Every project that failed skipped five questions.

The 560 Rule is a pre-project discipline. Five questions.

Asked before the project starts.

Skipping them can cost everything.

Every project that failed skipped five questions.

The 560 Rule is a pre-project discipline. Five questions.

Asked before the project starts.

Skipping them can cost everything.

1. Define the finish line

What does done look like: Not 'good progress.' Not 'mostly done.' A real, measurable outcome that either happened or it didn't. If you can't answer this in one sentence, you're not ready to start.

2. One name, one task

Who owns it: Shared ownership is a polite way of saying no ownership. When two people own a thing, nobody owns it. One name. One task. No exceptions.

3. name the threat

What will kill the project: Every project has a threat. In almost every failure, it was visible on day one and nobody said it out loud. Naming the threat doesn't create it. It gives you a fighting chance against it.

4. confirm, don't assume

Has it been verified: The four most expensive words in project management. Basically. Probably. I think. I assumed. The project doesn't care about your logic — it cares about facts.

5.prove it don't present it

What can I show to prove done: Status meetings are theater. Slides tell you what people believe is happening. Proof shows you what's actually happening. Don't show me your confidence. Show me your progress. Proof is harder than presentation — that's exactly why it works.

decades in the Field

Will doesn't come from a consulting firm or a business school. He comes from years of commercial signage — ADA fabrication, CNC routing, client installations, and real projects with real consequences when something goes wrong.

The 5|60 Rule wasn't written in a conference room. It was written after watching the same project failures happen over and over — always preventable, always tracing back to a question nobody asked at the beginning.

He speaks to operations leaders, project managers, and executive teams who are tired of cleaning up messes that should never have started.

Every project that failed skipped five questions.

Every project that failed skipped five questions.

1. Define the finish line

2. One name, one task

3. name the threat

4. confirm, don't assume

5.prove it don't present it

decades in the Field

book will to speak