Their problem
In a department, a division or a company, when things go well, you have to grow. More people doing more things means more complexity.
And that means…
Customers can be too demanding.
Not that it isn’t their right to want what they want.
It’s just that sometimes they want more than is possible given the availability of time, humans and cash to make things happen. (Sometimes, they want more than is possible, period.)
That’s a problem.
Not on it’s own: expectations can be tempered, scope cut down. But when their demands run faster than reality – when they demand rabbit-pulling and physics-defying gymnastics – that is a problem.
When it happens, whilst you have to deal with it, realise the problem is theirs.
Your job is to mitigate. Explain what’s going on, come up with a plan, give options and recommendations and generally do everything possible to temper the impact of reality.
Don’t hide them from reality. Show them how to deal with it.
Skippy strategy: There’s no choice between fantasy and reality.
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Category:
Skippiness
Make them as sophisticated as you like, at their heart, every project plan comes down to three columns:
- What needs doing
- When it’s needed
- Who is…