When working with clients on a new project, especially a new system launch, the question is always asked, "What's the best time to do this?" And after a long discussion about all the possible dates and how none of them will really work, I usually suggest "How about we find the 'least bad' time to do it, then?"

Because with rare exception, my clients are busy all year round. (I did have one client once who was so slow during the summer months that the membership director painted the office!)

And the fact is, there is likely to be no "good" time when work is slow enough that it's a great time for a new system launch. So what we're looking for then, is the "least bad" time.

Framing the date as "least bad" allows us to acknowledge that there is no "ideal" time to do this, so we're going to do it when it's the least disruptive. And most of the time, that's the best we can hope for.