Rescuing a project in progress

Jason Fried's practical advice for rescuing projects that have gone off track. Key strategies include aggressively reducing scope to the absolute minimum viable delivery, clarifying ownership and decision-making authority, communicating honestly about the project's real status, and focusing ruthlessly on shipping something valuable rather than everything originally planned. Fried emphasizes that most failing projects suffer from scope creep, unclear ownership, and dishonest communication about problems. The rescue process involves acknowledging reality, making hard decisions about what to cut, rallying the team around a achievable goal, and building momentum through small wins. He advocates for 'appetite-based' planning - deciding how much time you want to invest rather than how long something will take. The philosophy: it's better to ship something good in 6 weeks than to never ship something perfect. Success comes from embracing constraints, making peace with trade-offs, and remembering that you can always iterate after shipping.