𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁
“Everyone, this is your Captain speaking. Put your seatbelts on and assume the BRACE position. It’s only a ‘small turbulence’ but Just In Case.”
🚨🚨🚨🚨
Project Managers don’t really like taking over someone else’s project.
Not even if they dress it up in fancy superhero labels.
Elite Squad
Parachute SWAT team
A-Team
Those do not impress me.
However, I do recognise that as you ascend from the Grasshopper 🦗 upwards through the fox 🦊, owl 🦉, elephant 🐘 and turtle 🐢 levels of Consulting Mastery with a #Salesforce or other #CRM Consulting Partner – being ‘parachuted’ into RED projects for rescue will be part of your job.
Projects become 🚦 RED for many many reasons, and the two worst ones are:
(1) poorly written SOW, underestimated, under-scoped, fixed price project to deliver the impossible
(2) sub-par Project Manager who messed things up and left 😫
Ok, there’s really not much you can do if you land in a 💩 caused by (1).
Here, I’d have a heart to heart talk with the internal leadership team, and understand how we’ve totally FUBARed this, and to
– get the contract reviewed and identify what we need to do to limit legal exposure
– pray we get through it without killing the team or having them leave
… before we get sued out of existence.
Situation (2) is kind of salvageable, as long as the PM taking over begins with what I call a “Reset Kick-off” meeting.
When someone lands a flaming project on my lap that’s caused by (2), I will do my internal due dilligence by talking to EVERYONE INVOLVED to unturn all stones so that I know where we stand (on shaky ground or not).
This includes the Account Exec, and every team member.
I then review the SoW in detail, and I set up a meeting with the client to have that Reset Kick-Off.
“I’d like to just share my understanding of where we are, and I’ve reviewed project documents and spoken about the situation with the team.”
“I’ve prepared a project ‘reset’ kick-off deck, and I would like the opportunity to share that and then hear your side, if that’s ok? Happy to have you go first if that’s what you prefer.”
I always hope they let me go first, because sometimes the emotional tension will de-escalate when I show them what I’ve done to understand the project.
This is especially true if I show that I understand their frustration at the project.
Blaming and finger pointing is useless.
There is no “client” and “vendor”.
There’s just “us” – the “Project Team” which encompass everyone who will be needed to make the project a success.
This is how you #LeadWithEmpathy.
And how I almost always manage to turn around RED projects.
By remembering that #ItsTheHumanElement that counts.
When I land the project safely, *that’s* when you can shower me with 🍩🍩🍩
😁
What’s been your experience with RED projects?
