It’s Friday again, and I now have this habit locked in… time for another Corporate Tarot Pull. This week’s card??? THE SCOPE SHAPESHIFTER 🔮 You know the one. A harmless request that turns out to be a nesting doll of extra requirements.
UPRIGHT MEANING: A project that quietly becomes a different project, while everyone keeps using the old name like it still means something. It’s still the same initiative, sure… and a tiger is still “basically” a house cat.
How it shows up at work:
• “It’s just a quick tweak.” (It is not.)
• The timeline stays the same while the deliverable grows extra limbs.
• “Since we’re already in there…” becomes a business strategy.
• Stakeholders arrive midstream with brand-new “must haves” they swear were always included.
• Your team starts managing reality in side chats because the official plan can’t hold the truth anymore.
Why this happens (and why it’s not generally malicious):
Sometimes people don’t know what they need until they see a draft.
Sometimes incentives are backwards: speed gets applause, clarity gets labeled “difficult.”
Sometimes they’re minimizing personal risk: add requirements now so nobody can blame them later.
The professional cost = TRUST. Because the work shifts from delivery to survival: protect the team, protect the deadline, protect your credibility. And your best people learn the wrong lesson: great work gets rewarded with more work and more ambiguity.
What leaders often miss: If your teams keep asking for “just one more resource,” it’s not always a headcount problem. Sometimes it’s a scope honesty problem. Because people aren’t afraid of hard work, but they are afraid of committing to a moving target.
Some simple containment spells (aka words you can actually use):
“This is a meaningful scope change. Let’s decide what we’re trading for it: time, cost, or other features.”
“Happy to add that. What becomes optional so we can still hit the date?”
“I can commit to the original outcome, or we can re-commit to the new one. We can’t do both without impact.”
REVERSED MEANING: You are the shapeshifter. Not because you’re evil.
Because you’re trying to be helpful, impressive, or safe. And every “sure, we can” teaches people that boundaries are negotiable.
Your turn: What was the sneakiest “quick add-on” that turned into a full second job and what phrase was the moment you knew you were doomed?
