and uncertain project timelines.

• Strengthens motivation because goals connect directly to meaningful outcomes that people genuinely care about achieving.
• Encourages teams to pursue ambitious objectives that push performance beyond routine operational targets.
• Builds resilience by preparing teams mentally for difficult work and long project timelines.
• Improves commitment because emotionally meaningful goals create stronger ownership across project teams.
• Helps leaders inspire teams by framing goals around purpose instead of only metrics.

5. WOOP

WOOP is a goal-setting strategy developed from psychological research on motivation and behavior change. The framework stands for wish, outcome, obstacle and plan. Instead of focusing only on desired results, this method forces teams or individuals to identify likely obstacles and define practical responses before work begins, improving preparation and execution.

Professionals often apply this goal-setting strategy when planning personal development goals, productivity improvements or small project initiatives. Coaches, managers and individuals use WOOP during planning sessions to identify potential barriers early, which helps teams create realistic action plans and maintain progress when challenges inevitably appear during project execution.

• Improves planning by identifying likely obstacles before work begins instead of reacting later.
• Encourages realistic expectations by forcing teams to confront potential risks and limitations early.
• Strengthens problem-solving because teams already prepare responses to common project challenges.
• Supports personal productivity by linking goals with practical action plans and contingency thinking.
• Helps teams maintain momentum because obstacles are anticipated rather than becoming unexpected disruptions.

6. Locke & Latham Goal-Setting Theory

In many workplaces, the foundation of modern goal-setting strategies comes from Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory. The approach shows that people perform better when goals are specific, challenging and supported by feedback. Rather than vague expectations, teams work toward clearly defined targets, track progress regularly and stay committed because objectives are meaningful and realistically attainable.

Organizations most often apply this goal-setting strategy in performance management systems and structured project planning. Managers rely on it when defining employee objectives, tracking performance metrics or aligning departmental targets with company strategy. The framework also appears in training programs that teach leaders how to set challenging yet achievable project goals.

• Improves performance because clearly defined and challenging goals push teams to increase focus and effort.
• Encourages consistent feedback cycles that help teams adjust work before small issues become major delays.
• Strengthens commitment since team members understand exactly what results they are responsible for achieving.
• Supports better performance tracking through measurable outcomes instead of vague expectations or assumptions.
• Helps managers design structured goal-setting strategies that align employee performance with strategic priorities.

7. Backward Goal Setting

Instead of starting with tasks, backward goal setting begins with the final outcome and works in reverse to determine the steps required to reach it. This goal-setting strategy identifies the desired result first, then defines milestones, deliverables and actions needed to achieve that result within a defined project timeline.

Project managers frequently apply this goal-setting strategy when planning complex initiatives that involve multiple phases. Construction schedules, product launches and strategic roadmaps often use backward planning to identify milestones and dependencies. Starting with the final objective helps teams clarify what must happen first to reach the ultimate goal.

• Clarifies planning by defining the final objective before identifying milestones and required tasks.
• Improves project scheduling because milestones naturally emerge from the final delivery target.
• Helps teams identify dependencies between activities that affect the project timeline.
• Reduces confusion since everyone understands the final outcome driving the entire action plan.
• Strengthens execution planning by aligning daily tasks with long-term project goals.

8. BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)

Some organizations rely on extremely ambitious goal-setting strategies to drive long-term growth, and the BHAG framework represents one of the boldest examples. A Big Hairy Audacious Goal is a large, inspiring objective that pushes an organization far beyond incremental improvement. Instead of focusing on short-term performance metrics, this goal-setting strategy emphasizes visionary outcomes that motivate teams for many years.

Executives and founders most often use this goal-setting strategy during strategic planning cycles or when defining long-term organizational direction. BHAGs frequently appear in corporate vision statements, transformation initiatives and growth strategies where leadership wants to inspire teams with a bold destination rather than incremental performance targets or short project milestones.

• Creates strong organizational alignment by giving teams a single ambitious objective that guides long-term strategy.
• Inspires employees because bold goals often generate excitement and emotional commitment across departments.
• Encourages innovation since reaching ambitious objectives requires creative thinking and new problem-solving approaches.
• Provides a clear strategic direction that helps organizations prioritize initiatives and long-term investments.
• Strengthens company culture by rallying teams around a shared mission that feels meaningful and challenging.

9. MBO (Management by Objectives)

Another widely used goal-setting strategy in business environments is Management by Objectives, commonly known as MBO. Introduced by Peter Drucker, this approach focuses on aligning employee goals with organizational priorities. Managers and employees work together to define clear objectives, track measurable progress and evaluate performance based on whether those objectives are achieved.

Many organizations apply this goal-setting strategy within performance management systems and annual planning cycles. Department leaders establish objectives that support company strategy, while employees define individual goals that contribute to those outcomes. The approach is especially common in corporate environments where performance reviews and measurable targets guide employee development.

• Aligns individual employee objectives with broader organizational goals and strategic priorities.
• Improves accountability because each employee clearly understands the outcomes they are responsible for delivering.
• Encourages collaboration between managers and employees during the goal-setting and review process.
• Supports measurable performance evaluation through clearly defined objectives and performance metrics.
• Helps organizations translate strategic priorities into actionable targets across teams and departments.

