The one question that can save a project before it starts
Project kickoffs tend to run on optimism, so the risks everyone privately sees go unspoken. One question gives people permission to name them while they are still cheap to fix.
THE QUICK ANSWER
Before your next project kicks off, ask the room one question: “Imagine this failed six months from now — why?” Kickoffs run on optimism, so the risks people privately see rarely get said out loud until they have become expensive problems. Asking the failure question up front gives everyone permission to name those risks early, while you can still plan around them cheaply.
GO DEEPER
Why kickoffs hide the risks everyone can see
At the start of a project, energy is high and everyone wants it to succeed. Raising doubts can feel negative or disloyal, especially when a senior person is clearly enthusiastic. So people nod along, even when they can already see where things might go wrong.
Those unspoken risks do not disappear. They resurface weeks or months later as delays, rework or a missed deadline, at a point when fixing them costs far more. Often someone in the room saw it coming at the kickoff but did not feel it was their place to say so.
The fix is a simple pre-mortem question: “Imagine this failed six months from now — why?” Framing failure as something that has already happened makes it safe to talk about. People are no longer being pessimistic; they are answering the question they were asked, and the quiet risks finally get said out loud.
The question only helps if you act on the answers. Capture the risks that come up, pick the two or three that matter most and decide what you will do about each. It also helps to hear from quieter people first, so the most senior voice does not set the tone for everyone else.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Ask “Imagine this failed six months from now — why?” at every kickoff. It turns private worries into risks you can plan for while they are still cheap.
TEST YOURSELF
You are kicking off a new project and the room is full of optimism. What does the video suggest you ask?
PRACTISE IT
Try this lesson in the arcade
Quick retro games that start with this lesson’s situations. One thumb, one to three minutes, free.
