AIBU to think this is a horrible thing to do on the deadline of a major work project?

[RJ2023]

I work for for an insurance broker and a key part of my job is clients coming to us (and our competitors) with a problem they have and we have a few weeks to put together a report with our proposed solution.

Typically results in a brainstorm, narrow it down to 5 ideas, 2 weeks of actuarial analysis on those, and then a 50 slide PowerPoint to explain those 5 ideas and our overall recommendation for our pitch.

One guy never joins any of the calls throughout the project because "he is too busy" but consistently finds time at 4pm on the deadline day to start raising questions and concerns about our recommendation (cc'd to everyone he can think of obviously!)

There's obviously nothing that can be done at this stage so I have to send the report as it is and instead of the happy feeling you get after finishing three weeks hard work I'm left feeling a bit shit as the project lead, and he looks great for spotting something nobody else had picked up on.

AIBU? I think it is a really horrible thing to do to people on the deadline day of a major piece of work.

The response from @Hankunamatata is good but I would add something to make it clear they didn’t participate in the team.

'Given that today is the deadline and it is currently 4:00 PM, we are unable to accommodate further revisions at this stage. I am concerned that raising these points at this hour is not a constructive use of our remaining time. On future bids, I encourage all invited to participate in the daily meetings to attend so their valuable contribution can be included in time.”

Can you set a deadline for feedback? E,g all comments to be in my noon the day before the deadline?

Hahaha glad to know the “Regards” is universal! (Amongst those that otherwise practice the niceties of friendly communication). It’s interesting as in my book if I sign off “Regards” it’s means I am extremely pissed off with you, yet I frequently encounter people (almost always men) who don’t even open with a salutation or sign off with anything other than their name, ever.

anyway, the guy is a prize A twat, I like the various ever so polite suggestions about how this input earlier would have been more constructive. Well done on finishing the project, put your feet up and enjoy the weekend.

So so true….. as someone who has been told I can be a bit short with the other side (entirely only when they’re being agressive dickheads, if someone is being polite and collaborative I have no reason to be anything but the same back) I now use AI to help me write corporate speak bollocks when I want to make my point but in a way that can’t come back on me….

Hopefully with animated and tuneful transitions ❤️

This.

I have a boss who does this. She will completely duck involvement in a project up to the eleventh hour and the come in and tear it up and demand it be remade with a few hours until the deadline.

Its a deliberate power play, and its bullshit.

Everyone on this thread is probably correct and I recognise the behaviour, however I've been in the position where I couldn't make any of a (minor) project's meetings because they were all scheduled at times I absolutely could not make and the organiser wouldn't budge.

Sometimes people don't bother to check calendars before issuing meeting requests and sometimes people deliberately schedule meetings to exclude particular individuals.

Just be careful that this isn't the case here and prepare for him to use this argument to defend himself.

Fwiw I dodged a bullet with that project because the self-appointed lead turned out to be a bit of a bully, and I don't think I'd have been able to stop myself from calling her out in a "career defining" manner 😬

London Rules - set up specific feedback dates en route to destination completion and create the email trail.

But yeah, this person is a megatwat.

This is arrogant and demoralising in the extreme. I agree with sending an email calling him out. It’s so easy to let someone else do the work and then call out issues last-minute from your removed vantage point.

Given this guy is your peer, should he not be contributing to the actual detailed analysis?

Let us know how you get on. Ive experienced similar at work where Ive had to expressly call a peer out on the basis that their input is valued & welcomed - but not at the 11th hour. And it is always men who do this.

I also agree with PP’s that whilst the colleague in question may be thinking he’s a very clever boy; absolutely none of your colleagues will be thinking the same. All of the colleagues I knew who did this ultimately came to sticky ends.

then you duck out of the project or take active steps to be included. You don't pull a dick move like this.

I set deadlines for feedback and anyone who comes back too late gets to fuck off.

I'd reply all saying
'Thanks for your feedback Tom. It would have been much more useful and actually actionable had you contributed it at some point in the last three weeks rather than two minutes after it's been submitted. Its a shame your ideas won't be able to be included.'

Our CTO does this. I reply with "You've had 3 weeks to propose any changes to this, why are you only doing so the day before implementation?"

He doesn't tend to do it much to me any more.

if he does it consistently is there no one you can speak to about it?

otherwise at the start of the project can you send out an email to everyone asking that any critique is received by X date and a note naming him saying Matthew as you usually only find time to contribute once it's too late to make amendments, can we schedule in time by X?

also why IS he the only one find issues with it? are they made up issues or are the rest of you missing real problems?

This is what I would send.

no point worrying about it now.

try a different stakeholder management approach with him next time

Can you report him to someone senior? I would, each and every time. He's a lazy, sneaky bastard.

With 'it was a shame you couldn't attend any of the previous project meetings to raise these in a timely manner. Hope to see you in future planning meetings'.

Throw the fucker under the bus.