BEP 244 – Collocations for Debriefing a Project (Part 2)

Hello and welcome back to Business English Pod. My name’s Edwin, and I’ll be your
host for today’s lesson on discussing the outcome of a project.

When you, your team, or your company finish a project, what do you do? Do you
rush into the next project and put the last one behind you? Or do you take the time
to talk about what you’ve done and try to learn from your mistakes?

Let’s think about this another way: do you find that certain problems keep coming
up in one project after another? Well, they don’t have to. Not if you take the time
to learn, discuss, and debrief.

Yes, it’s important to discuss the projects we’ve completed. And in these types of
discussions native speakers will use many common and useful expressions.
Sometimes we call these useful expressions “collocations.” That’s a fancy way to
talk about a natural combination of words. Just think about an expression like “to
launch a new product.” We don’t say “start” a new product, or “let out” a new
product. The natural collocation is “launch a new product.”

As you listen to the dialog, try to pick out some of these expressions and we’ll go
through them later in our own debrief.

In the dialog, we’re going to rejoin Dean and Michelle, whose company has just
finished a project to expand a manufacturing plant. In our last lesson, they talked
about some of the successes and delays in the project. Today, we’ll hear them talk
about how to resolve some of the problems they experienced.

As you listen, try to answer the following questions:

1. What is Dean’s main concern about the problem with City Steel?
2. What was another contributing factor in project delays?
3. What does Dean suggest to Michelle about how to do things better?

Vocabulary
 
Liable: legally responsible; “The lawyer argued that the power company was liable
for his client’s business losses during the power outage.”

To follow up: to discuss, inquire, or explore an issue with someone else or in

addition to what you’ve already done; “Dave, after our meeting here can you follow
up with finance about the budget changes?”

Concern: something of importance, or a worry; “If you have concerns about your
employee’s performance, you shouldn’t wait too long to discuss them.”

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To resolve issues: to solve problems; “Complaints poured in when the website was
down while we resolved issues with the server.”
 
Timeline: a plan for when things should happen and how long they should take,
especially for a work project or plan; “Susan, I just don’t think that timeline is
realistic considering all the other projects we have going.”

To throw things off: to delay or change the timeline of something; “The delay in the
furniture shipment has thrown off the opening of our new office by a few days.”
 
Design phase: projects have different phases, or stages, one of which may be a
“design phase”; “If we can’t agree on anything here, we’re never going to get out of
the design phase.”
 
To meet expectations: to complete work that is expected in a satisfactory way;
“According to Bloomberg, the CFO was fired because he failed to meet the
expectations set by the Board.”

To focus on: to concentrate on, give priority to, or pay special attention to; “The
entire marketing team agrees that we need to focus on improving our brand
recognition.”

Lesson learned: an experience – especially a bad one or a failure – that changes

the way you do something in the future; “Well folks, the real lesson learned here is
that we need to make sure we understand exactly what the client wants before we
start.”
 
To do due diligence: to do research or check into a company or individual, including
their background, current situation, and trustworthiness; “Phoning a job applicant’s
references is a standard and expected part of doing due diligence during the hiring
process.”
 
To take ownership: to accept responsibility for something, especially a mistake or
problem; “It is wiser to take ownership of your mistakes than to try to cover them
up, deny them, or downplay them.”

Litigation issues: legal problems, especially ones involving responsibility for

mistakes or wrongdoing; “We’ve made it through several major litigation issues
with the help of a fantastic team of lawyers.”

“Fair enough”: we say “fair enough” when we accept or admit that what someone
says is true or correct; “A: John, you really haven’t been putting in 100% lately. B:
Fair enough, but I’ve been terribly sick.”

Claims: a legal request or demand for something such as money that you think you
should rightfully have; “I have filed a claim against my former business partner for
my share of the assets.”

The deal with: what happened, what is happening, or what is going to happen,
often used with the question word “what”; “So Hank, what’s the deal with that job
you applied for? Did you get it?”
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Contributing factor: one of several reasons that something happens; “Economists
agree that poor banking regulations were a contributing factor in the economic
crisis.”

Timing: when something happens; “I’d just like you to make sure that the timing of
your holiday doesn’t conflict with any major project deadlines.”

Shift: a period of daily work, especially at factories, hospitals, and other such
workplaces; “Junior police officers are required to work one week of day shifts
followed by a week of night shifts.”
 
