Your main developer quit, your QA tester is going on maternity leave, and the boss is planning to have your project all done when they get back from vacation.
What do you do right now? What is critical and what can wait? How can you be successful when so many things are going wrong.
And then there’s the budget…
How do you manage when everything is collapsing around you at once?
- Realize there is a path forward and you’ve managed tough situations before, it’s just a different day
- Make a list of all that needs to be addressed today only
- Enlist trusted, detailed help to jump start discovery, clarification, approval – remember the last emergency you had it turned out not to be because someone “heard” wrong
- Clarify each crucial task with the direct stakeholder or sponsor, don’t guess, don’t wait for email, get on the phone to go to the office and get a live update
- Use group chat with those who appreciate it and will respond
- Work your way down, resolving as you go and adding meetings as needed
Take a breath! Your team and stakeholders will appreciate a cool head and methodical approach.