Rule 4: Sometimes It Is Easier to Start Over

Ground Rules – Rule 4…Um

How about a break from ground rules and instead some statements that need to become part of your thought process?  These will help you control your emotional commitment to efforts you are undertaking and make change easier.

• End states change
• Tools change
• Talent changes
• Situations change
• Times change
• Starting over is not failing

Two Branches to Applying Rule 4

Branch A – Avoiding the pitfalls of trying to change something that has roots

Is your end state still relevant?

Are we looking at what we need when we are done or what we needed when we started?  That statement brings clarity to current workload priority.  Often the need has changed significantly and may render a solution incorrect or irrelevant.  Sunk costs are sunk.  Continuing to progress on projects whose relevance has become fuzzy is increasing potentially lost spend.  Have a clear discussion about how existing work fits into current priorities.

I have a pet project named Elvis

A Clean Slate solution has collective input.  Continuing to support pet projects can breed protectivist battles. If you find that the requirements drift significantly, patches are often proposed to the original solution to meet the evolving needs. Be careful. Patches introduce more risk and cost than starting over with a new solution.  You should avoid amassing the technical and business debt that goes with patching legacy solutions.

Offline concurrent development allows for effective Change Management

Though not always the best approach, there are circumstances where maintaining the old solution can provide shelter and familiarity while new solutions are developed, tested, and deployed.  Be careful as you could end up spending more to maintain and enhance the old solution while waiting for the new solution.

Let the old solution show its age.  Sometimes the staleness of the existing solution will breed greater want to adopt an industry standard solution.

Branch B – Look at your current ventures and decide if you should change course

Sometimes you need to choose a winnable game….

Have you ever been in a meeting where the decision is made that the solution you are currently working on won’t succeed? I regularly come across people who have made up their mind that if they just try a little bit harder, they can solve an unsolvable problem.  Sometimes they have overcommitted the outcome.  Sometimes they have overestimated their own abilities.

Better to win now versus continuing to strive to win….

Over time, support and priorities change. Give your stakeholder a win, then focus on the next win.  This will ensure that you have continued support and that priority discussions are grounded in reality.

Always ask if the “Carry over” project should continue….

Tools and talent evolve more quickly than problems.  For some reason, when we look at budgets for project spend, we almost always start by including the existing projects that are work in process.  Regularly review your ongoing spend and decide if it is better to stop existing projects in order to prioritize limited resources elsewhere. Revisit the solution being pursued. Is it still the best solution given the evolution of tools and talent.

There is an amazing amount of budget to be invested in your highest priority projects if you are willing to stop investing in your lower priority (legacy) projects that may be underway.

Use the 5 Rules Mindset to Elevate the Conversation

1. Talk in terms of the impact, not the solution
2. Seriously consider doing nothing, that is always the starting state
3. Be careful about taking too small a step, the end state needs to be perceived as reachable
4. Evaluate what others have done in the face of this problem

When trying to drive change, or even change in priority, passion can quickly outweigh intellect.  Start the discussion by framing the mindset above.  Use these as a road map for discussion of “Reprioritization” conversations.  Remind the team that the best argument for investment is talking in terms of how it will impact reaching your goals.

For some underway projects, reconsider doing nothing.  Even if that means pausing any investment already made. This will avoid further expense that could be lost.

Sometimes, the legacy projects are the result of taking too little a step, resulting in minimal impact.  Re-evaluate taking a bigger leap and receiving greater returns.  Also consider if you have made a big enough impact already and it is time to declare victory and move on.

Check and see if anyone else has solved the problem that you are working on.  Chances are, with time, what was a novel solution based upon innovation has become a “Me Too” solution. (Block chain)