Leading Critical Change

You would never buy a company or a house without very detailed validation of what you are buying and whether it fits your needs. So why are many IT solutions and services contracts signed before detailed requirements and validation work is completed? Solutions providers will tell you that this is because this is ‘how things [...]

Never buy a system or application you have not seen in action in a real business like your own. Being first means you are paying development costs; and also that the costs and risks of implementation are unknown. Well chosen references not only answer ‘fit for purpose?’ questions but provide insights into implementation risks, ongoing [...]

A failing project – what is needed? Knowledge? Know-how? But what kind? If the real issue is a failure to coordinate the expertise already within the business then adding more may not help. Worse, it could send a “you lot don’t know what you are talking about!” message to the existing team. Some years ago [...]

Why do companies treat internal and external projects differently? External projects all have formal contracts stating what is expected – detailing the what, how, who, when, how much and how it will be managed – and requiring sign off, if large, by the senior sponsor, the FD and the MD. It is common to find [...]

In over twenty five years of managing projects I have never seen a manager or stakeholder EVER read a task level project plan. That is not bad thing. A task level plan is not for communication – it’s for planning. Understanding the tasks required to achieve each milestone and deliverable is a valuable exercise which [...]

A compelling story is the only thing that maintains alignment and commitment of the whole business to a particular programme. If it is missing, not understood, or just not exciting or important enough – then the future of that programme is at risk. Also for my clients, this story is my identity in the business, [...]