The art of knowing when to stop

Knowing when to stop a project, effort or a broad multi-year initiative is not an easy thing to do. There are two sides to this coin. The first is understanding when the environment and circumstances that existed when the effort began have changed. The second is how we approach the conversation and teams impacted by the stopping of an effort. The change matters because it is often fact based. The approach matters because it is an opportunity to lead with compassion.

Starting with change

Environments and circumstances change all the time. Mergers and acquisitions create entire paradigm shifts for organizations. Financial headwinds or tailwinds of a significant level can impact previous decisions. Industry disruption, increased attrition, fierce talent markets can all be factors to take a pause and think about in-flight efforts. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it is illustrative to hopefully help generate some thought-provoking conversations.

Mergers and acquisitions are usually clear situations, provided there is strong support for driving efficiencies as a result. Note: strong support for driving efficiencies does not equate to a mandate to just go figure it out. Strong support means dedicating time, energy and executive support across technology AND business to commit to the program. I digress. The joining of teams and systems is a great opportunity to heatmap across both organizations and determine which systems are determined to be go forward. I’ve seen this done well, using a solid framework for evaluating each system against a desired end state for people, process, and technology.

Financial headwinds should be clear, but they are generally the messiest to handle. Many projects are aimed at bringing efficiencies and / or new capabilities to enable the business to grow in one or more of its segments. These are good things and absolutely the right thing to do right up until the moment when financial headwinds of a significant level emerge. The reaction from the teams driving these efforts is focused on the end goal, the reason the whole effort started. It is hard but we need to look at the time to completion in the context of the headwinds and quite often they are upside down. Completing the project can put the organization into financial risk and a tailspin. More on the team reaction in a bit.

Financial tailwinds on the other hand are not a dire situation but they still warrant returning to the decision that kicked an effort off in the first place. Were some of the decisions made based on a constrained budget and therefore the full potential value of the project not put in scope? This can be more of an adjustment to an effort than a full stop, but it is one that is often overlooked.

Industry disruption is painful. A competitor comes out of left field with a potentially organization ending move. Provided the window of opportunity is open, and it usually is, to pivot, a rapid evaluation of efforts in flight and determining how each of those position the organization to respond and overcome the disruption is crucial. The time of this evaluation is crucial too. Building muscles of being able to evaluate when to stop an effort is important and useful in this type of situation.

Increased attrition and fierce talent markets, in my mind, are less of a stop an effort situation and more of a moment to ask: should we pause the effort for a period while we reassess how to get it done? Generally, this is to avoid protracting the effort due to low capacity or key talent and subsequently spending too much time and effort over the long haul. When that protraction happens, it can create other environment or circumstances that are more dire.

The approach

Now we’ve come to the point where we are going to stop the effort. The facts of these situations listed here all have hard numbers behind them in terms of time, effort, energy, and duration which all tie to bottom line in the end. It makes financial sense to stop. What now?

We’ve poured hours into scoping, designing, debating, crafting processes, systems, architecture decisions, integrations, the list goes on and on. Team members have worked long hours and are emotionally attached to their work. That’s not a bad thing, they’ve invested themselves into this effort, they care.

Brining the team members along in the evaluation of the changes in environment and circumstances early in the journey is one of the key elements to helping strengthen trust, awareness, and transparency. Not to mention, we need those team members to help make current state assessments and effort analysis to really uncover the facts of the situation. This goes a long way to buy-in and even self-realization for some that it may not make sense to continue.

Celebrate the accomplishments to this point. The examples above are all environment and circumstance based. Factors changed, that’s not the team’s fault. Also acknowledge the reality that continuing to the end may produce an outcome that is undesirable and unsupportable in the long run. Imagine how that feels to get to the end of an effort only to discover we could have changed course and poured that same energy and effort into something more targeted at these new circumstances.

Lastly, let teams have their moment and then help them refocus and move towards the new target. Dismissing or not acknowledging that they are people, and they need a minute or several to process and digest, can erode trust and confidence.

It is not easy to hit the stop button, but there are times when it needs to be done. Be aware, be inclusive and be kind, it’ll go much better.