For many projects, though, the seeds of trouble are sown long before a project kicks off. In fact, it's possible to trace many future problems to decisions you and the client make during the sales process.

Most consultants have to face it at some point: Telling a client that the project will take longer or cost more than planned, or that some other obstacle will prevent achieving the expected results. Not exactly welcome news.

No one likes to deliver (or hear) bad news about a project. And such revelations are not exactly relationship-builders. For starters, your client sponsors have to own up to colleagues and others that your best-laid plans have gone awry. At the very least, this leads to questions about their judgment; at worst, it could be a career limiter.

But bad news also damages your credibility. One consultant who had to backtrack on a project schedule found himself in an argument about every subsequent estimate he made for the project. In the heat of those moments, he got stuck in the middle of finger-pointing campaigns as people looked for someone to blame. In the meantime, the project lost momentum as the team dealt with the distractions that inevitably crop up when things don't go according to plan.

Disasters waiting to happen

Without a doubt, some problems come out of left field to subvert carefully designed plans. It's common, for instance, for clients to make changes to the project team, or even the project sponsor, at the last minute. Such changes can wreak havoc with your plan, and are almost impossible to foresee. For many projects, though, the seeds of trouble are sown long before a project kicks off. In fact, it's possible to trace many future problems to decisions you and the client make during the sales process.

Of all the factors that contribute to project snafus, assumptions top the list. Think of assumptions as disasters waiting to happen. And the more assumptions you make about a project, the greater the likelihood that one of those disasters will hit.

Let's say, for example, that you assume you will have access to client executives when you need it to complete specific tasks. Or, maybe you make assumptions about how quickly the client will make decisions that impact project progress. Of course, you work through these assumptions with the client and make it clear how they affect the schedule and the overall plan.

Typically, clients will give assurances about such assumptions and you press ahead. Everyone feels good because they think they have covered all the bases. But if any assumption doesn't pan out, a problem looms. And it doesn't matter who made the assumption or why. You and the client must still dig yourselves out of a hole.

Obviously, the easiest way to mitigate this risk is to assume as little as possible. But you can't remove all assumptions, so focus on those that have the highest potential for impact on critical path activities. So, if you do make assumptions about the availability of executives for key meetings, nail down that access before you start the project. Look at all your critical path activities and determine if assumptions will govern their successful completion. If so, resolve them early. If you don't, a project delay is most likely in your future.

You want it when?

More often than not, clients want fast results. Who can blame them? Once clients agree to hire you, they want to move the effort along as quickly as possible. In response, you may be tempted to shave the allotted time off specific tasks in an effort to shorten the overall project schedule. The inevitable result of chipping away at your plan is that the project approach is no longer adequate to meet the objective.

Don't fall into the trap of shortening your schedule unless you can see a commensurate reduction in what the client expects you to deliver. When clients push on the pace of the schedule, stick to your guns unless they are willing to change the work you are to do. Your client relationships will benefit when you are able to deliver what you promise.

That's not to say that you shouldn't plan an aggressive schedule, because you should. But be careful that you truly understand the implications of changes to your schedule before you agree.

An ounce of prevention...

Bad news about projects is due to more factors than I have space to write about in this short article. But in my experience, making too many assumptions and an overly aggressive schedule are the top culprits. Whatever the causes, you can take three actions early in your planning process to make any project path smoother and more productive.

First, ensure that your project logic is firmly rooted in reality, not wishful thinking. Examine your proposed approach. Ask yourself if you see precisely how your proposed work plan will lead to the value you've promised. It is easy to miss one or two small steps that are essential to achieving the client outcome. And once you miss an essential task--or underestimate its duration--trouble will follow.

Validate the details of your approach with your client, and really go through those details. This one small step, taken early in your planning process, can spare you from enormous stress as the project progresses.

Second, express your estimated project completion date in a range, instead of using a fixed date. For an eight-week project, for example, prepare an initial schedule that covers eight to ten weeks. Once the project is underway, you should firm up your completion date. After all, no matter how good you are at estimating the time it will take to complete each task, there are always unknowns. By keeping a flexible end date, at least initially, you'll be able to size up the actual project environment and settle on a workable schedule.

Finally, plan for a few early project milestones as a way to see how your schedule and budget are holding up. You'll never know how good your plan is until people begin to execute against it. Test the team early to shake the kinks out of your plan.

Once a problem arises

Every project has its up and downs, and some problems are unavoidable. When you hit that inevitable bump in the road, it's a test of your leadership. No matter how unpleasant it may be, confront the issue with the client without delay. Some consultants try to make adjustments on their own to avoid admitting a mistake. That usually just makes the situation worse.

The bad news about a project will not improve with age, so get to your client as soon as you suspect a problem. Most importantly, when you have to be the bearer of bad news, always be ready to present two assurances: That you know the solution to the problem, and proof that it won't happen again in the future.




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Michael W. McLaughlin is a principal with MindShare Consulting LLC, a firm that creates innovative sales and marketing strategies for professional services companies. He’s the author of Winning the Professional Services Sale, and the co-author of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants. His newsletters, Management Consulting News and The Guerrilla Consultant, reach a global audience. Before founding MindShare Consulting, he was a partner with Deloitte Consulting, where he served clients and mentored consultants for more than two decades.