Top 5 Ways to Screw Up Any Project
Posted February 23rd, 2012
Before getting to the list, let’s cover a few basics. First, the best time to screw up a project is right in the beginning. Second, there is really only three ways to screw up: failure to plan, failure to communicate and failure to execute. But never fear—that still gives you plenty of opportunities.
Without further ado, here are the top five ways to screw up a project:
1. Avoid putting things in writing. It just irritates everyone and makes them nervous. This includes NDAs, Statement of Works and other agreements.
2. Never tell the client “no”. This allows you to avoid unpleasant conversations such as “we can’t deliver this campaign within your budget” or “we need another two weeks for production.” After all, we want the client to be our friend, right?
3. Don’t bother prioritizing your organization’s overall project load. After all, if there’s a free-for-all approach to your overall program management (i.e., “survival of the fittest”), then the projects that survive will be those that were destined to survive. And don’t trouble yourself aligning projects with strategic goals or facing the logical imperative that people simply cannot have 12 number one priorities!
4. Halfway through the project, when most of the deliverables have begun to take shape, add a whole bunch of previously unnamed stakeholders and ask them for their opinions about the project and its deliverables.
5. Make sure project managers have lots of responsibilities and deadlines, but no authority whatsoever to acquire or remove people from the project; to get enough money, materials, or facilities; or insist on timely participation of SMEs and key reviewers.
Oh, there are many more ways to screw up a project—avoiding client contact, encouraging the sponsor to approve deliverables verbally, setting up numerous committees and enforcing frequent meetings—but this handful of tips should get you off to a good start. And if you want your project to go well? Ignore these tips!
On the other hand, if you want to run a project successfully, feel free to learn from these mistakes!
