Surviving a Consulting Nightmare

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Surviving a Consulting Nightmare

Joe Pena

October 4, 2000





Ellen, a project management consultant, had earned herself the reputation of getting tough projects on track and handling them with ease.  That type of reputation can either be a blessing or, depending on the case,  a curse.  In this case, Ellen's good reputation brought her a little bad luck but nothing she couldn't handle.

The director of sales from one of Ellen's previous clients asked for her expertise in getting a troubled rollout project on track. She had managed other key projects for this client.  Dick, the existing project manager, was juggling three other projects, and although he was great at delegating, he did so to a fault. He didn't have a handle on this project, which had deadlines, a commitment to the North American sales force and the visibility of key executives. None of this was good for the project manager, his director or the company.

Did I mention that Dick managed to endear himself to the top brass, which essentially led to him being assigned to this project in the first place? As it turns out, Dick worked that endearment for all it was worth.



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