One Way to Gain Control of an Out-of- Control Project
The experience was harrowing. We were towing a dually truck on a trailer from Louisiana to Georgia and had just gotten on the interstate. My father was behind the wheel with my brother-in-law next to him, and my son and I were in the back.
We had just about hit 60 MPH when an 18-wheeler flew by. We all felt the trailer being pulled left in the semi-truck’s wake. The trailer then swayed right. The swaying continued, increasing exponentially in magnitude each time until our truck also became caught up in the morbid physics of being jerked from side to side.
“This is fun,” my young son commented, while to myself I thought, "You don’t know how this ends," eyeing the bridge ahead of us that spanned the ravine.
Fortunately, my dad knew what to do. He put the pedal to the metal in order to gain control of the out-of-control trailer behind us. It worked. The swaying slowed down then stopped. We pulled over, just to catch our breath. At the next exit, we parked the truck and trailer and continued home empty-handed, but alive.
“Just start moving, gain momentum, and make minor adjustments along the way. Your project will quickly come under control.”
Have you ever experienced a similar loss of control during a project? There are two types of projects that can feel this way.
An Out-of-Control Project - Sometimes the project we are leading may get the best of us. It may feel like we are driving in the cab of the truck, but the trailer behind us really has control. What are some options that enable us to put the pedal to the metal? Sometimes it’s more budget to add resources or people. Sometimes it’s more time added to the schedule to finish the project. Or, it could be reducing scope (effectively speeding us up), delivering in phases, or even re-baselining all together. None of these options are great, but the reality is that projects occasionally get out of control, and these options are better than careening down the side of a ravine.
A Wobbly Project - The other time you may need to put the pedal to the metal is when your project stalls, typically at the beginning or end. Think of riding a bicycle. When you just start out, it’s wobbly until you pick up momentum and gain control. With a project, sometimes there’s a tendency for us to think that everything has to be perfect and 100% in order for it to kick off. That will never be the case. Just start moving, gain momentum, and make minor adjustments along the way. Your project will quickly come under control.
In both situations, the answer is to speed up. By adding time, people, money, or momentum you’ll keep your project on the road and out of the ditch.