10. FAST Goals

Unlike traditional goal-setting strategies that rely on static annual objectives, FAST goals focus on visibility, ambition and continuous discussion. The framework stands for frequently discussed, ambitious, specific and transparent. Teams using this goal-setting strategy review progress regularly, adjust priorities when needed and maintain clear visibility into performance metrics, ensuring objectives stay relevant throughout the project timeline.

Modern organizations, especially technology companies and agile teams, commonly adopt this goal-setting strategy when working in fast-changing environments. FAST goals are particularly useful in product development, innovation initiatives and dynamic project planning contexts where priorities evolve quickly and teams need frequent feedback instead of rigid annual goal reviews.

• Encourages frequent progress reviews that keep goals visible and actively managed throughout project execution.
• Promotes transparency by making performance metrics and objectives visible across teams and departments.
• Supports ambitious thinking by encouraging teams to pursue challenging goals instead of conservative targets.
• Improves alignment because regularly discussed goals keep teams focused on shared priorities.
• Helps organizations adapt quickly when priorities shift during complex projects or evolving strategies.

11. GROW Model

The GROW model is a structured goal-setting strategy widely used in coaching and leadership development. The framework guides conversations through four stages: goal, reality, options and will. By examining the current situation and exploring possible actions before committing to a plan, teams and individuals develop clearer objectives and practical action steps.

Managers, mentors and coaches frequently use this goal-setting strategy during performance discussions and development planning sessions. It is especially common in leadership coaching, employee development programs and project retrospectives where teams evaluate current progress, identify improvement opportunities and define clear next steps for future work.

• Encourages structured thinking that helps teams move from vague ideas to clear objectives.
• Improves decision-making by examining the current situation before defining action plans.
• Promotes creative problem-solving by exploring multiple options before choosing a path forward.
• Strengthens accountability because individuals commit to specific actions during the final planning stage.
• Supports leadership development by teaching managers how to guide productive goal-setting conversations.

12. Golden Circle

Rather than starting with tasks or metrics, the Golden Circle is a goal-setting strategy that begins with purpose. Popularized by Simon Sinek, the framework organizes thinking into three layers: why, how and what. Teams first define the reason behind an objective, then determine the approach and finally the measurable outcomes that support the mission.

Organizations most often apply this goal-setting strategy during strategic planning, leadership alignment and brand development initiatives. Executives and founders use it to clarify purpose before defining strategic objectives. Marketing teams, product leaders and innovation groups also rely on the Golden Circle when shaping initiatives that must connect goals with mission.

• Strengthens motivation by linking project goals and strategic objectives to a clear organizational purpose.
• Helps teams prioritize initiatives that truly support the organization’s mission and long-term strategy.
• Improves communication because stakeholders understand the reasoning behind major project objectives.
• Encourages consistent decision-making by aligning daily work with a clearly defined organizational purpose.
• Creates stronger brand and leadership messaging by connecting goals with meaningful organizational values.

13. PACT Goals

Unlike traditional outcome-focused goal-setting strategies, PACT goals emphasize consistent action and progress. The acronym stands for purposeful, actionable, continuous and trackable. Instead of defining a single final target, this goal-setting strategy focuses on behaviors that move work forward over time, helping teams build sustainable momentum across long project timelines.

Professionals often use this goal-setting strategy when managing productivity systems, long-term projects or personal development plans. Because PACT goals prioritize ongoing actions rather than one-time results, they appear frequently in habit-building programs, performance improvement initiatives and project environments where consistent effort drives measurable progress.

• Encourages consistent progress by focusing on repeatable actions rather than one-time results.
• Helps teams maintain momentum throughout long project timelines and complex initiatives.
• Improves accountability because ongoing actions are easier to track and evaluate regularly.
• Supports sustainable performance by emphasizing steady effort instead of short bursts of activity.
• Creates measurable progress indicators that reveal whether consistent work is producing meaningful results.

14. Milestone Goal Setting

Large objectives often become manageable when teams break them into stages, which is exactly how milestone goal setting works as a goal-setting strategy. Instead of focusing only on the final outcome, this approach divides a project into key milestones that represent important progress points. Each milestone marks a measurable step toward completing the overall goal.

Project managers frequently rely on this goal-setting strategy when planning complex initiatives with multiple phases. Construction schedules, product development roadmaps and large operational projects commonly use milestone planning. By structuring goals around milestones, teams gain clearer visibility into project progress and can identify delays before they affect the final delivery date.

• Improves project visibility because milestones provide clear checkpoints within the overall project timeline.
• Helps teams manage complex initiatives by breaking large goals into achievable progress stages.
• Supports better schedule tracking since each milestone represents a measurable project achievement.
• Allows managers to detect delays early and adjust resources before deadlines are threatened.
• Creates stronger team motivation by celebrating progress as milestones are completed.

15. Outcome vs. Process Goals

Different types of objectives require different ways of measuring success, which is why outcome and process goals form a useful goal-setting strategy. Outcome goals focus on the final result, such as reaching revenue targets or completing a project milestone. Process goals concentrate on the actions and behaviors that drive progress toward those outcomes.

Sports coaches, performance managers and project leaders commonly use this goal-setting strategy when balancing results with daily execution. While outcome goals define the destination, process goals guide the behaviors needed to get there. Teams often apply this approach in performance improvement initiatives and operational projects where consistent actions influence measurable outcomes.

