Book excerpt: Many businesses have multiple projects underway at any given time. Projects for customers. Projects to improve something. Projects to maintain equipment. Projects to align the organization. Projects to find the next big money-maker. But these efforts are always subject to uncertainty. When will it be finished? Sometime between sooner and later! How much will it really cost? Probably more than we expect! Will it do everything we want it to do? Well, we sure hope so, but maybe not! And often these projects have to compete with each other for funding, for internal resources, and for priority. HANGING FIRE is about that uncertain world - your world. It is about discovering a way of thinking that enables you and your colleagues to manage the unknown, achieve predicable results in the face of uncertainty, and gain 30% to 50% in capacity with minimal or no additional investment.