To find a compromise: to come to an agreement in which both sides give something
up or don’t get everything they want; “At first, management and the union refused
to change, but after 12 hard weeks, they found a compromise.”

Someone’s nose is out of joint: someone is upset, angry, or offended; “Bill’s nose
has been out of joint ever since I suggested his presentations are much too long.”
 
To work around something: to change or adapt to fit a situation or someone else;
“We’re just going to have to find a way to work around the staff shortage over the
holidays.”

To push on: to work very hard to finish or accomplish something; “The project
leader called a meeting to ask everyone to push hard on their tasks in order to
meet the deadline.”

Target: something you try to reach or achieve, especially something that can be
counted or quantified; “Sales associates who consistently go beyond their sales
targets can expect rapid promotion.”
 
To surpass expectations: to do or achieve more than what is asked for or expected;
“I have to say, WebGuys really surpassed expectations on our site redesign. The
results are fantastic!”
 
To control variables: to manage the factors that affect how or how well something
happens; “The more you can control the variables in an investment, the less risk
you have.”

To alleviate pressure: to make easier or reduce stress or difficulty; “Hiring three

new employees has really helped alleviate pressure on our core programming
staff.”
 
Desired outcomes: the results that you hope to see from an activity or project;
“Hiring a Six Sigma expert has helped us become more efficient and achieve our
desired outcomes.”
 
To put something to rest: to finish, end, or complete something; “Well folks, with
the most recent sales figures, it looks like we can put our troubles to rest!”  

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Dialog

Dean: But we’ve covered our butts on that, right?

Michelle: Yeah, totally. I mean, City Steel was liable in the end, not us, but it’s
something you might want to follow up on more with legal.

Dean: Okay, I’ll do that. I guess my main concern is that having to resolve those
issues changed the whole timeline, didn’t it?

Michelle: Yeah, I think it threw things off by a couple of weeks. And the project
had already been delayed in the design phase, so at that point I was pretty
worried that we wouldn’t be meeting the client’s expectations.

Dean: I can see what you mean. But let’s just focus on the lesson learned here.
Is there a problem with how we do due diligence on guys like City Steel?

Michelle: Definitely. And I’ll take ownership of that one. I reviewed their past
projects, but I should have found out if they’d had any previous litigation issues.

Dean: Fair enough. And definitely important to look into past claims and such.
Now… what was the deal with the temporary shutdowns? You mentioned that was
another contributing factor in delays, right?

Michelle: The issue there was timing. They wanted things to happen during
certain shifts, but it wasn’t always possible.

Dean: Yeah, this is always a tough issue… But you found a compromise, right?

Michelle: Yes. I mean their noses were a bit out of joint, but we managed to
work around their schedules most of the time.

Dean: Okay, you mentioned things like that could have been handled better in the
beginning. You know, if I had some advice there it would be to slow down the
negotiation a bit. I know we’re always pushing on our targets and stuff, but if
we’re going to actually surpass expectations on these big projects, we need to
control as many of these variables as possible.

Michelle: Sure thing. I think better planning could definitely alleviate some of the
pressure in the project phase.

Dean: Exactly. That pressure can make it hard to achieve our desired outcomes,
if you know what I mean. So, Michelle, I think we can officially put this project to
rest. It would be great if you could include all these ideas in your full report, which
we can take to the meeting of project managers next month.

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Debrief

Now let’s go through the dialog again and look at the collocations Dean and Michelle
used in their discussion. We rejoin the conversation as they are talking about a
problem with a subcontractor.
 
Dean: But we’ve covered our butts on that, right?

Michelle: Yeah, totally. I mean, City Steel was liable in the end, not us, but it’s
something you might want to follow up on more with legal.

Dean: Okay, I’ll do that. I guess my main concern is that having to resolve those
issues changed the whole timeline, didn’t it?

Michelle explains that in the subcontractor dispute it was the other company, City
Steel, that was “liable”, or legally responsible. Dean agrees to “follow up”, or
discuss further, with the legal department, but he has another main “concern,” or
worry. His concern is that the project timeline was changed because they had to
“resolve those issues.”

We commonly use the word “issue” to mean “problem.” And when we “resolve” an
issue, we are solving the problem. Let’s try some more ways of using this common
expression:

§ Our client has asked for a meeting to resolve the issues around payment terms.
§ The guys in tech support helped me resolve the issue with the new software.

