Two things I feel strongly about that were mentioned by Elizabeth are (1) know you are in trouble early, and (2) have an objective review to figure out exactly what the problem (and fix) are. To that I would like to add that don’t only concern the trouble checks with the entire project. Break the project down into smaller chunks and make sure those chunks stay on track. It is easier to detect trouble this way because those chunks have smaller timelines, smaller deliverables, and smaller risk. So not only is it easier to find the problems with these sub-projects, when correcting any issues identified, Scott Burkin’s concern of ‘fishtailing’ with big corrective efforts can be avoided. The big, targeted change would be smaller since the size of the sub project being corrected is smaller. Smaller required change would mean less counter effort later on.

Sometimes when you are in a tail-dive and you want to avoid a tail-spin, the first thing you need to is pull up, then assess where you are, what resources you have left and what you need to do to get back on course or abandon the mission.