• Improves focus by separating controllable actions from final results that may depend on external factors.
• Helps teams maintain motivation because progress can be measured through daily execution habits.
• Encourages disciplined work routines that support long-term performance improvements.
• Reduces frustration when outcomes depend on variables beyond the team’s direct control.
• Strengthens project execution by linking measurable results with consistent operational behaviors.

ProjectManager Is an Award-Winning Project Management Software

ProjectManager offers robust project management features that are ideal for bringing goal-setting strategies to life, such as Gantt charts, task lists, workload management charts, timesheets and real-time dashboards and reports. In addition to that, it’s also equipped with AI project insights, online team collaboration features and unlimited file storage that further help project managers ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Watch the video to learn more!

If you need a tool to help you manage projects from start to finish, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager. Our online software can help project managers plan, track and oversee projects as they unfold. Sign up for a free 30-day trial today!

The post 15 Goal-Setting Strategies for Individuals and Teams appeared first on ProjectManager.

Everyone must work, but for many of us, that job isn’t just a paycheck; it’s an opportunity to express ourselves and make something better. Entrepreneurs and go-getters often feel as if they carry the weight of an entire organization on their backs, and therefore could always use a little extra motivation.

To all the entrepreneurs and go-getters out there, these 60 inspiring business quotes are for you. Now, get out there and change the world—one project at a time!

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And now, without further ado, the best business quotes to motivate you to greater success!

Small Business Quotes

Whether you’re a small business or an enterprise company, you can gain inspiration from this list.

1. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe understands a challenge. The tennis champ is the only black man to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. He was ranked number one in the world, but that didn’t come easy. On top of the mastery of the sport and all the physical and mental work required to get there, he had to deal with prejudice, which makes his quote all the more powerful and humble.

2. “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

Small business quotes aren’t always the most upbeat. Churchill led Britain through one of its darkest periods. With enemies threatening to advance across the English Channel, bombing London daily, the pressure to survive was paramount. But Churchill, like any entrepreneur worth their salt, understood that failure was part of the process. One learned from their mistakes, and the greatest lesson was that there was always another day to fight on.

3. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.” – Socrates

The great Greek philosopher was known for questioning the status quo and getting killed for it. But Plato wrote Socrates’ dialogues shortly after his death and his Influence lives on in Western society to this day. Even as pragmatic a discipline as business can learn from him. This small business quote encourages you to forge forward, don’t look back.

4. “Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

When one’s last name is a globally recognized brand, it’s good to listen to what they have to say, especially as a small business quote. This hospitality king and hotel owner knows a thing or two about surviving in a competitive business environment. Action does speak louder than words, though, and mistakes are always part of the equation. But it’ll never be solved if you quit.

5. “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for people telling you that you are nuts.” – Larry Ellison

The founder of Oracle was onto something with this small business quote. Innovation, regardless of your field, will initially feel uncomfortable at first. As time goes on and you find more success, those who were initially doubters will come around and support you.

6. “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

This classic small business quote reminds entrepreneurs that setbacks are part of the journey. For business owners working to grow in competitive markets, resilience is essential—getting back up after challenges builds strength, fosters learning and positions your company to weather future storms.

7. “Play by the rules, but be ferocious.” – Phil Knight

The brand that gave us “Just do it!” qualifies that tagline, which always felt a bit broad, to include boundaries. You can’t “just do it” without regard to the rules, as Knight clearly states in this small business quote. Those rules are what level the playing field and protect fair competition. But rules have nothing to do with the passion with which you play within them.

8. “Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.” – Richard Branson

Branson’s Virgin has proven that from record labels to airlines, where there is a will, there is a way. The door isn’t always open, but sometimes it’s ajar or the key is on the floor. All you must do is pick it up and turn the lock. Basically, the right environment for success ebbs and flows, but a keen businessperson is never passive. Small business quotes like this one stay with you.

Related: Free Small Business Plan Template

9. “Starting in business is like getting married…there is really no good time and no bad time. The time is now. ” – E. Joseph Cossman

As a small business quote, this insight highlights that waiting for perfect conditions often halts progress. For new founders, action — even imperfect action — is the spark that gets momentum moving and creates opportunities that never would have appeared otherwise.

10. “Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.” – Anthony Robbins

The idea that one can go through life without conflict or issues arising is unrealistic. Some might dream of a frictionless ride through the world as the ideal journey, but without some form of pushback, growth is impossible. It is these problems that we face that build our character, engage our creativity and build humility.

Related: 10 Conflict Resolution Strategies That Actually Work

11. “You only have to do a few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.” – Warren Buffett

The idea of right and wrong is a construct, of course, and it might feel overly simplistic to suggest that making the right choices will smooth the path forward. But the famous investor is merely noting with this small business quote that avoiding a wrong decision is as important as making the right one. Avoiding bad decisions is aided, of course, by careful planning.

12. “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

Drucker’s wisdom in this inspirational business quote reminds leaders and teams that the future isn’t something you wait for — it’s something you build. Setting strategy today shapes tomorrow’s outcomes, rather than leaving success to chance.

13. “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” – Jack Ma

Inspirational small business quotes like this show that persistence is key. Just ask Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs. Jack Ma emphasizes perseverance, encouraging teams to push through short-term struggles to achieve long-term success.

