I recently announced a new position as a Producer at UNIT9, a company I greatly admired. Unfortunately, the project I was assigned to wasn’t progressing as planned and has been indefinitely shelved. As a result, my employment with the company has ended.
Despite the project’s outcome, I thoroughly enjoyed my brief time at UNIT9. The team was incredibly talented and brimming with innovative ideas. I’m grateful to the CEO for the opportunity, and while I wasn’t able to deliver the desired results, I believe both the company and I learned valuable lessons from the experience.
This situation has prompted me to reflect on the difficulty of letting go of projects we’ve invested significant time and effort in. It’s frustrating to see something fall apart due to external factors, such as intense competition in this case. While moving on is necessary, I’ve encountered numerous instances throughout my career where the decision to abandon a project rested entirely with me. There were times I persisted with projects that were clearly failing.
Experiencing this situation from the other side, where the decision is out of my hands, is a unique perspective. I hope to carry this newfound awareness with me in the future. It’s crucial to be able to assess a project’s health and trajectory. Observing senior colleagues make these decisions has been invaluable, and I’m confident this experience will make me a better judge of when to abandon a project moving forward.
The key takeaway for me is the importance of project awareness. We must be able to critically evaluate a project’s progress and identify when it’s time to cut our losses.
