Eleventh hour risks in project management can be some of the hardest challenges you’ll face—especially when you’re racing toward the finish line. You’ve steered the ship through scope changes, resource constraints, conflicting stakeholder demands, and countless stand-ups. You’re almost there. The finish line is in sight.
Then someone raises a red flag.
It’s late—maybe too late. The instinct in these moments is often to shut the door, silence the alarm, and keep moving. After all, what’s one more concern after months of hard work? But here’s the hard truth: sometimes, the risk is worth listening to.
The Finish Line Tunnel Vision
When we’re deep into a project, laser-focused on delivery, it’s tempting to view last-minute concerns as distractions. Many of us have been trained—implicitly or explicitly—to prize execution and momentum above all else. Changing plans at the last second feels chaotic, risky in its own right, and possibly even political suicide.
It reminds me of what President Josiah Bartlet said in The West Wing:
“A coach once told me that the hardest thing to do in sports is to walk into your Super Bowl locker room at half time and change the strategy that got you there ’cause it’s no longer working.”
Project management can be just like that. Sometimes you have to call an audible, even when everything’s set to go.
A Real-World Cautionary Tale
I once worked with a client on a digital campaign project that included advertising, PR, and a new website. I came in late in the game to support the digital ads. The campaign featured high-profile licensed intellectual property—stuff that came with tight usage agreements.
The client’s marketing team, perhaps in the excitement of the creative process, had started pushing the boundaries of how the IP was being used. I flagged the issue and suggested we double-check the licensing terms before launch.
Their response? “We’ll ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”
I pushed as hard as I could, but they were focused on one thing: launching. Two weeks after the campaign went live, they received a cease-and-desist letter from the IP owners. The entire campaign had to be taken down. The company lost a significant amount of money, not to mention reputation.
All because no one wanted to hit pause and deal with an eleventh hour risk that was inconvenient—but real.
It’s Rarely Black and White
Most eleventh hour risks in project management don’t require you to scrap the whole project. More often, they demand a compromise. A late-stage issue might require:
- A slight launch delay
- A phased or staggered rollout
- Extra monitoring and contingencies
- A shift in messaging or execution
- A tough conversation with leadership
The point is not to let momentum override good judgment. When someone raises a concern—even at the eleventh hour—it’s worth evaluating it thoroughly. Dismissing it out of hand not only discourages your team from speaking up but can blind you to threats that jeopardize the entire project.
The Leadership Challenge
Making a last-minute change—especially when stakeholders, revenue, or even jobs are on the line—is incredibly hard. It feels like betrayal. It feels like failure. But sometimes, it’s simply the right call.
True project leadership means balancing delivery with wisdom. It means creating a culture where concerns are heard—even when they’re inconvenient. It means recognizing that success isn’t just crossing the finish line—it’s crossing the finish line with something that works, holds up, and doesn’t fall apart a week later.
Final Thoughts
Eleventh hour risks in project management are real. They don’t care about your timeline, your roadmap, or how close you are to launch. When a new risk appears late in the game, the easy answer is to push it aside. But the right answer might be to stop, listen, and evaluate.
As hard as it is, sometimes you have to change the strategy that got you there—because it’s no longer working.