14. “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” – Jack Ma

This inspirational business quote shows that persistence is key. Just ask Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs. Jack Ma emphasizes perseverance, encouraging teams to push through short-term struggles to achieve long-term success.

15. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau

Philosopher, naturalist, essayist, etc.—Thoreau knew a thing or two about productivity. He wisely saw that those who are seeking success are more likely romanticizing the idea and not doing the hard, practical work necessary to achieve it.

16. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates

Feedback, especially negative, is a goldmine for improvement. This inspirational business quote highlights the importance of listening to customers to refine products, services and processes.

17. “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” – Steve Jobs

Successful organizations aren’t built on solo effort alone; they thrive when every team member contributes their unique skills toward a common vision. This is a powerful small business quote about collaboration and shared ownership.

18. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin

Nin was no stranger to the creative act. As a writer, she had to take pen to paper or her stories would remain phantoms in her mind. It is safer to keep these ideas to oneself. There’s no rejection or criticism that way, but there’s also no way to hone one’s skills and produce something of value.

19. “If people are not laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.” – Azim Premji

Ambitious goals drive innovation and growth. Premji encourages thinking big in this small business quote, reminding leaders that bold objectives inspire creativity and push boundaries. Small business quotes like this inspire teams to aim high, set ambitious goals, and push beyond conventional limits.

20. “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford

This analogy teaches that adversity can propel progress. Obstacles don’t always slow you down—they can build momentum and resilience that power breakthroughs in leadership and innovation.

Inspirational Business Quotes

Need a little bit of inspiration to achieve your best work yet? Leverage these quotes and share them with your team members.

21. “There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

Writer and former dotcom businessman, Godin is saying in this inspirational business quote that talk is cheap, but in a nicer way. Yes, ideas are a dime a dozen, but the real meat on those bones comes from trying to realize them. It is only then that the problems show up and the real work of resolving them starts.

Related: 10 Strategies for Successful Project Execution

22.”If people are not laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.” – Azim Premji

Inspirational business quotes don’t always have to be serious. Ambitious goals drive innovation and growth. Premji encourages thinking big, reminding leaders that bold objectives inspire creativity and push boundaries.

23. “I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite.” – G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton, a writer of paradoxical stories, is the contrarian on our list. He speaks for the pig-headed and visionary alike. Sometimes one must buck the conventional wisdom. The hard part is knowing whether you’re acting out of conviction for your ideals or if you’re just being deluded by ego.

24. “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffet

In business, risk is inevitable, but mismanaged risk is preventable. Warren Buffett reminds us that preparation, research, and knowledge reduce uncertainty. Leaders who understand their markets, processes and data can make calculated decisions rather than leaving outcomes to chance. Awareness and planning turn risk into opportunity.

25. “I don’t know the word ‘quit.’ Either I never did, or I have abolished it.” – Susan Butcher

She’s not being literal, but rather exaggerating to make a point in this inspirational business quote. There comes a time in everyone’s life when the idea of just throwing in the towel is attractive. You’re exhausted. The obstacles feel insurmountable. But those who can reject the idea of quitting and tap an unforeseen reservoir are usually those who cross the finish line.

26. “What do you need to start a business? Know your product, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” – Dave Thomas

This inspirational business quote emphasizes practical readiness and inner drive. Success rarely happens by accident; it comes from understanding your value, knowing who you serve, and fueling every effort with passion and focus.

27. “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt

People get caught up in the product and forget the worth of anything that lies in the process. Win or lose, it’s the fact that you tried, with all you could offer, to do the best at something you feel is of value. That alone is rewarding.

28. “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs

We only see the success after it’s been reached. Like a tree that reaches the clouds, the roots that hold it up are invisible. They’re beneath the ground, having spent years digging through the hard ground to stabilize and feed the tree’s growth. It is also so with business.

29. “Almost everything worthwhile carries with it some sort of risk, whether it’s starting a new business, whether it’s leaving home, whether it’s getting married, or whether it’s flying into space.” – Chris Hadfield

True, but not all risks are created equally. Going into space feels like a bigger risk than starting a company. That puts things in perspective, though, and acknowledges the fact that nothing is without risk, therefore, don’t try to completely bubble-wrap your enterprise. Play it safe, of course, but not to the point of inertia.

30. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain

Twain’s timeless inspirational business quote cuts through hesitation. For leaders and teams holding big ideas, the first step, no matter how small, triggers progress and builds confidence that leads to bigger results.

31. “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rodgers

America’s ambassador of good cheer did more than pass out smiles in his life. He offered practical business advice: complacency is death. Even if you’re doing the right thing, if you’re not moving forward, constantly pushing yourself to reach beyond your comfort zone, then you’re in trouble. The competition will overtake you.

32.”Every problem is a gift – without problems, we would not grow.” – Anonymous

This inspirational business quote flips the narrative on challenges, encouraging leaders to see difficulty as an opportunity. Instead of avoiding obstacles, effective teams analyze them, learn from them and adapt strategies to strengthen their plan.

33. “The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.” – Barack Obama

The president knows a lot about failure and success. The Affordable Healthcare Act was more than once dead in the water, but the president didn’t give up. He compromised, he convinced and he labored, but not once did he allow himself to become embittered.

