How do you deal with a project going wrong?

This week's Assembly asked
"How do you deal with a project going wrong?"

We've gathered the key points and notes from the session, so you can refer back for future reference, or if you weren't able to join, learn from your fellow freelancers.

Projects can go off the rails when you're a freelancer, and learning how to identify, navigate and react is a skill you can develop.

You'll need to balance compromising and just getting through things, with knowing when to say enough is enough - but good communication, regular checkins, and adjusting your approach are essential before calling it quits.

Sometimes, it's about putting up with a challenging project and delivering it to the best of your ability, don't forget, the end is always in sight. But sometimes, you might need to call it - when you feel you can't do good work, or the relationship has soured irrevocably.

Common red flags include lacking clarity of scope, poor communication, lack of engagement. It's worth keeping an eye out for these things early on, it might mean you need to lean in more to managing the project, rather than letting it unfold or fall apart.

It's not always a "bad" client, sometimes it's just a busy client. Often clients might not have the capacity to engage, or your work might not be a priority to them, and that can make it harder for us, but it's also a big part of the job, taking the work off their hands and delivering outputs and outcomes.

Another big part of our role is being a "guide" through the project, not just delivering on the work. Sometimes this means we're as much project manager as we are copywriter. And often it's appreciated that we grab it by the horns and make it a success.

The value of a really good kickoff was agreed, but there's not always time or willing, especially on projects which are shorter, sharper, or when you're juggling multiple clients at once.

Being really clear on what you need from the client upfront helps them get it for you, and taking control over the shape of the project both reassures the client and ensures you get the proper onboarding, briefing or inputs.

And the upfront "contracting" isn't just a scope and legal process, but including ways of working and the relationship management is crucial too.

Top Tips from this week:

• Be more hairdresser: be clear on timings and expectations.
• Find your own "value/feeling/complexity" score for each project
• Establish your ways of working upfront, so you can understand how "far" you're straying
• Reflect on a project that "went wrong", so you can learn for next time

And a bit of homework:

What's things do you need for a project to work well?