I have seen Step 9 done OUT of order and it wasn't pretty. A guy I knew rushed thru the first 8 steps in about a week, without the help of a sponsor. When he decided he was ready for Step 9, he picked up the phone and started dialing. He confessed his numerous indiscretions and demanded forgiveness. He mentioned any number of other people who may have been with him when he was doing his misdeeds.
Hurricane Will left a lot of damage and destruction behind. He hurt a lot more people unneccesarily, and ultimately he left the program as he didn't see any benefits to his "recovery".
The steps are written in this particular order for a reason... and this one has some wise words in it
except when to do so would injure them or others.
I cannot imagine working the steps without a sponsor and other recovery friends to guide me.