Related: The 25 Most Inspiring Leadership Quotes

34. “Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it.” – William Durant

There is only the present, so the enlightened ones tell us, and we cannot allow ourselves to become tied to the past or enchanted by the future. There is only the here and now. We must concentrate on that and act. This quote doesn’t reject the lessons of the past or the plans for the future, but we only have this moment, so do your best in it.

35. “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein

You’ll have noticed that often one inspirational business quote contradicts the next. That’s because it is in these paradoxes that real wisdom is born. There is never just one way to look at something and with perspective comes opportunity. Ideas might be nothing without execution, but without those ideas the execution is empty.

36. “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius

This quote reinforces that persistence defines long-term success. Every setback teaches lessons, and teams that rise with purpose after failure build resilience, confidence and a culture that sustains performance under pressure.

37. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved.” – Helen Keller

People should take failure as a badge of honor. It’s a crucible that burns things down to their essence and shows us what we’re really made from. If the path to success was clear, then everyone would be on it and success would lose all meaning.

38. “The first one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell.” – Andrew Carnegie

It sounds brutal, and one doesn’t become a steel baron without nerves of steel, but there is a harsh truth in this statement. Resources are exploited by businesses to achieve their goals. They’re not a collective, sharing the wealth, so like the early bird, if you want the worm, then get up early.

39. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

The more business motivational quotes from these masters of industry and history, the more you notice a common thread knitting them together. They tend to same things only in different ways. That alone should make it clear that actions speak louder than words, to use another old axiom.

40. “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” – Henry Ford

This statement might confuse you at first, but once you get it, like a Zen koan, it makes perfect sense. What the father of automotive automation is imparting with this quote is that success is as much a mind game as it is determined by fate. With the right attitude, you can do almost anything.

Business Motivational Quotes

Business success isn’t built overnight. These quotes can give you the extra motivation you need to keep going.

41. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Inspiration is great, but there’s no point in reinventing the wheel, as this business motivational quote suggests. The general is right. Success is being prepared, working hard and learning from mistakes, as many others have also stated. If we can edit the quote a wee bit, we’d add luck to fill out the recipe for success. There’s always an unknown element in the mix.

Related: 9 Ways to Be a Lucky Project Manager

42. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer

Many people have it backward, struggling to achieve success to feel good about themselves. But the irony is that it’s in the doing, not the goal, where the happiness resides. Even if you fail at your enterprise, if you enjoy the process, then you’ll be happy.

43. “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.” – Coco Chanel

If you’re keeping your eyes on what can go wrong, it will go wrong. Successful people strive to move on. They aren’t ignorant of failure, but they’re also not stymied by it. They don’t know what failure is, because to them it’s merely a bump in the road, not its terminus.

44. “Show me a guy who’s afraid to look bad, and I’ll show you a guy you can beat every time.” – Lou Brock

One of the most famous business motivational quotes teaches the value of courage and risk-taking. Inspirational business quotes like this encourage teams to embrace challenges, learn from mistakes and take bold steps toward success.

45. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

The famous story about Edison and the incandescent lightbulb, which took thousands of tries to find a filament that would burn but not extinguish, is proof of the pudding of his statement. You just never know what’s around the corner until you get there.

46. “I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.” – Oprah Winfrey

We spoke of luck as a crucial element to any success. There are always those forces beyond our control, but there are also those forces that are within our ability to regulate. If opportunities are rare, then one must be ready for them when they come to take advantage. That might not be the definition of luck, but it does feel like good fortune.

47. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder

People can get lost in thought. In their mind’s eye success is laid out. It’s as if they’re already there. Daydreaming might be creative, but creativity takes work. You’re not going to get anywhere standing in place.

48. “Yesterday’s home runs don’t win today’s games.” – Babe Ruth

This has been said in many ways, but sometimes it takes the sports analogy to get it to sink through. Of course, for Ruth, this wasn’t a metaphor but a fact. However, it also applies to business motivational quotes. We can’t rest on past glory.

49. “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” – Vidal Sassoon

It’s a funny way to look at things, but there’s truth in the fact that success is not something we are handed. It is something we must work on. Success isn’t inheritance. While we might get handed great wealth, power and prestige, it’s what we do with it that counts.

50. “The key is to listen to your heart and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams.” – Michael Dell

One of the most uplifting business motivational quotes, this reminds entrepreneurs that passion is a driving force. Quotes like this encourage leaders to pursue projects that align with their vision, fueling motivation and innovation.

51. “The only way around is through.” – Robert Frost

What the great American poet is saying is that there is no way to avoid what must be done. We cannot go around the difficulties in our lives or business but face them head-on and work through them. Just having the courage to do that is the hallmark of success.

52. “High expectations are the key to absolutely everything.” – Sam Walton

The founder of Walmart was onto something with this business motivational quote. It teaches that setting high standards drives performance and culture. For business owners, quotes like this inspire teams to aim higher, focus on excellence and consistently deliver their best.

53. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

The wife of a United States president is called a first lady, but they’re often last in terms of influence. Not Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband, FDR, saw the country through the Great Depression and WWII. She was no slouch herself. She advocated for women in the workforce and civil rights and remained active in politics after her husband died in 1945. She believed in the beauty of her dreams, many of which came true.

54. “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou

It’s easy to define success by what others think. The world seems to only appreciate money, status and power. But when measured against those unreachable expectations, no matter what success one has it quickly turns to failure. Maya Angelou certainly gained literary success but understood the real story.

