"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." — Søren Kierkegaard
When a stakeholder does not believe in the project — and does not say so openly — they end up sabotaging it passively: they delay decisions; do not share key information; and generate mistrust in the team.
And that's not only exhausting... it can also destroy projects and relationships.
Because it's not enough to just say yes.
In complex projects; the real risk is rarely in the numbers: it's in the people who say yes; even though we realise too late that it was a no.
In our case; where we only get paid if we bring projects to a successful conclusion; detecting those "no"s in time is even more crucial.
And I wonder: what is behind these "yes"es that are actually "no"es? Among other things; I can think of reasons such as these:
🔹They want to obtain information without committing themselves.
🔹They fear that we will achieve better results than they do.
🔹They don't want to confront decisions within their organization.
🔹They seek to dilute their responsibility without saying so directly.
Although Kierkegaard's quote makes sense; I believe that the real challenge lies in how to move forward:
🔹How do we create spaces where doubts can be expressed in a timely manner?
🔹How can we learn to better read those "yeses" that are not really yeses?
Because in the end; the most valuable thing we lose when there is no clarity... is time. And no one—neither individuals nor companies—should allow themselves to waste it.
