A backup plan allows you to be flexible and nimble in the face of change, which, during any project, is virtually guaranteed. A bit of a misnomer, the contingency plan is not an end-product, but an ongoing event. You don’t put it into place and get to say, “Good; we’re covered. We’re done with that.” Instead, the contingency plan evolves as the project evolves. Integral in project planning and management processes, the contingency encompasses all aspects of a project and reduces uncertainty and risk.

Remember the “Billion Dollar Government Boondoggle”? In the late 1990s, the Canadian government contracted out the immense task to create a national electronic firearms registry. The project was going to cost $119 million, $117 million of which was to be offset by registration fees and licenses. $1 billion later… The project ran into virtually every problem that it possibly could, from politics, to 1000 change orders in the first two years, to figuring out how to get it to integrate with computer systems in 50 different agencies. Poorly defined from the start, this project only got worse, more expensive, and more absurd. When faced with their own ‘Titanics’, when do organizations and agencies say, “Enough is enough?” and simply abandon ship?

It starts with a project manager, huddled in a corner, weeping. Just kidding. Project managers are hardy sorts and will not break down at the office.

Projects, particularly complex, large-scale projects, face a number of challenges, and it is the rare one that does not stumble at some point under the weight of them. There are many, though, where stumbling turns into a free fall. It is critical that leaders read the warning signs of impending trouble so they can reverse course.

Corn, beef, oil, bandwidth. These are commodities. They are homogeneous items that can be traded and exchanged, bought and sold in bulk. Should consultancy be a commodity? Is your value indistinguishable from another consultant? Corn is corn, but your value proposition must be unique – Moreover, clients deserve the benefit of a customized, non-commoditized approach to their projects.

What missives should be at the top of your reading list? Start with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Two reasons: one, it is a heck of a book. And two, when you quote Mark Twain, people think you are witty and a little irreverent. Consultants need not – and should not – read consulting books exclusively. Any well-written book, or article, any blog post, webinar or podcast, that can plant a seed of an idea, grab your attention, and make you think and then rethink your role and how to improve and develop within it is worth your time.