Missed Deadline; New Opportunity

If you’ve ever had a project fall victim to shifting priorities, raise your hand.

Yep. Us, too.

We have all had projects that stall or “lose steam” along the way. Projects without hard deadlines seem particularly easy to set aside in favor of something that seems more pressing.

But non-urgent projects have value, and that’s what makes it hard. What should you do when something you are excited about has to slide to the back burner? Should you pause, continue, or abandon a project when other tasks demand attention from the team?

​Ideally, you’d plan ahead. This always feels better and is more productive, efficient, and effective. Still, there are times when projects get stuck. Maybe your organization has to react to outside influences, and this may take more energy than you would like. Or, perhaps you’re balancing multiple priorities from stakeholders and must make some tough decisions.
 
Even with the best plans in place, projects sometimes require more time and resources than initially anticipated. Projects that were once a priority might get pushed further down the list.
 
But just because something isn’t a priority at the moment doesn’t mean the window of opportunity is closed. You just need a new strategy.
 
Reach Partners once had a client who was ready to abandon a project. The initial timeline wasn’t met, and the client assumed that meant the project no longer had value. As we talked, however, it became clear that the goals and purpose identified for the projects hadn’t changed. There was still a need to complete the project even if expectations had shifted.
 
So, what are the options in situations like this?
 
1. Adjust the Timeline
Some deadlines are non-negotiable. Others? Arbitrary. If you picked the date once, you can do it again. Pause and reset. Recognize that it’s often harder to restart from scratch than it is to simply slow the pace. Preserve progress instead of perfection.
 
If you considered multiple factors in choosing the initial deadline, why not do that again? Sure, it might not be that simple, but it is possible.
 
2. Reset the Resources
When demands shift, the people and time you planned for a project might not be available. That doesn’t mean the work is over. However, it may need to change shape. Scale down, change the team, or break the work into phases. Refinement can still occur, just in a different way.
 
At Reach Partners, we do this often. On a small scale, this blog post is the result of a project that needed to be re-imagined. Rachel drafted the initial post but didn’t have the energy to finish it. We paused and weren’t confident it would ever be published. Fast forward a few months. During a conversation, Anita felt inspired to return to the blog post and finish it.
 
It was a good idea; it just needed a resource reset.
 
3. Stay Aligned with Purpose
When you’re clear about why the work matters, you’ll find it easier to make the right-sized next move. Sometimes that means pushing forward. Sometimes it means pausing with intention. After all, purposeful projects don’t expire, they wait.
 
At Reach Partners, we help leaders step back and reevaluate, not with judgment, but with a strategic approach. You’re not behind. You’re just ready for a new path forward. Because in our experience, a “missed” opportunity is often just a reframed one.