Now let’s hear Michelle explain some of the “issues” with the timeline.

Michelle: Yeah, I think it threw things off by a couple of weeks. And the project
had already been delayed in the design phase…

Michelle explains that the issue with City Steel “threw things off” by a couple of
weeks. When we talk about project timelines and say that things were “thrown off”,
we mean that they were delayed. And just as Michelle has done, we usually
mention how long things were “thrown off.” Let’s practice this collocation with a
short dialog:

A: Did being short-staffed cause any changes to the timeline?

B: Yeah, I think it threw things off by a week or so.

Michelle emphasizes that the subcontractor issue wasn’t the only problem, and that
there had been earlier delays “in the design phase.” It’s common in projects to talk
about different “phases” or “stages,” as you can hear in the following examples:

§ Good communication with the client is essential during the design phase of the
project.
§ At the beginning of the design stage, let’s sit down and brainstorm some ideas.

So, how does Michelle feel about these delays?

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Michelle: …so at that point I was pretty worried that we wouldn’t be meeting the
client’s expectations.

The result of the delays was a concern that they wouldn’t “meet client
expectations.” “Expectations” are what the client wants or expects to see happen.
That’s the whole point of the project. And when we “meet” expectations, we are
doing the work that is expected and fulfilling our responsibilities. If we “surpass”
expectations, we’re doing even more than the client wanted or expected. Let’s try
using these expressions in a short example:

A: I really hope we can meet the client’s expectations on this website project.
B: Let’s be more ambitious. I’d like to see us surpass expectations.

Now let’s hear how Dean responds to Michelle’s concern.

Dean: I can see what you mean. But let’s just focus on the lesson learned here.
Is there a problem with how we do due diligence on guys like City Steel?

Dean understands what Michelle is trying to say and wants to think about what he
calls the “lesson learned.” “Lessons learned” are like “takeaways”, which we
covered in the last lesson. These are the things to watch for if we want to avoid the
same problems again. And the whole idea of discussing a project after completion is
to find these “lessons learned,” so let’s run through a few more examples:

§ Rather than just feeling bad about this mistake, let’s think about the lessons
learned.
§ I really thought that Joe would be good for that project, but I guess it’s my
lesson learned.

Now, in trying to figure out what the “lesson learned” is, Dean wonders if it is about
how they “do due diligence” on subcontractors. Before you sign a contract with a
person or a company, it’s important to look into their history, background and
performance. This is called “doing due diligence.” And if we don’t do good due
diligence, sometimes we run into problems, as Dean is suggesting. How else can we
use this expression? Let’s practice a few more ways:

§ My due diligence on the company didn’t turn up anything to be worried about.

§ It’s a good idea to call past clients as part of your due diligence on someone.

So, does Michelle agree that there’s an issue with due diligence?

Michelle: Definitely. And I’ll take ownership of that one. I reviewed their past
projects, but I should have found out if they’d had any previous litigation issues.

Not only does Michelle agree, she accepts responsibility for the failure. Or, as she says,
she’ll “take ownership” of the problem. Taking ownership of something in this context
doesn’t mean that we are making a purchase. In a situation like this, it means to take
responsibility for a mistake. Let’s hear how this expression can be used:

A: Is someone here going to take ownership of that poor report?

B: Yeah, that was my fault. I’ll do a much better proofreading job in the future.

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Now let’s get back to the dialog.

Dean: Fair enough. And definitely important to look into past claims and such.
Now… what was the deal with the temporary shutdowns? You mentioned that was
another contributing factor in delays, right?

Dean shows that he accepts what Michelle has said with the words “fair enough,”
and emphasizes that it’s important to include past “claims”, or legal issues, in due
diligence. Dean then asks about the temporary shutdowns of the factory, which
Michelle had mentioned in her summary in our last lesson. Dean wants to know if
those shutdowns were another “contributing factor” in the delays.

“Factors” are the things that happen that cause something else to happen. And if
there are several factors, we can call each one a “contributing factor.” We can use
this expression to talk about both negative and positive results, as you can hear in
these examples:

§ Poor workmanship was the biggest contributing factor in the firing of the
contractor.
§ A high level of customer satisfaction is a contributing factor in our recent
success.

Let’s hear Michelle explain the shutdown issue.

Michelle: The issue there was timing. They wanted things to happen during
certain shifts, but it wasn’t always possible.

