I had a manager who was asking for an update on an important project. The project had stalled and progress was slow. He wanted to know why. 

I walked him through the major issues I was having. I had assigned work to three different people and the work was not done. 

He asked “When was their deadline?” I responded by sharing the project plan which everyone had received a few weeks before. 

“What did they say when you followed up with them?” They hadn’t been answering my emails. 

Finally he asked the really important question. “Who did I put in charge of the project?” 

And I had to say sheepishly, in fact, well, me. 

His admonishment was a critical lesson for me. He was an experienced leader and I was inexperienced but enthusiastic. 

He took a deep breath and he said, “Jason. These things that you’re describing other people doing are your problem. They became your problem when I assigned you this project.” 

“If people are not responding to your emails, you need to get up from your desk, walk over to their desk, and get it sorted. If people are not meeting their deadlines, then you need to find out why.” 

“Make sure that everyone knows exactly what you need, exactly when you need it, and raise any issues right away. And finally, next time you give me an update, remember that you’re responsible for this project. I expect you to own it.” 

This was the first time anyone called me out on the hot potato problem.  

The hot potato is my analogy for accountability. In software implementation a lot of people try to ensure that they’re never holding the hot potato. This means that they are handing responsibility to someone else. The person holding the hot potato is the person who’s work is currently needed to advance the project. 

Understanding the hot potato is critical for the success of software implementations. I see a lot of associates and project managers focus on taking immediate action. This gets a task off their plate. They try to pass the potato and make it someone else’s issue. 

I consistently hear updates like: 

“The client ignored my email last week” 

“Person x didn’t finish their task on time and it’s holding up the project” 

“I’m not really sure how close the client’s team is to completing their task” 

“We haven’t booked the training yet, we’re not sure when we’ll be ready” 

At the end of the day, a successful implementation requires a lot of proactive thought. It’s not enough to give out a project plan. It’s not enough to assign a deliverable. 

The project needs to be managed! This means more than just presenting a Gantt chart. The team needs someone to assign the tasks, follow up, clarify, create urgency, and deal with issues as they arise. The project needs someone to watch the hot potato. It needs proactive accountability. 

The biggest mistake that a lot of implementation teams make is that they don’t take enough of that responsibility. They think that it’s enough to communicate what they need once and they don’t understand the various ways in which they can run into common snags. These teams host a kick off and two weeks later are frustrated by the lack of progress.

A lot of unsuccessful and reactive implementation managers pass the hot potato. They complete a task, check a box, and then wait for someone else to finish the next task. They expect the customer to manage the work for themselves.

The much better way to approach the hot potato problem is to understand that it’s your job to follow the potato. You need to chase down each work item to make sure that it is done correctly, that it’s going to be done on time, that it’s communicated well, and that everyone understands what they need to do. If something isn’t done, you need to understand why and intervene to get things back on track. 

Software projects are complex. They need to account for technical issues, users, features, timelines, scope creep, and many other considerations. It’s easy to get overwhelmed or get caught up in more urgent tasks.  

If you’re an implementation leader try watching out for the hot potato. If you can avoid passing the potato, you can master software implementations.