From the course: The Top 10 Project Management Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them

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Tip 3: Answering the killer question

Tip 3: Answering the killer question

From the course: The Top 10 Project Management Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them

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Tip 3: Answering the killer question

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- The next mistake which it's really easy to make is to answer the question, what's the best you can do if it goes really well? And of course it's our job to answer any question we're asked and it's natural to answer that question. But you've got to be really careful about this particular question. Cause if somebody says, what's the best you can do if everything works? If the IT works first time, nobody's off sick you haven't forgotten anything. The weather is perfect. How quickly do you think you might be able to do this job for me? If you answer that question, if you say well I might be able to do it in six weeks. You are now committed to doing it in six weeks. And however you word your answer you're going to be committed to that number. Even if you say, well, it's highly unlikely everything's going to go well. But if in theory nobody's off sick and the IT works and the weather's brilliant I might be able to do it in six weeks. All your customer hears is la la la la la la la, six…

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