Issue 3: it’s time to have The Talk

Hi there, resourceful friend ?? this is issue 3 of Resourceful, a monthly newsletter curated by the team at?Float with the help of resource managers and planning pros like yourself.

As the proud makers of the #1 Resource Management software for 2025 (ask G2), we have quite a lot of knowledge and ~opinions~ about resource management. Which is why we decided to kick off the new year in style by tackling the ONE conversation we think every resource manager needs to have sooner or later.

...and then we sprinkled some more hard-won wisdom and tactical advice from experts on top because, hey, isn’t it nice to hear from people who are great at what they do?

Floating forward,

fio D. (Content Lead at Float)

?? PS: you can get this newsletter straight to your inbox by signing up here.

The following resources are recommended by Nick Patterson , Co-CEO at STORM+SHELTER

?? eyecannndy:?a?site packed with visual technique references

Why: it’s?THE place to go for inspiring visuals, production techniques, and most importantly, ammo for your creative decks. A fantastic resource of pilfer-ready GIFs to kick-start a creative session or pad out that presentation with interesting visual content. The search function is actually super useful too to entertain weird and wonderful ideas.?

???Blinkist:?an app that delivers book summaries and key learnings?

Why: if you deal in time, you know the value of it, and probably have very little to spare for yourself. Additionally, if your attention-addled brain feels like books are akin to a silver cross to a vampire, this is a great pick. I’ve listened to key takeaways from so many books in their 15-20min blasts during commutes that I’d never have had the patience to sit and read. The free version is solid, too.

???Atlassian’s Work Life: a?blog covering all sorts of topics and just generally useful stuff for leaders and?managers

Why: I really rate the overall tone of the blog, and it’s my guilty pleasure for work-time productive procrastination. I often get the articles thrown up in my feed aggregator and it’s the one I’ll always take the time to check out. Their curated collections are also a great way to research some new thoughts/ideas on a topic.?

The following resources are recommended by the Float team:

????Project One

Over the recent holiday break, our?Services Team Lead Christian de Witt watched this documentary about Mercedes’?attempt to build the ultimate hypercar. Unsurprisingly, he?enjoyed the engineering side of it—but also shared it with team Float because of “the unique project management (or lack thereof) and customer communication challenges they faced. It goes to show how difficult it can be to successfully pull off complex and ambitious projects, no matter the industry, if the right skills and correct controls aren’t in place.”?

It’s time to have ‘The Talk’

Brought to you by Stella Inabo from the Float team

It’s a new year. The air is full of optimism and possibilities. Everybody is excited and ready to launch new projects on top of the ones your business already has going. But there’s one thing no one else is thinking about: do we have the resources to get it all done?

No one else?except you, of course: the person in charge of resourcing.

You could pull it off as you’ve done in the past, reallocating team members, re-prioritizing projects, and negotiating with stakeholders. But let’s take a step back because…

This isn’t working

If you’ve been flying by the seat of your pants reacting to every resource request, you’re likely to have challenges like:

?? An overworked team

?? Stalled projects

?? High stress levels

?? Decreased or no profits

?? Angry clients

One word for this situation: unsustainable.

To be fair, no one wakes up wanting to be a resource management villain. The usual culprits are likely a sprinkle of blind optimism, a misunderstanding of capacity, communication silos, and bringing resourcing in at the last possible moment.

That’s precisely why, sooner or later, you’ll need to have ‘The Talk’ to steer decision-makers in the right direction. And while it sounds a bit ominous, ‘The Talk’ is just code for a discussion in which you strategically:

1. Align everybody on what capacity is
2. Show the value of bringing resourcing earlier in the process

What does ‘capacity’ mean in your organization?

Say your business has the typical 40-hour work week. Your stakeholders might assume everyone’s got 40 pristine hours for project work; whereas YOU know meetings, training, and administrative tasks take up a significant chunk of your resources’ time. This is the kind of implicit assumption you need to make explicit. To reach alignment, start ‘The Talk’?from the visual explanation Justin Watt shared in one of our live sessions (watch the full clip here):?

After you share your definition of capacity, invite others to share their perspectives, carefully noting and addressing any differences. The goal is to reach a shared understanding, which might take some back-and-forth.

The cost of last-minute resourcing

Next, discuss the impact of not considering capacity early in project planning and frame the solution as a strategic business initiative.

Preparing data-driven visuals to support your points improves your chances of getting buy-in. To quote Emily Feliciano , one of the speakers at our live session on estimation:

“I can’t take my feelings to leadership and say, ’I feel like we’re busy.’ But you can’t argue with data. You can’t argue with numbers.”

Pro tip: if you’ve been tracking your team’s time and capacity, use the data to show how overly ambitious plans, combined with insufficient capacity, have impacted past projects or are about to affect future ones.?

This is the approach used by Thomas Walters , the Head of Studio at Movember: when faced with last-minute resourcing requests, he “very quickly shows someone why their work can’t be done [when] they want it. They take one look at our timeline and instantly understand the challenges we face, and together we’re able to work on a way forward rather than being stuck at an impasse.”

And if you have no data—well, there’s no better time than now to get tracking ??

Shift from last-minute fixer to strategic partner

‘The Talk’ is more than just a conversation about resources. It’s an opportunity to transform your role from last-minute fixer to proactive strategic partner who guides the business toward smarter, data-driven decisions.

So this year, instead of just managing resources, start managing expectations. Your calendar is ready for that meeting invite.

The no-nonsense guide to resource management,? 2025 edition

What do a Head of Financial Operations and Capacity Management, a Senior Global Creative Resource Manager, an Executive Studio Director, a Director of Product Operations, a Senior Capacity & Freelance Manager, and a Head of Operations and Quality Management have in common?

Besides working in resource management roles, they are some of the (many!) experts we interviewed and hosted last year. They have mastered the art and science of managing resources, planning capacity, and generally getting things done without feeling stuck in an endless game of resource management Tetris.?

In other words: they did all of the hard work; we just figured out how to put it together for you ??

That’s a wrap for issue 3. We’ll see you next month—and no, as tempting as it may be,?we will not turn?the February issue?into a Valentine’s themed love letter to resource management ??