Have you ever felt like your workmates in other departments just don’t get how important your work is? Chances are, they feel the same way about their work and you. In many organizations, especially large ones, teams tend to break down into three main perspectives, each with its own priorities and pressures. Let’s call them:
- The Project Perspective (Mr. Project)
- The Service Perspective (Mr. and Mrs. Service)
- The Audit Perspective (Mrs. Audit)
They’re all trying to do their jobs. Yet because they don’t see eye to eye on how to accomplish their goals, they often clash. To illustrate this, let’s head to the “IT Coffee Shop.”
The IT Coffee Shop Analogy
1. Mr. Project and the Sweet Coffee
Imagine you’re in a coffee shop. Mr. Project rushes in with a special order: a super sweet, strong coffee needed in 1 minute. He spots an entire stack of sugar packets, perfect! If he dumps them all in, he’ll get exactly what the order needs and be out of the door on time.
But just as he’s about to pour them in, Mr. and Mrs. Service step in and stop him.
2. Mr. and Mrs. Service: Balancing Supplies
Mr. and Mrs. Service object to Mr. Project taking all the sugar. it is all they have left for the day, and other customers will need some too. Their job is to keep the coffee shop running smoothly for everyone, not just this single urgent request.
But Mr. Project sees it differently: he has a deadline, a client to keep happy, and isn’t it the coffee shop’s job to ensure everything he needs is available? He has paid his money for coffee after all, hasn’t he?
3. Mrs. Audit: The Enforcer
Suddenly, Mrs. Audit arrives with new regulations: “No more than two packets of sugar per coffee cup, or the shop risks getting shut down!” Now, nobody is happy, but Mrs. Audit is thinking of all coffee shops and is trying to deal with the sugar crime wave that is affecting the country:
- Mr. Project can’t get all the sugar he wants. and now faces an angry client who was promised their sweet coffee.
- Mr. and Mrs. Service have even more hoops to jump through and work overhead just to hand out sugar.
- Mrs. Audit is just doing her job to ensure compliance but is now the “bad guy” from everyone else’s perspective.
Everyone’s intentions are good, but they’re completely at odds. Multiply this dynamic across dozens of simultaneous projects, and you can imagine the chaos.
So, how does this analogy translate into the real corporate world?
Project Delivery (Mr. Project)
- Focused on a clear start and end (Point A to Point B).
- Driven by tight deadlines and specific deliverables.
- Success = completing the project on time and on budget, no matter what.
Service & Support (Mr. and Mrs. Service)
- Responsible for ongoing operations (networks, servers, maintenance, the “day-to-day”).
- Must keep systems stable for everyone, not just one project.
- Success = minimal downtime, efficient resource use, balanced workload.
Audit & Security (Mrs. Audit)
- Charged with ensuring compliance, governance, and protection.
- Enforces rules and standards, even if it slows down a project or adds overhead to day-to-day services.
- Success = avoiding breaches, fines, or shutdowns.
Each group sees its own success metrics as paramount. And that’s where most conflicts spring up.
The Escalation Trap
When someone escalates an issue (and let’s face it, everyone does exactly that), “This is now top priority!” they assume the receiving team can just drop everything and do more.
That might work if they have spare capacity. But in reality, most teams are already stretched thin. If you ask someone working at 100% to give 110%, you’re pushing them into overload.
A more practical approach:
- Ask What Can Be Deprioritized – If you genuinely need more help, figure out what tasks can be dropped or delayed.
- Communicate Clearly – Explain why this new priority matters and the benefits it will bring.
- Negotiate Responsibly – Don’t treat every need like an emergency. Instead, coordinate so all parties know where to flex.
Why This Matters
Projects hit bottlenecks, services get overwhelmed, and audits seem meddlesome when we’re not seeing the bigger picture. Recognizing each perspective, and acknowledging its validity, helps us collaborate better. Whether you’re Mr. Project, Mrs. Service, or Mrs. Audit, here’s the takeaway:
- Understand each team’s constraints and goals.
- Communicate openly about priorities and resources.
- Be willing to compromise and shift priorities, rather than just piling on more “urgent” tasks.
- Our imaginary coffee shop is a silly example of what happens when departments can’t see beyond their own needs. By stepping back and sharing the sugar more strategically (so to speak),
If we understand each other’s perspectives, we can deliver better results that work for all departments.