The Make-or-Break Moment: Why Projects Succeed (or Flop) Before They Even Begin

Most organizations think a project’s success depends on execution—having the right team, the right process, the right roadmap. But in reality, success (or failure) is often determined long before the work even begins.

By the time an agency is brought in, the project may already be off to a rocky start. Poorly defined goals, unclear budgets, and misaligned expectations can quietly set the stage for delays, rework, and frustration. I’ve seen too many agencies take on projects just to get the work in the door, only to find themselves tailspinning—struggling to deliver without the right resources, alignment, or framework for success. And I know this because I’m often brought in as a fixer—untangling confusion, making sense of disparate work, and moving intangible insights and strategy into action. My team thrives in bringing clarity to complexity, ensuring that projects don’t just move forward, but move forward in the right direction. Many teams try to solve this internally before engaging external partners, but here’s the truth: you shouldn’t have to figure it all out alone.

A strategic agency partner doesn’t just execute a project—they help shape it before it even begins. The right partner ensures that the work is framed correctly, priorities are aligned, and that everyone involved is set up for success. This upfront investment saves time, resources, and countless headaches.

Before kicking off any initiative, here are a few critical questions that we like to unpack that can mean the difference between a transformative outcome and a slow-motion train wreck:

✅ What problem are we actually solving?
It sounds obvious, but teams often jump into solutions before deeply understanding the problem. If the problem isn’t clear, how can the solution be?

✅ What’s wrong with the current solution?
Is it outdated? Inefficient? Misaligned with business needs? If you can’t articulate what’s broken, you risk solving the wrong thing—or solving nothing at all.

✅ What is the real purpose of this work?
Are you trying to unlock buy-in for a larger initiative? Deliver an interim fix? Overhaul everything? Without clarity on the “why,” even the best work can miss the mark.

✅ What is the full budget—across all phases?
Not just for this phase, but for what comes next. Too often, organizations fund the strategy but not the implementation, leaving great ideas to gather dust.

✅ What happens after this phase is complete?
Is there a plan for scaling, maintaining, or evolving the work? If this isn’t clear at the outset, momentum can be lost before real impact is achieved.

✅ How will decisions be made?
Who has final say? How do we resolve disagreements? A lack of clarity on decision-making leads to delays, scope creep, and frustration.

Too often, teams feel like they need to answer all of these questions before bringing in an external partner. But a great agency should be part of this process. My team spends time upfront aligning on strategy, structure, and impact before we start executing the work itself. Because when you get the scoping right, the rest of the project runs smoother, faster, and with better results.

The takeaway? Don’t just hire an agency to execute a project—choose a strategic partner who can help define it. That’s the difference between an initiative that delivers real impact and one that fizzles out before it even begins.