Rubberband Wound

I was reading Brandon Schauer’s post "And um, can we get that tomorrow?" over the course of the last few days and thinking about it. I save posts in Google Reader that I know I want to go back to soon, and this one has been sitting at the top of one folder for a couple weeks, so it kept getting back to me.

Dealing with unreasonable requests from clients or managements is tough. It’s frustrating, it can be overwhelming, it can throw everything off. I think Brandon’s ideas for making the most of the things are great, and they made me think about something that sometimes happens to me, and that I’ve seen happen to others when last minute requests come up from a client.

Don’t take it personally, and don’t freak out.

So often I see people, and I’ve done it myself, act insulted or offended that someone would come up with this wild idea now, at this point in the project. "We were nearly done, and everything was going well, and now you want what??" is the thought that has run through my mind. But I’ve had those same ideas, I’ve made changes at the last minute, and I’m sure most others have as well. As Brandon says, they probably do address some significant concerns.

My biggest concern, and something that I’ve seen a fair amount in the last few years of working, is that the tendency when a last minute adjustment or feature request comes through the door with a tight deadline, everyone panicks and dives in to doing it right away (no matter how frustrated they may be), or else it’ll never be finished. While this is certainly a good attitude for completing the task, it’s not a good attitude for realizing the goals of the client. Take a step back, understand what’s really being asked, evaluate if the original request is the best fit or if there’s a better solution.

It’s easy to be reactionary in a situation where time is tight and demands are high. Get it done, push it out, worry about it later. It’s not an ideal approach for long term success, but it’s a lot easier right now. Stepping back, not panicking under the rising pressure and looking to see the other parts of the request - the why and the how and the what, not just the when - is just as important if you want to have any hope of pulling this off right.