The Project Idea that Won’t Go Away

Have you ever had people pitch an impractical project idea? You see lots of issues, but the idea hangs around like an overly friendly albatross. Maybe a senior leader is convinced it has merit but doesn’t understand the practical obstacles to delivering business value. Or people think delivering the project would be easy, but the project reality is chock-full of risk.

Here are some things you can do to handle this situation:

• Don’t say no. It typically isn’t the project manager’s place to say no to a project idea. If you did, you would be seen as an obstacle. Don’t take yourself out of the game.  
• Gather and present the numbers. Instead of saying no, perform due diligence. Gather initial estimates, assess the probability and impact of significant risks, and gather project histories for what has worked and not worked in the past. This fact-based evaluation, with projected costs and potential benefits, will show the project as viable or folly.
• Compare your findings with AI results. Prompt your AI tool to obtain costs, durations, and issues that similar projects have experienced. After verifying the AI results, you might have strong evidence that the project is impractical or feasible.
• Seek to understand the urgency. A project idea that won’t go away might come from a deep-seated concern or a perceived opportunity, especially when the idea persists despite numbers that don’t tell a good story. Determine what’s motivating the person’s passion for the idea. With this insight, you might be able to suggest an alternative project that addresses the motivation but with a more compelling business case.
• If the sponsor says go, support the project, and highlight risks. Senior leaders have the prerogative to take a risk if they consider it appropriate. As project manager, you can’t say no. Instead, clearly communicate the risks the sponsor is taking and suggest strategies for mitigating them. Be especially diligent about risk triggers and manage the project as confidently as possible. Taking risks can lead to great outcomes, so keep an eye out for opportunities to realize business value.

Coming Up

I finished recording live action videos for Project Management Foundations course last week.  A couple weeks away from LinkedIn Learning taking over production work!

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This article belongs to the Bonnie’s Project Pointers newsletter series, which has more than 106,000 subscribers. This newsletter is 100% written by a human (no aliens or AIs involved). If you like this article, you can subscribe to receive notifications when a new article posts.

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