A Project in Freefall—and How I Turned It Around

Authored By Ankita Pimple

We’ve all been there: a project that starts smoothly and then suddenly spirals. Deadlines slip. Communication breaks down. Stakeholders start to panic. That was me, mid-internship, facing a project that had gone completely off the rails.

This wasn’t just a task—it was a flagship initiative that impacted client delivery and team morale. I knew if I didn’t act fast, we’d lose both momentum and trust. What I learned from that experience not only saved the project but also shaped how I lead under pressure.

What Happened

The project got off to a strong start, thanks to cross-functional collaboration, a well-defined plan, and leadership buy-in. However, as we moved into execution, things began to unravel. Communication across departments became scattered. Tasks were misunderstood or duplicated. Delays crept in silently until we were two weeks behind and the client was asking tough questions.

As an intern, I didn’t have formal authority. But I did have a clear view of the chaos and a deep desire to fix it. So, I stepped up. First, I created a centralized status tracker using Excel and Power BI to visualize progress and bottlenecks. Then, I scheduled brief daily standups (yes, even as an intern!) to realign the team.

Instead of blaming, I focused on clarity and trust. I asked questions others were afraid to ask. I simplified deliverables and restructured the timeline with milestones that we could realistically achieve. Slowly, the team got back on track. The client stayed. And the project crossed the finish line late, but stronger.

Takeaways:

• Don’t wait for permission to lead. If you see a fire, grab the extinguisher.
• Visibility saves projects. A single source of truth can rebuild momentum.
• Small actions, such as asking questions or running a 10-minute sync, can make a huge difference. They create clarity, build trust, and often unblock progress faster than significant interventions.
• Own the chaos, not the blame. People follow clarity, not titles.

The Risk I Never Saw Coming

Risk management is a buzzword often used in project management, but some risks don’t appear in an RACI chart or RAID log. They creep in through silence, assumptions, or overlooked context.

This story is about one of those risks; the kind that caught me off guard and taught me to listen harder, not just plan smarter.

The Story

We were deep into planning a virtual event across three time zones. The schedule looked solid. Speakers were confirmed. The budget was tight but manageable. I’d built what I thought was a bulletproof plan.

But then it started. A few team members missed deadlines. Others stopped responding as quickly. Still, no one raised a flag. I thought we were experiencing typical growing pains.

Until the week of the event, when I learned that two key contributors were completely unclear about their responsibilities, I had assumed the task had been dropped. The other didn’t feel comfortable admitting they were confused.

The real risk? Unspoken misalignment.

I had assumed silence meant alignment. But what it meant was hesitation, confusion, even burnout. And because I hadn’t created space for those concerns to surface, the issue snowballed until it nearly derailed the project.

What saved us? A last-minute honest check-in where I scrapped the agenda and asked: “What’s unclear?” We recovered, but barely. I will never forget that moment.

Takeaways:

• Silence is not agreement. It’s often a signal to probe deeper.
• Create safety for honesty early. People won’t tell you what’s wrong if you don’t make space.
• The most significant risk is the one you don’t know about, so keep listening, even when things seem fine. The quiet signals often reveal the real issues before they escalate.
• Plan for technical risks, yes, but don’t forget the human ones. Misalignment, silence, and burnout can just as quickly derail progress as missed deadlines.

How I Deal with Stakeholders Who Keep Changing the Goalposts 

You finally agree on the deliverables. Everyone nods. The kickoff is a success. And then… a week later, a key stakeholder emails with “just a small update.” Before you know it, the project scope has changed again.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone. Dealing with shifting expectations isn’t just frustrating, it’s a core part of project delivery. Here’s how I learned to manage moving targets without losing my sanity (or my timeline).

The Real Story

This incident occurred during my tenure at Radical AI. We were building a workflow optimization solution and had alignment from marketing, design, and leadership until we didn’t.

Each week, someone would request a new feature, tweak the metrics, or suggest “one quick thing” that added hours of scope. It felt like the finish line kept moving further away.

Instead of pushing back aggressively (which I was tempted to do), I tried a different approach: I built a change log. Every time a new request came in, I logged the date, the source, the reason, and its impact on the timeline.

Then I presented it back to stakeholders in our weekly review. Not defensively but transparently.

What happened next surprised me: Stakeholders began to self-regulate. They realized how each change added up. We started having conversations about priorities rather than possibilities.

The project still evolved, but with intention, not chaos.

Takeaways:

• Track every change. Not for blame, but for clarity.
• Translate "asks" into impact. Help stakeholders see the real cost.
• You’re not saying “no”—you’re saying “yes, if…”. Framing changes in terms of conditions helps stakeholders understand the impact and make informed decisions.
• Clarity creates calm. Transparency builds mutual respect.
• The goal isn’t to stop changes. It’s to manage them with a purpose.

Contributor Bio

Ankita has a master’s degree in Information Technology and Management from Illinois Institute of Technology. I love bringing order to chaos, whether it’s managing a cross-functional project or color-coding my daily to-do list. Outside of work, you’ll find me mentoring aspiring tech professionals and experimenting with dashboards.

Connect on LinkedIn: Ankita Pimple