As Future Islands proclaimed, seasons will change and “winter will crave what has gone”. As we mark the start of meteorological winter, I reckon many project teams will be wishing they could reclaim time from previous months.
I suspect we have all been in situations where Christmas
looms large and project deadlines simply cannot be extended. Cue the frenetic
rush to complete every item in our project plan, before crawling into the
holidays seeking seasonal respite rather than cheer.
I think this scenario leads to poorer rather than better outcomes.
In my experience, ‘haste’ is barely on nodding terms with ‘quality’.
Before we get to this point next year, perhaps we could
somehow seek to break that repetitive cycle. Build in more realistic timelines.
Create some contingency time. Push back on senior management while time is on
our side.
Recognising the likely onset of seasonal stress might help
us all avoid the situation and the consequences that come with it.
