May Busch* has advice for dealing with the delicate situation when a long-running and once successful project has outlived its usefulness and should be put to bed.
One of my coaching clients had an interesting dilemma.
It’s a problem many face that needs careful handling so you don’t risk your career or come off as the ‘bad guy’.
My client was responsible for putting together an annual event that required a giant amount of effort.
While popular at the start, the event now delivers very little pay-off.
It’s hurting her relationship with others in her organisation when she asks for help because they no longer want to be a part of the project.
She didn’t know how to talk to her boss without upsetting or disappointing him.
Allowing things to continue on autopilot clogs up the system and distracts people from doing their best work.
Sort of like the way clutter builds up in your office or at home.
While maybe you can live with the clutter and be perfectly happy, when it comes to work-related projects, meetings and tasks, the inability to weed out the old to make room for the new can be hugely counterproductive.
When you know the organisation would be better off without a particular project, event or regular meeting going yet another round, here are three things you can do.
Let the facts be the foundation: All situations involve people and where there are people in the mix, there are inevitably emotions and feelings.
So even though we humans are distinctly not rational beings, the best strategy is to start with the data, which you’ll want to calculate in terms of both costs and benefits.
First, the money side: How much financial reward does it bring in versus how much financial investment is needed to make this project happen?
Second, the people side: How much time and effort is required? Does it save any time and effort if it goes ahead?
Third, the part that most of us miss: The opportunity cost. By taking on this project, what other projects won’t happen?
What other opportunities will the group have to give up or postpone because they’re working on the project you’re evaluating?
When you have the costs and benefits laid out clearly, it’s easier to come to a rational conclusion rather than have the very normal emotional reactions win the day.
Create a compelling storyline to frame the facts: In my experience, the most effective way is to start with why the project made sense in the first place.
Usually, it will have been a noble goal with a plan that made total sense when it was conceived.
You can even use your data to show the benefits it has delivered in the past.
Then you want to explain how things have changed.
Whether it’s the success of the project so there’s no longer the same need, or how the environment has changed.
This is the key to making it possible for people to let go of the project and allow it to be put to rest.
You’re giving people the permission to celebrate it and acknowledge that “its work here is done”. That will help them move on.
Be prepared to suggest a new way forward: If you have a replacement idea, then by all means put it forward.
However, don’t feel like you have to come with a fully baked idea. Often, the best thing is to allow others to help co-create the next step.
When people have a say in how things move forward, they’ll be more likely to embrace the new way of doing things.
Problems can arise when what you are trying to cancel is the boss’s pet project.
This is where you still owe it to yourself, the rest of the team and your boss to have the conversation.
Think of it as saving your boss from the embarrassment of sponsoring something that’s no longer useful, making them appear out of touch.
Instead, you can help your boss envision something in its place that would enhance their reputation and that of the group.
By presenting it in a data-driven way, you take it out of the realm of being personal. It becomes a business decision.
It’s when someone feels their ego is being attacked that they get defensive.
The other thing to keep in mind is to not be attached to the outcome.
When you don’t have the decision-making authority, all you can do is make the case as compellingly as possible.
Once you’ve done that, you can let go of the result.
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com.
