27th February 2020 at 14:53

I’ve been doing client services for a very long time now and there’s one thing that never changes: stakeholders going rogue. You can plan projects to the nth-degree, but that derailing amend will arrive and hit you for six, every damn time.

The thing for me is I have to have the right amount of energy to deal with rogue stakeholders properly. If I’m far into a big project, my energy is no where near high enough to tackle bad ideas and keep the project on the right path. It also takes a lot of patience.

I’m going through this scenario at the moment, but this time, the energy levels are very low, so I’m in a “do whatever you want” mood, which I’m sure will bite me in the ass in the long-term. I think the upcoming Piccalilli stuff contributes to that mood, too.

You’ve got to care for yourself too and ask yourself if fighting back against a rogue stakeholder is worth it. Sometimes—especially as a freelancer—you’ve just gotta send the invoices and get on with it. Do work, go home. In my case: Do work, get paid and focus on better, future endeavours.