55. “There’s no such thing as the right time. Get out there and take a chance.” – Kevin Plank

One of the most practical business quotes reminds leaders that action beats waiting. Inspirational business quotes like this encourage taking initiative, embracing uncertainty and moving forward with confidence.

56. “The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows.” – Aristotle Onassis

He might be more famous for marrying Jackie Kennedy than for his entrepreneurial expertise, but don’t let the glitz blind you. Aristotle Onassis was a business magnate who amassed the world’s largest privately owned shipping fleet. He probably did that by knowing something his competitors didn’t. It’d be wise to take his advice.

57. “To succeed in business, to reach the top, an individual must know all it is possible to know about the business.” – J. Paul Getty

The man behind Getty Oil Company knows a thing or two about succeeding in business. He made it to the top and those who want to follow him to the pinnacle of success would do well to take his advice seriously. Whatever the field, knowledge is king and learning is never done.

58. “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking” – William Butler Yeats

The poet might not be the first person a businessman seeks to learn about their trade. But one would be foolish to ignore poets, who are not only masters of language but use words to offer valuable insights. Yeats knew that it’s universally true that procrastination is an excuse that prevents one from acting when it’s the action that reeks the rewards.

59. “The best way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart

Though best known today for her tragic flight that ended with her and her plane disappearing in the Pacific Ocean, she was an aviation pioneer and early advocate of women’s rights. She led the way for female pilots and has become a cultural icon. Her advice is sound, even if it didn’t end the way she wanted. But the point is in the trying.

60. “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” – Scott Belsky

Scott Belsky is an American entrepreneur, author and investor. He’s the chief product officer for Adobe Creative Cloud. In other words, he walks the talk of turning ideas into reality. Think of it, everyone has a bright idea. They’re a dime a dozen. But it’s those people who do the work to make it happen who are remembered.

Bonus Quote: “The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” – Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the founders of the United States of America, but even beyond that revolutionary achievement, he was an inventor and businessman who knew the importance of having the right tools for the job.

If our bespectacled founding father were alive today, he’d certainly have ProjectManager. No online project management software has its breadth of features to control every aspect of a project.

Turn Motivational Business Quotes Into Actionable Plans With ProjectManager

While it’s motivating to see so many business quotes in one roundup, now it’s time to take action with best-in-class software. ProjectManager has the tools you need to plan and track projects at every stage. It provides a single source of business truth, offers advanced resource management and proves a platform for secure collaboration.

Dashboards for Tracking

High-level project views from the real-time dashboard automatically track progress across six metrics. For a deeper dive into that data, easy reporting features get glandular. Reports on tasks, variance and more can be filtered to show just the data you want.

Always Know What Your Team Is Up To

If you’re concerned about your team’s workload and if everyone has enough work to stay busy, ProjectManager has a color-coded team page that makes it easy to balance workload right from that page. Managing your team has never been easier.

Kanban Boards for Visual Workflows

Further transparency into the process is given by the kanban board view, which keeps teams working on only those high-priority tasks and allows managers to see what everyone is working on and where they are in that process.

Schedule Work & Make Long-Term Projects

ProjectManager is award-winning software that keeps teams organized and gives managers online Gantt charts to schedule project plans. Those plans can then be archived and mined later as historical data for future projects because we offer unlimited file storage.

To paraphrase Franklin: early to ProjectManager makes a project healthy, wealthy and wise.

Related Business Management Content

We have created dozens of blogs, templates and guides to help businesses plan their operations, manage their projects and make strategic plans for the future. Here are some of them.

• 8 Budget Templates for Business & Project Budgeting
• How to Write a Business Requirements Document (BRD)
• How to Write a Business Plan: Business Planning Best Practices
• Strategic Planning in Business
• Project Alignment: Aligning Your Project to Business Strategy
• An Introduction to Business Process Management (BPM)

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Are you feeling inspired? Ready to start the day with gusto? Before you go, don’t forget to equip yourself with the tools that will take that ambition and give it the means to achieve your lofty goals. ProjectManager is online project management software that has the features that your work needs to succeed. Try it today with this free 30-day trial.

The post 60 Best Business Quotes to Inspire Entrepreneurs & Go-Getters appeared first on ProjectManager.

ProjectManager is project management software that helps you manage projects and stakeholders. If you’re not ready for a free trial of the software, we also offer dozens of free project management templates for Excel and Word that can help with every phase of your project. Here are some free stakeholder management templates.

1. Stakeholder Analysis Template

There may be many stakeholders in any project, but your job as a project manager is to identify them. Each stakeholder can have a different interest or those interests can evolve over the course of the project. Using our free stakeholder analysis template for Excel helps you devise an effective stakeholder communication plan to keep them properly informed.

There are fields to capture basic stakeholder information, including their title, contact information and influence or power over the project. Then you can place each stakeholder as they stand in relation to the project, noting their priority, if they have subject matter expertise and whether they’re decision-makers. Then you can assess each stakeholder’s commitment to the project and better manage them.

2. Project Status Report Template

Stakeholders need to stay informed throughout the project. Depending on the stakeholder, however, that level of information and the frequency in which they’re updated can change. Whether they need details or just an overview, project managers still must report regularly. Using our free project status report template for Excel is a great tool to capture a period of time in the project.

