41. “From Every Maze, One Exits Upwards”

This phrase is attributed to Leopoldo Marechal, an Argentine poet.

When we find ourselves in a “maze”, oppressed in the context of multiple actors, disparate issues, and a plot that we can’t easily comprehend, the best course of action is to seek an exit upwards.

Our “mazes” are constructed from the corruption of the project’s scope, from misunderstandings, assumptions, and unrealistic deadlines.

The worst thing we can do within these “mazes” is to continue seeking an exit using the same methods that led us there.

When we are in such situations, the best thing we can do is to look for “the exit upwards.”

Restart.

Clarify the context.

Ask ourselves and others openly:

• What is the project’s goal?
• When should we achieve it?
• What do we need to build?
• What elements can we do without?

It’s never too late to seek clarity in the concepts that seem basic to a project. Generally, projects fail because the “obvious” things are not clear to everyone involved.

It’s not good to focus on the problems, but on the objectives we seek to satisfy.

Again: it’s never too late to seek clarity.

By gaining clarity, we can easily find the way out of the “maze”, with clarity we can seek alternative solutions, things we hadn’t thought of before.

Without clarity, we can only continue to stumble with the same errors that accumulated simply because no one had the courage to say: “Excuse me, I don’t understand. Could you, once more, tell me what the goal of the project is?”