Dean: Yeah, this is always a tough issue… But you found a compromise, right?

The problem with the shutdowns, as Michelle says, was “timing.” In other words, it
was when the shutdowns would happen. The client wanted shutdowns during
certain “shifts.” A shift is basically a period of work. And Michelle explains that it
wasn’t always possible to time the shutdowns as the client wanted. Dean
understands that it’s a tough issue and wants to confirm that Michelle “found a
compromise.” A compromise is a solution that partly satisfies both parties or
people. And we can say we “find” a compromise when we decide on this kind of
solution. Let’s go through some more ways of using “to find a compromise”:

§ After three months of tough negotiation, the two parties finally found a
compromise.
§ The designers had to find a compromise between beauty and safety.

So, did they find a compromise?

Michelle: Yes. I mean their noses were a bit out of joint, but we managed to
work around their schedules most of the time.

The simple answer is ‘yes’, they found a compromise. But Michelle points out that
the clients “noses were a bit out of joint.” This is a common idiom that means that

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someone is upset or angry. Still, Michelle says that they were able to “work around”
the client’s schedules.

A big part of compromising is “working around” other peoples needs or schedules.

This expression means changing or adapting things to fit others. How else can we
use it? Let’s try a couple of different ways:

§ We asked the painters to work around our regular business hours.

§ It was difficult for our developers to work around the client’s old operating
system.

Now let’s hear what Dean thinks.

Dean: Okay, you mentioned things like that could have been handled better in the
beginning. You know, if I had some advice there it would be to slow down the
negotiation a bit.

Dean starts by reminding Michelle of something she said earlier about doing a
better job in the beginning of a project. Dean is about to give Michelle some
“constructive criticism.” He wants to help her do a better job, but he wants to
deliver the advice in a positive way. After mentioning Michelle’s own self-criticism,
he says “you know” to soften what he’s about to say. And he uses a conditional, “if
I had some advice there”, to make his criticism a bit indirect. Only then does he
actually suggest that Michelle “slow down the negotiation.” And notice that he adds
“a bit” just to make it even softer.

Giving constructive criticism is an important part not only of talking about projects,
but of management in general. Let’s practice some more ways of giving
constructive criticism:

§ I have a suggestion for how you might handle this a bit more easily.
§ I think you did a great job overall, but there’s one thing that might be improved.
§ If you don’t mind, I’d like to recommend a few changes to how you did this.
§ Just a thought, but you might want to try talking it out with the client.

Dean supports his advice with a bit of explanation.

Dean: I know we’re always pushing on our targets and stuff, but if we’re going to
actually surpass expectations on these big projects, we need to control as many
of these variables as possible.

Notice that Dean uses the expression “surpass expectations”, just like we heard a
bit earlier. And Dean’s point here is that to surpass expectations, or do a great job,
they need to “control variables.” He’s talking about the issue of shutdowns. In this
case, that’s one “variable”, or a possible factor that affects the success of the
project. Every project has a lot of variables, and we “control” or manage these
variables to run smooth projects. Let’s go through some more ways we can talk
about “controlling variables”:

§ We’re going to go over budget if we don’t control the variable of costs better.
§ Controlling variables that might cause delays is the job of the project manager.
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Next, we hear Michelle agree with Dean’s suggestions.

Michelle: Sure thing. I think better planning could definitely alleviate some of the
pressure in the project phase.

Dean: Exactly. That pressure can make it hard to achieve our desired outcomes,
if you know what I mean…

In Michelle’s words, planning can help “alleviate pressure”. Pressure is stress and
difficulty, and “alleviating” pressure means reducing it. And as Dean explains, that’s
important because pressure makes it hard to achieve the “desired outcomes.” The
word “outcomes” refers to the results or the things that happen from an activity,
such as a project or a meeting. Outcomes can be positive or negative, and the ones
that we actually want to see are called “desired outcomes.” What are some other
ways we can use this expression? Let’s try a few more:

§ I’d like to add “improved communication” to our list of desired outcomes on this
project.
§ We not only met our desired outcomes, but we did it in half the estimated time.

Now let’s hear how Dean finishes the dialog off.

Dean: … So, Michelle, I think we can officially put this project to rest. It would
be great if you could include all these ideas in your full report, which we can take to
the meeting of project managers next month.