The trouble with a static template is that it has to be manually updated and the information can’t be customized to reflect each stakeholder’s concerns.

Take Stakeholder Management Online With ProjectManager

Unlike static tools, ProjectManager is an online software that delivers real-time data. Reports can be filtered to show only the information relevant to each stakeholder.

• Generate reports on status, variance and more in a keystroke
• Share reports in a variety of customizable formats
• Free guest licenses for stakeholders offer real-time insights via dashboards and schedules. Try it free

3. Stakeholder Map Template

If you’re looking for a visual tool that can help you identify and chart your stakeholders, then you need to download our free stakeholder map template for Excel. You can use the stakeholder map to inform your decision-making when dealing with stakeholders. It’s essential to establishing a viable stakeholder communication plan.

The stakeholder map template helps you to determine who wants to know what, when they need to know it and how they prefer to get their updates.

Related: 5 Stakeholder Map Examples With Analysis

This stakeholder map has four categories for managing your stakeholders: manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed and monitor. Place each stakeholder you identify in the correct box and use color coding to show if they’re supportive, neutral or critical to the project.

4. Stakeholder Register Template

A stakeholder register is an easy and streamlined way to lay out the information to better understand each stakeholder, their influence and the best way to manage them. Download this free stakeholder register template for Excel to help outline stakeholders and how they may impact the project.

Ideally, use this template during the project’s planning stage to identify stakeholders as early as possible. However, it can also help form and develop the project team to ensure the right people are selected. It’s also useful to use to define success criteria, helping project managers align objectives with stakeholder expectations.

5. Stakeholder Engagement Plan Template

A stakeholder engagement plan outlines who your project’s stakeholders are, what their interests and influence look like, how and when you’ll communicate with them and what level of engagement each group needs. This stakeholder engagement plan template for Excel gives you a clear, organized structure for identifying stakeholders, mapping their influence and expectations, setting communication methods and planning engagement activities.

Instead of starting from a blank page, the template speeds up the process, improves consistency, reduces the chance of overlooking key stakeholders and makes it easier to share the plan with your team. It ultimately helps you manage relationships proactively and avoid misunderstandings or resistance that could derail the project.

6. Business Case Template

Since stakeholders have a vested interest in the project, one of the things they’re most concerned about is the costs related to executing the project. They want to know if the investment costs are worth it. You can show them this with our free business case template for Word, which summarizes project objectives, costs and benefits.

The business case is important due diligence for stakeholders by proving that their investment in the project is beneficial. They can read an executive summary, the mission statement for the project and the final deliverable that’ll be produced. There’s a place to show the project objectives and how they’ll be achieved, the financial appraisal and market assessment plus more. It’ll help get buy-in from stakeholders.

7. Cost-Benefit Analysis Template

Another free template that can help prove to stakeholders that the project is worth their investment is our free cost-benefit analysis template for Excel. It helps you look at the numbers and determine if the money you’re putting into the project is worth the deliverables.

A cost-benefit analysis template does this by adding a dollar amount to the project’s costs and benefits. By subtracting the benefits from the costs you can see what the profit if any, is for the project. This can be financial gains, but it can also determine if the business objectives and goals are worth the costs. This information can help get stakeholders on board with the project.

8. RACI Matrix

It’s clearly important to identify and define the roles and responsibilities of your project team, but often project managers will neglect the same exercise when dealing with project stakeholders. After that, your project team is just one of likely many stakeholders in the project. Using our free RACI matrix template for Excel allows you to categorize everyone involved in the project, including stakeholders.

RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed. On our free template, you list all the stakeholders (or the entire project team) on the left side, while atop the chart is their title. In the corresponding box, you note if they’re responsible, accountable, consulted or informed. Now you have a document to guide everyone on the team, including stakeholders, who have different levels of involvement and impact on the project.

9. Skills Matrix Template

Another free stakeholder management template is the skills matrix template for Excel. Stakeholders want to ensure the project team has the needed skills to deliver the intended outcomes on time, on budget and to the required quality standards. This free template can help you do just that.

This template captures relevant details like department and job roles to highlight areas of expertise and areas where critical skills are missing. Use it to ensure the right people are assigned to the right tasks, balance workloads and avoid bottlenecks.

10. Requirements Gathering Template

Stakeholders want to know the problems being solved by the project, how it plans to achieve its objective, what condition or capacity must be met and more. That’s all addressed in our free requirements gathering template for Word. This is a key document for stakeholders and captures vital information about the project in one place.

There’s a lot covered in the free template. It lists the project requirements, from user, functional and system to software, interface, workflow, change and risks. This is more of a high-level view, which is appropriate for most stakeholders and avoids getting into the weeds. There’s even a section for everyone to sign off on the document to ensure they’re informed and in agreement.

11. Project Update Template

Stakeholders always want to know what’s going on, and this project update template for Excel helps record and communicate the project’s current status. It captures key details such as what’s been completed, what work is coming next, any risks or issues, and any support or decisions needed from stakeholders.

By using a consistent format for each reporting period, it becomes easier to communicate progress without recreating a report from scratch. It increases transparency by clearly documenting accomplishments, upcoming tasks and obstacles, which helps identify bottlenecks early and supports better decision-making. 

