Why Projects Stall Before They Even Start (And What To Do About It)

Photo credit: Mark(ing) Time Photography

Most advice businesses don’t have a project execution problem. They have a project set-up problem.

Here’s what we see (almost) daily: Everyone’s busy. Everyone’s working on something. But very few are actually getting meaningful change over the line.

Why? Because most projects get launched without clear scoping, clear accountability, or any real change management (aka leadership).

What we call a “project” is often just a to-do list… With no agreed purpose, no rhythm, and no real ownership.

What Ultra-Running Taught Me About (Project) Setup

This reminds me of something I’ve experienced many times on the running trails. It’s 4:00 AM. I’m standing on the start line of a 100km trail ultra. Headlamp on. Backpack loaded. Adrenaline (aka nerves) quietly simmering.

But here’s the thing: My success on the day has nothing to do with how I run the first 5km. It’s about what happened in the months before: the training, the nutrition, the taper, the route planning, the gear prep, the hydration strategy, the conversations with people who’ve done it before.

When I get it wrong? I go out too fast. Blow up halfway. Lose time, lose confidence, and start problem-solving under pressure. Sound familiar?

The (Real Life) Workshop Moment That Changed Everything

Advice businesses do the same. They start running without a real plan. And then spend the next 6 months troubleshooting something they could’ve set up properly in 6 days.

Recently, I facilitated a session with a financial planning group experiencing this exact pain. Smart people. Great ideas. But everything felt heavy. Like the business was always running uphill in soft sand. Every project was reactive. Priorities kept changing. Decisions got made, unmade, then remade.

We paused the whole thing. We got in a room. Mapped it all out. And instead of rushing to solutions, we asked:

• What are we actually trying to fix?

• Who owns this?

• What’s already been decided and what hasn’t?

• What assumptions are driving this (and have we tested them)?

And just like in racing, once the setup was right … momentum returned. Not because we moved faster. But because we moved with focus (one of my favourite words).

How to Set Up Projects That Actually Move

What we know ... modern advice businesses don’t just want to grow. They want to move. With more momentum, less doubt, and a hell of a lot less burnout.

If your business keeps stalling, it’s probably not about capability (or even capacity). It’s about another one of my favourite words, clarity. A lack of it soaks up and wastes capacity.

Here’s our tips – start here:

• Don’t run until you’ve mapped the route. Stop rushing into “doing” before scoping what matters.

• Pick an owner. Not a committee. Projects without one clear lead always drift. Yes, one person!

• Write it down. If it’s not written, it’s not real. Documentation creates accountability. It shouldn’t but it still shocks me when things are not written down.

• Expect resistance. Change management isn’t optional ... it’s the job. We call it leadership. Yep, it's hard. It's really ok to ask for help.

• Review rhythm > hope. Without monthly check-ins and clear handovers, even the best ideas fade.

Growth Is Noisy. Scale Is Calm.

Advice businesses aren’t struggling because they lack energy. They’re struggling because they lack the setup to use it properly.

If you want to move like a modern business – smoothly, consistently, confidently – start by setting up better.

Because growth is noisy. But scale is calm.

We give away what works. I hope you can use something in here to help move your business forward. Because better advice businesses build a better profession.