As Dean draws the discussion to a close, he says that they can officially “put the
project to rest.” We can also say “put something to bed.” Both collocations mean
declaring the end or completion of something, just as Dean is doing, and just as
you can hear in these examples:

§ Before we put this project to bed, let’s have a meeting to discuss how it went.
§ I think we should bring in a mediator and finally put this dispute to rest.

So, they’ve put the project to rest, but we’re not quite ready to put this lesson to
bed yet.

Now it’s your turn to practice some of the collocations we’ve studied in this lesson.
In a moment, you’ll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat the whole sentence, including the missing word. Remember, a collocation is
two or more words that we commonly use together, so pay close attention to the
words before the beep.

For example, if you hear:

Example cue: If we don’t meet our client’s <beep>, they won’t hire us again.

You can say:

Example answer: If we don’t meet our client’s expectations they won’t hire us
again.

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After each response, we’ll play the correct answer. Ready? Let’s give it a go.

Cue 1: If we disagree on price, then let’s find a <beep> everyone can accept.
Answer:

Cue 2: It’s been a fun project, but it’s time to officially put it to <beep>.
Answer:

Cue 3: Paula did a good job of resolving the <beep> with the network.
Answer:

Cue 4: Customers appreciate it when a company takes <beep> of its mistakes.

Answer:

Cue 5: I’m happy to report that we achieved all our desired <beep> on the
project.
Answer:

Answer 1: If we disagree on price, then let’s find a compromise everyone can

accept.
Answer 2: It’s been a fun project, but it’s time to officially put it to bed.
Answer 3: Paula did a good job of resolving the issues with the network.
Answer 4: Customers appreciate it when a company takes ownership of its
mistakes.
Answer 5: I’m happy to report that we achieved all our desired outcomes on the
project.

That’s all for this lesson on talking about completed projects. We’ve learnt lots of
useful collocations for talking about the successes and failures of projects and how
to improve them.

Be sure to check out the study notes in the learning center at

[Link]. There you’ll find detailed vocabulary explanations,
additional practice activities, and a full transcript of this and other episodes.

Thanks for listening, and see you again soon!

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Language Review

A. Collocations

Match the collocations in the box and then use them to complete the sentences
below. (If necessary change the tense of verbs to fit the context, i.e., to past or
future tense.)

put something outcomes  

meet ownership  

work learned  

desired expectations  

find to rest  

lesson a compromise  

contributing around  

take factor  

1. The client doesn’t like our quote for additional costs, so let’s sit down with them
and see if we can ________________.

2. If nobody steps up and ________________ of this mistake, I’m going to hold

the entire team responsible.

3. I’m sorry, but I just don’t think we’ll be able to _______ your ____________ in
that timeframe.

4. Once you submit your final report and budget analysis, we can ________ this
project ____________.

5. “Greater efficiency” and “less waste” are two of the most important
________________ of this project.

6. Let’s have a meeting of everyone who was involved on the project and go over
the ________________.

7. Probably the biggest ________________ in the cost overruns was the rising
cost of gasoline.

8. Global customer service companies must be willing to ________________ time

differences with the companies they serve.

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Answers

Listening

1) Dean’s main concern is that dealing with the City Steel problem changed the
project timeline.
2) Another cause of delays was the timing of temporary shutdowns.
3) Dean suggests that Michelle slow down the negotiation on projects.

Language Review

Put something Outcomes Put something To rest

Meet Ownership Meet Expectations

Work Learned Work Around

Desired Expectations Desired Outcomes

Find To rest Find A compromise

Lesson A compromise Lesson Learned

Contributing Around Contributing Factor

Take Factor Take Ownership

1. The client doesn’t like our quote for additional costs, so let’s sit down with them
and see if we can find a compromise.
2. If nobody steps up and takes ownership of this mistake, I’m going to hold the
entire team responsible.
3. I’m sorry, but I just don’t think we’ll be able to meet your expectations in that
timeframe.
4. Once you submit your final report and budget analysis, we can put this project
to rest.
5. “Greater efficiency” and “less waste” are two of the most important desired
outcomes of this project.
6. Let’s have a meeting of everyone who was involved on the project and go over
the lessons learned.
7. Probably the biggest contributing factor in the cost overruns was the rising
cost of gasoline.
8. Global customer service companies must be willing to work around time
differences with the companies they serve.

Online Practice

Click the “Launch” button to open the online practice: Launch Quiz

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