Project Red

  Change Management   Leadership   Risk Management   ProjectsAtWork  

When faced with a disaster, project managers must become recovery managers. Here, a turnaround specialist shares seven tips for turning around troubled projects, starting with realizing there is a problem and concluding with ways to prevent future disasters.

In Rescue The Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure (AMACOM; March 2011), Todd Williams, an accomplished turnaround specialist, shares his field-tested project recovery process. The book leads readers through a step-by-step process of investigation, negotiation and action. 

The process starts with what Williams calls “step zero,” the prerequisite to success: the realization, particularly on the part of the project manager, that a problem exists and needs solving. After declaring a project “red” and accepting their new role as a recovery manager, project managers must follow four integral steps:                                                         

1. Audit the project. Acquire data about the subject. Determine the customer’s …

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