Connect & Communicate: Insights from Lenneage Consulting

If you’ve ever walked into a project and immediately thought, “Oh no, this is a disaster,” congratulations! You’ve experienced a classic dumpster fire project.

It starts small—a missed deadline here, an unclear requirement there. Before you know it, everything is on fire, and you’re stuck playing firefighter instead of a project manager. The good news? It doesn’t have to be this way. The even better news? You can prevent future fires before they start.

The Hallmarks of a Dumpster Fire Project

• Scope Creep Gone Wild – New requests keep sneaking in, and suddenly, you’re delivering everything but the kitchen sink.
• Last-Minute Emergencies – Every task feels like a rush job, even though you’ve been working on this project for months.
• Lack of Clear Ownership – Everyone’s responsible, which means no one is actually accountable.
• Endless Meetings, Zero Progress – There’s plenty of talking, but nothing’s getting done.
• Reactive Leadership – Problems are addressed only when they explode, never before.

Sound familiar? Then you’re living the crisis-mode lifestyle, where projects are driven by panic rather than planning. Let’s fix that.

Step 1: Prevention is Better Than Firefighting

Crisis-driven project management is exhausting. The key to breaking out of this cycle? Shifting from reactive to proactive leadership.

1. Set Clear Goals from Day One – If no one knows the actual objective, everyone’s just running in circles. Align stakeholders upfront on what success looks like.
2. Define (and Defend) Your Scope – If it’s not in the project charter, it’s not happening—at least not without a structured change management process.
3. Assign Clear Roles & Responsibilities – Ambiguity is the fuel of dumpster fires. Make sure everyone knows their job and is accountable for it.
4. Create a Risk Plan Before You Need One – Identify potential risks early, assign owners to them, and have a mitigation plan ready.

Step 2: Putting Out the Flames

Already in crisis mode? Here’s how to stop the chaos and regain control.

• Pause the Panic – When everything is urgent, nothing is. Step back, assess what’s actually critical, and prioritize ruthlessly.
• Stop the Bleeding – Identify the biggest issues causing chaos and tackle them first. Sometimes, small process changes (like better meeting structures) can make an immediate impact.
• Communicate Like a Leader – In a crisis, silence fuels the fire. Keep your team and stakeholders informed on what’s happening, what’s being fixed, and what comes next.
• Reinforce Boundaries – If people are piling on more tasks mid-crisis, it’s time to push back and protect your team’s bandwidth.

Step 3: Future-Proofing Your Projects

Make Post-Mortems a Habit – Learn from the chaos. What went wrong? What early signs did you miss? What needs to change?

Improve Processes, Not Just People – Don’t just tell people to “do better next time.” Fix the systems and workflows that led to the breakdown.

Normalize Planning (Even When Things Are Going Well) – Don’t wait for disaster to strike before getting organized. The best time to implement proactive strategies is before you need them.

Final Thoughts: Be the Fire Marshall, Not the Firefighter

Managing in crisis mode isn’t just exhausting—it’s unsustainable. The best project managers don’t just put out fires; they prevent them from ever starting.



The next time you find yourself knee-deep in a dumpster fire project, ask yourself: “Am I firefighting, or am I future-proofing?” Then take a deep breath, grab a fire extinguisher (or better yet, a solid project plan), and turn that chaos into control.