Profound Business

Hide the saws before you climb out on a limb.

Have you ever been placed in a position you know is risky, but unavoidable?

What do you do? CYA?

Yes.

There is nothing wrong with it. You have every right to point out the risks of the situation. In fact, as a professional you are expected to highlight risk.

It is what you do afterward that makes all the difference.

A key client makes an unreasonable request, but your management team makes a strategic decision to take the request and tasks you with making it happen in a certain timeframe. You MUST NOT snap your heels, salute, and go forth to conquer. What you HAVE to do is assess the situation:

1. Put the request into perspective - how difficult will it be to get the resources required to satisfy the customer?

2. Request the resources in a timely manner - if you have two months to perform a six-month project and you wait until there are only two weeks left to start asking for help, shame on you.

3. Expect management assistance - your boss’ function is to hire the best people for the job, get them the resources they need, and get out of the way. They hired you. Don’t sit back and say “Why bother asking, they’ll just say no”. It is their job to say yes. Be specific. Be timely. Most important, be relevant. Don’t ask for something you don’t really need. Expect “Yes”. Define the consequences of “No”.

4. Communicate frequently - it’s a maxim in management to communicate, communicate, communicate, but how you do it depends on the nature of the job and organizational culture. Some jobs or organizations require regular detailed reports; others prefer “management by exception” reporting (Just tell me if you run into problems, otherwise I expect everything to be on time).

Whatever you do, don’t be a lone wolf. It is rare that tasks of this magnitude can be performed by one person. Be sure everyone that needs to hear the risks hears them from you. Be sure that everyone that needs to help you hears the request from you. Take every opportunity to manage expectations.