Project Hell: Don't Let Your Project Timeline Be Blown To Bits By These Common Problems
Master the art of polite firmness: Guide clients to success by balancing flexibility with firm boundaries, preventing delays, and keeping projects on track.
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One of the most challenging skills for new consultants to master is the art of ‘polite firmness’.
This is when you politely refuse a client's request without angering or upsetting the client.
has discussed a similar topic of ‘finesse’ here.Most new consultants are so nervous about upsetting a client that they agree to almost every request a client makes.
Need to delay a decision, push back a meeting, or change some approved deliverables?
“Sure…anything for you!”
Keeping the client happy is their overarching goal here. And that’s not a bad philosophy when you’re just starting your consulting journey. A little flexibility often goes a long way.
However, as you gain experience, you encounter superseding concepts. You begin to realise that prioritising the project's success is more important than the client's immediate happiness.
Often, you must prevent clients from becoming their own worst enemies.
How Do Clients Become Their Own Worst Enemy?
I’ve encountered this situation often: We begin working with a client according to an approved project plan. A few weeks in, we need the client to make a decision, provide access, or approve a deliverable.
The client apologetically says they need to speak to or set up a meeting with key people to make the decision, but they struggle to find a time when everyone can attend. Finally, they schedule something, but it’s a few weeks away.
The participants couldn’t agree on the right course of action during the meeting itself, so they decided to hold a follow-up meeting after they had given it some more thought.
Now, our timeline has been blown to bits. Worse yet, these delays are expensive.
The rub is you think you’re doing what the client wants, but the project loses momentum. It begins to rot. Priorities shift, stakeholders lose interest, people wonder what’s taking so long, and early cancellation becomes a considerable threat.
Why We Enter Project Hell
Generally speaking, there are usually one of three causes of these situations.
The project isn’t a priority. Everyone in every organisation is busy. If you’re seen as someone who will accede to any request and drop your timeline in favour of theirs, the organisation will take advantage of that. Your project will be pushed back and delayed whenever there is a clash, or things get busy. This is often the result of poor stakeholder engagement.
The critical decision-maker (s) isn’t available. It’s often impossible to connect with the key decision-makers in a project. They might be travelling, preparing for a big moment, or have no spare time on their calendar. Sometimes, meetings are scheduled, and they miss them.
No one wants to be held responsible for making a wrong decision. If you ask people to make a decision, it’s harder for the decision-maker to decide if others in the room disagree. They would much rather everyone agreed in the room to avoid being held responsible for a mistake later.
Many projects entered ‘project hell’, especially in the early days. My tendency to please my clients enabled them to become their worst enemies.
The question is, what can we do about this?
The Art Of Being Firm
Much of this depends on your interpersonal skills. How you present yourself, how you speak, and the language you use matter. Stakeholder engagement skills are key.
But there are some handy tactics I’ve found work well.
1) Stick To The Project Plan.
Many consultants send a deliverable to a client and ask them to approve it.
This is a mistake.
That’s almost begging for delays. Undoubtedly, it will be shared internally, and everyone must say ‘yes’ before the deliverable can be considered approved. In the meantime, it might be hard to continue with the project because you don’t know if the past deliverable will be changed.
For all deliverables have good acceptance clauses in place at the beginning of the project and stick with them.
This means you send a deliverable with the instructions:
Hi [name],
I've attached our final deliverable attached. As you might recall, you now have a week to gather feedback from your side and request any changes. If no changes are requested within a week, the deliverable will be considered approved.
It’s a little more firm but not antagonistic. It sets a clear deadline and a default option (automatic approval) if there’s no response. I guarantee that the client will magically find the time to review the deliverable and gather feedback from everyone involved.
Sometimes, you might receive a request for more time. In these cases, you should show some flexibility but with a fixed date.
No worries, we can give you a little more time from our side.
Consider the deadline extended until [date] on our side.
Again, you are not asking them how much extra time they need; you are extending the deadline by only a few days. You have shown flexibility, and now the client needs to meet you there.
If they request a timeline beyond a few days, you need to be firm:
We have a fixed timeline for this project, which we need to stick to to avoid the risk of clashing with other projects we have in the pipeline. We also find delays harm the project's outcomes as the situation changes, priorities shift, and decisions aren’t made promptly. It’s really important we keep this project on track and momentum going forward.
