At some point in your career, you are likely to be in charge of a project or initiative that is - how shall we say it politely? – underperforming. I was once asked to take over an ERP implementation that was going very poorly indeed. In fact, the client said that if the previous project manager ever stepped foot on the client’s property again, they were going to call the police. Since, as the African proverb says, “smooth seas do not make skillful sailors,” I volunteered to take the project over. I knew that if I could get the situation back on track, the learning would be tremendous and personally rewarding. Besides, there was no place to go but up! This article shares how to turn tough situations like this one around.

Looking back on it, the key was disciplined execution and its flipside: integrity. The first step in the process was to build a realistic understanding of the business, project and people. This meant the first few weeks were spent moving very emotional meetings to productive ones. It is a balancing act to get to the heart of a challenge through persistent and constructive probing, and then productively acting on it.

I have several detailed methodologies I use to right derailed projects, and good questioning is at the heart of all of them. Below are specific diagnostic questions you can use if you find yourself in a similar situation. It can be as simple as the “Start-Stop-Continue” approach. Think about the activities and deliverables in terms of “start, stop, continue.” Think:

• What should we start doing to help us meet our goals? What would we benefit from adding?
• What should we stop doing going forward?
• What should we be sure to continue?

For those situations that require a more rigorous examination, such as the ERP project discussed above, more is needed. Questions need to probe deeper in to project processes, problems, people and overall strategic alignment. If available, consider reviewing detailed operating plans, performance and personnel data. Raw data, however, rarely tells the whole story. Meet with one-on-one with key personnel with prepared questions such as:

• What are the biggest challenges the project is facing, and why is the project facing them?
• What is the organization doing about these challenges now?