Why process matters (even when you don’t have time for it)

Let’s get one thing straight: project managers aren’t obsessed with process because we love charts and checklists. We’re obsessed with process because we’ve lived through what happens without it.

And I don’t mean “a few hiccups.” I mean full-blown project dumpster fires: missed deadlines, misaligned teams, angry clients, scope that mutates like a horror movie virus. All because someone said, “We don’t have time for that step.”

Think skipping process saves time? Adorable. What it actually does is hit snooze on the chaos. You’re not avoiding problems—you’re just scheduling them for later, when they’ll be bigger, messier, and way more expensive.

Where the chaos starts

In agency life, it usually begins at the handoff from sales to project manager.

A project gets sold (great!), and then the PM inherits a whirlwind:

• A client who’s already frustrated because timelines shifted during contracting.
• A scope that was cut to hit a budget, but the expectations never adjusted.
• A deadline that somehow stayed the same, despite all of the above.

And now, instead of a thoughtful kickoff, we’re told, "Let’s just get going. We can catch up later."

In agencies, speed is the norm. Clients change their minds, timelines shift, and half the time you’re building the plane while flying it. It’s rare that a project fits neatly into a perfect, step-by-step process—and that’s okay. That’s reality.

But adapting your process doesn’t mean tossing it out. It means understanding the intent behind each step—why you scope, why you align, why you document—and making smart decisions about how to adjust. You don’t skip steps. You compress them. You remix them. You scale them down without losing their purpose.

The goal doesn’t change just because the timeline does. You still need shared expectations, clear priorities, defined roles, and a team that knows what they’re doing and why. You just have to get there faster, with less margin for error, and often with more people watching.

That’s not chaos. That’s what process literacy actually looks like.

Don’t fumble the handoff

Let’s be clear: your sales or biz dev lead is part of the team. Full stop.

They don’t want to sell a lemon any more than you want to deliver one. They’re not trying to make your job harder—they’re trying to close deals and build trust. So when it comes to handing off a project, the goal isn’t to throw it over the fence and hope for the best. The goal is to work together to create a smooth transition from “contract signed” to “project successfully kicked off.”

And that requires actual communication.

Business development conversations are where the relationship begins. That’s where clients share their goals, frustrations, and sometimes their entire professional origin story. That context doesn’t just shape scope—it shapes expectations. When that context doesn’t carry through, the project starts with a broken signal.

I’ve worked with teams who get this right. Some loop PMs or AMs into late-stage sales calls so they’re part of the context early. Others assign a PM to quietly manage the details—tracking decisions, documenting shifts in scope, prepping the onboarding plan—so the transition feels intentional, not abrupt.

Nothing sours a new relationship faster than repeating yourself. If a client spends weeks explaining their needs, only to start from scratch with a new team, that’s not just inefficient, it’s irritating.

So when sales wraps a deal and says, “We have a new, quick project that needs to get started ASAP. Can you jump on a kickoff later today?”—pause.

If you’re going to skip steps, do it with eyes open and roles aligned. Run a quick internal sync. Share the notes. Talk through what was promised, what was compromised, and what still feels fuzzy. Give the team a shot at understanding what they’re walking into.

Because if we don’t create space for a real handoff, we’re not just rushing—we’re risking the entire project before it even begins.

What skipping process really costs

Let’s say you skip the scoping conversation. Now, halfway through the project, your client is asking for work that wasn’t included—and they’re pissed when you say it’s out of scope.

Or maybe you skip stakeholder alignment. Suddenly, you’ve got a CMO in week four who has no idea what you’re doing and wants to “revisit the strategy.” Congratulations! Timeline obliterated.

Or you skip the internal kickoff. Now your team is chasing feedback, second-guessing the brief, and wondering why they’re burning out on something that was supposed to be “quick.”

This stuff happens constantly. Not because people are careless, but because we convince ourselves we’re being efficient. But we’re not saving time—we’re just moving the mess and kicking the can down the road until it explodes.

And by the time it does, you’re not just fixing the issue. You’re rebuilding trust, renegotiating scope, and explaining why your “quick start” is now a crisis.

Skipping process doesn’t make the work go away. It just buries the cost until it shows up all at once.

You can’t eliminate risk entirely—but you can choose whether you meet it prepared or blindsided.

Great documentation is useless if no one uses it

You know what’s worse than skipping process? Pretending you have one—because there’s a Notion page.

I’ve seen the setup: polished templates, a tidy process hub, onboarding checklists that could win design awards. But when deadlines hit, those documents are nowhere to be found. People default to Slack threads, memory, and a mix of “how we did it last time” and “how I feel like doing it now.”

The result? Inconsistency, confusion, and frustration—especially for new hires or cross-functional teams.

Documentation is about shared understanding—not bureaucracy. It’s how you scale alignment without having to explain everything over and over again. But that only works if the documentation is alive.

You might not need to reference it daily. That’s fine. A good process becomes second nature. However, it still requires regular care and attention—because if your team evolves (and they inevitably will), your process should, too.

Here’s the move: use retros to pressure-test your process and keep it current. Ask:

• What steps did we follow?
• What worked?
• What didn’t?
• Where did we wing it—and should we do that again?

Then make updates. Flag what’s changed. And—this part matters—communicate it clearly. The best teams don’t treat process like a static wiki. They treat it like a living system, questioning, refining, and reinforcing it as a team.

Because if no one’s using it, it’s not a process. It’s just corporate fan fiction.

PMs: hold the line (without being rigid)

If you’re a project manager, your job isn’t to blindly enforce the process—it’s to understand it deeply enough to flex it with intention. That means knowing which steps are critical, which ones can be compressed, and what happens when something gets skipped.

So when someone says, “Let’s just move forward without this part,” don’t default to yes. Instead, ask:

• What step are we skipping?
• What outcome are we risking?
• Are we aligned on how we’ll move forward anyway?

You don’t have to fight every battle. But you do need to know what each battle protects. Because when things go sideways (and they will), people will turn to you for clarity.

You’ll want to be able to say, “We understood the risks. We made an informed decision. And we planned accordingly.”

That’s not rigidity. That’s leadership.

Anyone can follow a checklist. The real skill is knowing when to adapt without losing your grip on what matters.

TL;DR

Process isn’t red tape. It’s your time machine. It helps you see around corners, avoid chaos, and protect your team from preventable messes.

In agency life, speed matters. But alignment matters more. So take the time—even if it’s a little time—to do it right.

Every minute counts. That’s why process isn’t optional, it’s essential.