I was recently consulting with a client who had sent me a complex and and very detailed agenda for comment.  My initial reaction was confusion, I wasn’t sure what he meant or how the items fitted together.  Part of this was due to lack of familiarity with the details of the project (it had moved on 3 months since I was last involved,) and the rest was it resembled a shopping list of stuff that needed doing. It was thorough and professional and doomed to fail!

To my embarrassment, I felt the only real answer was to tear it up and start again.  I felt like the Irishman, who when asked for directions to Dublin said “If  I was you, I wouldn’t start from here!”   I listed the questions I felt needed answering, such as:-

1. Where are we?
2. How do people feel about this venture?
3. What are the aims and how do we measure success?
4. Who does what?
5. What is the timetable?

I met with the client to find that there had been a series of emails questioning such issues, all valid questions, but perhaps more symptomatic of a reluctance to commit rather than from genuine interest.  In sophisticated organisations, people are very skilful at ‘kicking the ball into the long grass’ if they don’t see it as being in their interests.  We dealt with the politics and how to get them on board and he was happy to adopt my suggestions.

There is huge power is simple, open questions, and they provide less places to hide.  If you haven’t got the basics locked down and the players committed then you can’t proceed and expect to make any progress.