People in favor of a pause to plan a session noted that they didn’t know if they would make it on the date. Opponents of the delay thought it best to not take time away from work to discuss it. Their view was that “Keep your head down and work as hard you can to make the date” and that nobody wanted to take responsibility (yet more sign of danger) for making the decision. I made the decision and the implications were obvious. If we missed our date because of the planning session, it would have been my fault. If we missed our date because of the fact that I didn’t hold the planning session, it would be my fault. I was caught between a rock and a mire and called for the planning sessions. I decided to delay the project. We would have a one-day pause where the whole team could work to create a work breakdown structure and project estimates, as well as a clear schedule. This story ended with a happy ending. We found out that we were able to make it on our date. We learned the importance of having a solid work breakdown structure, accurate estimates, and a clearly defined schedule. My sponsor spoke up at the end of the day-long planning session and said that he was against us taking the day off the project. He stated that he now sees the value in the project delay and that it was a good thing that we took this short pause. Sometimes a pause is all you need for your project.