12. Executive Project Status Report Template

An executive project status report is a high-level summary of a project’s progress designed specifically for senior leaders and stakeholders. This executive project status report template is designed to give executives a clear, concise snapshot of whether the project is on track, what’s changing and where their attention is needed without overwhelming them with day-to-day details. It helps leadership stay informed, removes surprises, and ensures the project continues to align with strategic goals.

Unlike detailed team reports, it focuses only on the information executives need to make decisions: overall project health, major milestones achieved, upcoming deadlines, risks and issues, budget status, key KPIs and any decisions or support required.

13. Team Charter Template

Team members are stakeholders, though not the only ones in a project. The free team charter template for Word is mostly focused on them, but it’s another essential stakeholder management template. It explains how the team fits into the larger context of the project, such as the project stakeholders.

Besides that, the free charter lists everyone involved in the project and provides contact information. There’s a section to outline the background of the project, its mission and objective, budget and resources and the decision-making process used by the team. There’s information on scope, performance assessments, activities and milestones and much more. It’s a great tool to communicate and get everyone on board with the project.

14. Project Request Form

A project request form template helps propose a new project, capture its purpose, outline expected outcomes and provide the details that leadership needs to evaluate if the project should move forward. The form serves as the starting point for project intake and approval.

For stakeholders, a project request is highly beneficial because it brings structure and clarity to the decision-making process. It ensures all proposals are evaluated consistently, reduces misunderstandings about what a project entails and helps stakeholders prioritize initiatives.

15. Communication Plan Template

Speaking of communication, you need a communication plan to get information to your project team. Using our free communication plan template for Word will help you define objectives and schedule communication updates with stakeholders. It’s one of the more important stakeholder management templates in that a well-informed stakeholder is easier to manage and less likely to interfere in the project.

Besides objectives, the communication plan template helps you define how you’ll achieve those objectives, in what timeframe and with what metrics to measure your success. You’ll figure out the staffing and tools associated with disseminating information as well as reviewing its effectiveness. Once you have a plan, it’s apt to change in order to remain relevant and effective.

16. Project Requirements Template

Project requirements include the key needs, specifications and expectations before the work begins. This free project requirements template brings all project needs and expectations into one clear, organized place. Instead of guessing or relying on memories, everyone can see what features, constraints, and criteria are expected from the start.

That means fewer surprises, better communication and confidence that what gets delivered matches what was promised, making it easier for the whole team to stay aligned and focused.

17. Organizational Chart Template

While it might not seem like a key stakeholder management template, knowing the organizational makeup of a company or project is how everyone in the organization or project team knows to whom they report. Use our free organizational chart template for Excel. It’s a flowchart that shows the hierarchical internal structure of an organization or project.

This document is an easy-to-digest visual of the chain of command. While smaller organizations, such as startups, or projects might not need the tool, the larger and more complex the organization or project is, the more essential this stakeholder management template becomes. Everyone must know who they report to and who has authority, which is exactly what this template illustrates.

18. Transition Plan Template

Stakeholders will want to know that any transitions will be handled smoothly. A transition plan is a set of steps, goals and timelines to better prepare for change. This document offers a structure and framework to create a unique plan to help teams identify and address potential risks and uncertainties during a transition. This free transition template for Excel saves time and streamlines the process.

Transitions can be stressful, but having a template makes the process easier. It’s especially useful to use when the project is shifting from one phase to another or when there’s a change in someone’s role or project. For example, leverage it when a team member is leaving a role to help inform what duties will change and who to inform.

ProjectManager Helps With Stakeholder Management

Once you’ve downloaded and used our free stakeholder management templates, you’ll quickly find that they can take you only so far. Templates, after all, must be manually inputted and updated; they’re not collaborative and are isolated from the rest of your project management tools. ProjectManager is project management software that helps you plan, manage and track your stakeholder management in real time.

Share Project Plans With Stakeholders

Projects need plans, but plans don’t work without your stakeholders. Creating a schedule on our robust Gantt charts allows you to manage the stakeholders on your project team, organize their tasks, link dependencies to avoid costly delays and assign them to work that you can track in real time. The project plan can be easily shared with the project team and stakeholders to keep everyone on the same page.

Monitor Progress and Performance in Real Time

Once you set a baseline on the Gantt, you can track your planned effort against your actual effort. Not only does this help you keep to your schedule and budget, but stakeholders want to be updated on that valuable data as well. The real-time dashboard requires no setup, as with lightweight tools, and tracks everything from workload to cost and time in easy-to-read graphs and charts. It’s a great way to get a high-level view of the project whenever you want.

Project managers can use resource management features to keep their teams productive. Availability can be set in advance to make scheduling simpler and our color-coded workload chart helps you see your team’s allocation. You can then balance their workload from the chart to keep them working at capacity. They’re not overallocated and stakeholders are happy to see productivity.

Related Content

If that’s not enough stakeholder management for you, our site is loaded with free content. There are weekly blogs, guides, videos, and, of course, more free project management templates for Excel and Word. Here are some resources to learn more about stakeholder management.

• Stakeholder Management Guide
• Stakeholder Analysis 101
• What Is Stakeholder Theory
• Stakeholder vs. Shareholder: What’s the Difference?
• Stakeholder Mapping 101: A Quick Guide to Stakeholder Maps

ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that empowers teams to work better together. Task management tools add to productive and risk management features to help you identify, track and mitigate risk. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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