Avoid Blame By Absence

Name: Avoid Blame By Absence

Problem: A hard decision has to be made late in the project due to problems with quality.

Context: You are in a project that is behind schedule. You can ship a sub-standard product on time, or you can delay the ship date in order to solve the quality problem.

Forces: Both delaying the product ship date and shipping a sub-standard product will create a negative impression. The correct choice is difficult to determine, as the product may be sufficient for the users needs. Making the wrong decision will impact upon your career.

Solution: This week would be a good time to call in sick. You cannot be share in the collective blame of making the wrong decision if you are not present when it was made.

Resulting context: Hindsight is 20/20. When it becomes clear which decision was the correct one, you can support it retroactively - "Obviously, I would have voted to ship late. I only wish I had been present for that crucial decision. I was shocked to find Jones had decided to ship what was obviously a sub-standard product." (or vice-versa if required.)

-- Edouard

This is even more effective if you are absent at the beginning of the project. If it fails miserably, you can claim that you knew the project should never have been initiated in the first place. If it succeeds, it's only because you were brought in to save it.

Also, calling in sick can be too obvious. It is better to get yourself deeply involved in other projects or business development activities, and then claim that you are just too swamped with other higher priority projects to worry about the one that is in trouble. With skill, you can shift priorities around and ensure that whichever project is in the most trouble at any point in time will have the lowest priority.