Tips for Managing Project Time During Crises

Land the plane. If you’re in it right now, dealing with a missed goal, a major bug, a failed launch, or an angry keystone customer, this is for you. In a crisis, panic and confusion spread fast. Everyone wants answers. The team needs clarity and direction. Without it, morale drops and execution stalls. This is when great operators step up. They cut through noise, anchor to facts, find leverage, and get to work. Your job is to reduce ambiguity, direct energy, and focus the team. Create tangible progress while others spin. Goal #1: Bring the plane down safely. Here’s how to lead through it. Right now: 1. Identify the root cause. Fast. Don’t start without knowing what broke. Fixing symptoms won’t fix the problem. You don’t have time to be wrong twice. 2. Define success. Then get clear on what’s sufficient. What gets us out of the crisis? What’s the minimum viable outcome that counts as a win? This isn’t the time for nice-to-haves. Don’t confuse triage with polish. 3. Align the team. Confusion kills speed. Be explicit about how we’ll operate: Who decides what. What pace we’ll move at. How we’ll know when we’re done Set the system to direct energy. 4. Get moving. Pull the people closest to the problem. Clarify the root cause. Identify priority one. Then go. Get a quick win on the board. Build momentum. Goal one is to complete priority one. That’s it. 5. Communicate like a quarterback Lead the offense. Make the calls. Own the outcome. Give the team confidence to execute without hesitation. Reduce latency. Get everyone in one thread or room. Set fast check-ins. Cover off-hours. Keep signal ahead of chaos. 6. Shrink the loop. Move to 1-day execution cycles. What did we try? What happened? What’s next? Short loops create momentum. Fast learning is fast winning. 7. Unblock the team (and prep the company to help). You are not a status collector. You are a momentum engine. Clear paths. Push decisions. Put partner teams on alert for support. Crises expose systems. And leaders. Your job is to land the plane. Once it’s down, figure out what failed, what needs to change, and how we move forward. Land the plane. Learn fast. Move forward. That’s how successful operators lead through it.

Project managers, the first delay is the cheapest It's easy to ignore/undersell that first slip in the timeline. "It's just a day." "We'll make it up next sprint." "We don't need to escalate just yet." It's actually a big red flag 🚩 That first delay is usually your early warning system. It's rarely due to time. It's the start of misalignment, missed decisions, or hidden blockers. And if you wait too long to act, the cost (and action needed) compounds. Here's 3 things you should do when that first slip hits: ☝ Pause and assess Is this just a fluke or a signal? Evaluate the potential risk. Is it valid? Do you have a mitigation plan? That assessment can make all the difference in how and how soon you respond. ✌ Communicate early A quick "hey, this may be nothing, but..." can make a big difference in what happens next. Stakeholders don't like surprises, so raise concerns up clearly. Then circle back ASAP with options and recommendations for timely decision-making. 🤟 Adjust quickly Most problems don't solve themselves. It's always easier to pivot sooner than later. Give yourself as much runway as you can to implement change by tackling it early. Effective project managers aren't just timeline managers. They spot cracks and escalate before they turn into cliffs. PS: ever had a "small" delay that led to a big problem? 🤙

Project on fire? Most PMs rush to fix it. Amateur move. Here's what elite PMs do instead: Step back. Get curious. Talk to your people. Why? Because that "urgent crisis" isn't your real problem. It's just a symptom. Think about it: • Quick fixes = Band-Aids • Band-Aids = Problems return • Problems return = Your weekend's gone Here's what worked for me in the past: 1. Ban talk of "solutions" for 24 hours 2. Run focused 1:1s with the team 3. Map patterns 4. Attack the real source of the problem The result? Fewer emergency escalations. Same deadlines. Zero weekend work. The secret? Stop fighting fires. Start preventing them. One simple action: Block 30 mins every Monday. Review project vitals with your team. Spot issues before they explode. Stop being a firefighter. Become a fire marshal. Too simple? Let me know below.