Have you ever come home to something your dog tore up and you didn’t want to deal with it but you knew you had to? Maybe it was a box he shredded (at best) or possibly the garbage he got into (at worst), but you knew it had to be taken care of and no one else was going to do it (unless you have kids old enough to assign it to…which I do now).
That’s sort of how I have always felt about taking over someone else’s troubled project. It’s a bit of an honor to be handed a project that is failing and to be asked to try to resurrect it. But it still feels like dumping. I like the feeling of leading a project from beginning to end – true ownership of the entire solution and the ability to engage the excited customer from the outset (they all start somewhat excited) and try to keep them that way throughout the project. Taking over the unwanted mess usually means you’re dealing with a customer who is ready to kill you, cancel the project and move on. It’s like talking someone down from a ledge or trying to stop a bank robbery in progress. It takes guts, risk taking, and negotiation skills…and a fair amount of Tylenol.
That’s sort of how I have always felt about taking over someone else’s troubled project. It’s a bit of an honor to be handed a project that is failing and to be asked to try to resurrect it. But it still feels like dumping. I like the feeling of leading a project from beginning to end – true ownership of the entire solution and the ability to engage the excited customer from the outset (they all start somewhat excited) and try to keep them that way throughout the project. Taking over the unwanted mess usually means you’re dealing with a customer who is ready to kill you, cancel the project and move on. It’s like talking someone down from a ledge or trying to stop a bank robbery in progress. It takes guts, risk taking, and negotiation skills…and a fair amount of Tylenol.
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