The first two weeks on a Red account

When an engagement is rated Red, the instinct is to produce a recovery plan in the first week. In my experience, the first two weeks are better spent listening and stabilizing.

What I do first on a troubled account:

1. Hear the client out: Meet the people who escalated and let them finish. Write down their words, not our version of them.
2. Fix three visible things: Pick issues users feel every day and close them fast. Early proof matters more than a long plan.
3. One owner per problem: Every open issue gets a name and a date. Shared ownership is how issues stay open.
4. Honest weekly status: Same day, same format, including what slipped. A client forgives a slip they heard about from you.
5. Talk to the team: People on a Red account are usually tired and blamed. They know where the real problems are.

The full plan comes in week three, built on what you learned, and the client recognizes their own concerns in it.

What's the first thing you look at on a troubled account?