So we have to say no to this. However, we will do everything we can to incorporate any future feedback as long as it doesn’t delay the project.
Notice that you’re exercising control and guiding the client to the best outcome, even if a senior stakeholder is away.
2) Create A Recommended Option
I mentioned earlier that critical decision-makers often dislike making decisions.
One way to avoid this is to make the decision for them and ask them to approve it.
If you’re going to present options to a client, I strongly recommend listing the pros and cons of each option and highlighting a ‘recommended’ choice. This provides the decision-maker with some cover and increases the likelihood that they will select the option you believe will deliver the best results.
Even with all the information you can provide, it’s common for people not to feel they have enough information or expertise to decide. And it’s a cliche, but organisations sometimes hire consultancies to make decisions for them. They want you to guide them to the best option. Thus, it’s a good idea to present your recommended option and highlight why it is your preferred option compared with the others.
People can disagree or highlight any errors, but that’s why you’re having the meeting. And if there’s a recommended option on the table, the outcome of the meeting is whether to select a different option. This is different from whether to select any option or not.
3) Force The Priority.
The most complex challenge is to make your priority. A couple of years ago, I had a project where stakeholders kept missing or rescheduling meetings. Some of the deliverables I sent through didn’t get a response (and were thus considered approved by default). The client looks pretty disengaged with the process.
Treat this as a flashing red alert that something is up. Often, your project isn’t a priority. This isn’t bad if you only care about getting paid. But if you’re like those of us who want to see the impact of your work, it’s a huge problem. At these moments, you need to have an honest discussion.
It’s best to set up a call for this discussion rather than by email, but the script might feel something like the one below.
Hi [name],
I’m concerned that we’re not getting any feedback or engagement with the work we’re doing or creating. I’m also noticing that stakeholders we need engagement with often reschedule or cancel our meetings.
In the past, this often implied that the project wasn’t a priority. In our experience, that often means the recommendations aren’t acted upon. I’d like your thoughts on how we can get this discussion back on track.
Come armed with your ideas here. Often, setting up a workshop or meeting people face to face can help. It’s usually a communication problem. Your communications with every stakeholder have to highlight two things:
Why is this an incredibly valuable project to them? How is what you’re working on going to be a game-changer for each stakeholder you’re speaking to? How will it directly impact and improve what they’re doing? This is about aligning the outcomes to their goals - and being clear about the gap in current and future states.
Why do they need to work on it now? What makes this important to do now? What is the urgency of the situation? Why should they put other important things they’re doing aside to work on this today? This messaging usually relates to missed opportunities, costs, short-term goals, limited time to change etc…
“Why Does This Matter If I’m Still Getting Paid?
Project hell is very real and very expensive.
Projects can be cancelled by stealth simply by the client failing to approve deliverables or move things along. Once a project stops moving forward, it begins to rot. It creates a stench no one wants to be involved with or associate themselves with. Projects can languish for months before being quietly shuttered.
You might wonder why it matters if you still get paid.
You might get paid but won’t work with that client again. You won’t get the testimonials you need to attract more clients. You won’t get a case study or be able to point to any project to attract future clients.
Consultants build their careers on the success of past projects. Getting paid isn’t enough. You need the successes. Besides, isn’t it simply more enjoyable to go the extra mile and get a fantastic outcome for a client than to see your project enter the deep void of failure?
Summary
New consultants often aim to keep clients happy through flexibility. However, this can lead to clients becoming their worst enemies by delaying or avoiding critical decisions, rescheduling meetings, or seeking unanimous agreement. These behaviours disrupt timelines, reduce momentum, and increase the risk of project failure. This is known as ‘project hell’.
There are three common causes of project hell:
The project isn’t a priority for the client.
Key decision-makers are unavailable.
Decision-makers fear making mistakes, leading to indecision.
Consultants need to develop interpersonal skills to guide clients while maintaining control of the project tactfully.
There are three common ways to avoid project hell.
Create a Default Option and Timeline: Use clear deadlines with automatic approvals if no feedback is received.
Present a Recommended Option: Propose a preferred solution with pros and cons, making decisions easier.
Force the Priority: Address disengagement directly, emphasising the project's value and urgency. Communicate how the project benefits stakeholders and why action is urgent.
Good luck!
p.s. If you want to get better at writing proposals, sign up for our Proposal Mastery course.