How to set up a project for success? Most people trying to make a project succeed spend their energy on the wrong end of it. They manage harder — more meetings, more chasing, more heroic effort when things slip. Success isn't manufactured there. It's set up before the...
Clarity Is a Sequence, Not a Slogan A ship leaves harbour with a full crew, a sound hull, and no bearing entered into the log. It doesn't sit still — the crew is competent, the oars are moving, every watch changes on schedule. But without a heading, motion isn't...
Every transformation deck has the same four words on a slide somewhere: Vision, Architecture, Structure, Governance. Draw the boxes, connect the arrows, and it looks complete. It isn't. Vision is where you want to go — what you want to become, or the difference...
When Someone Is Taking You on a Drive There is a particular kind of professional encounter that feels productive right up until it isn't. The conversation flows well. The person across the table is articulate, experienced, well-credentialled. They reference impressive...
How Executives Make Bad Decisions on Technology Programs — and What Protects Against It There is rarely a single moment where a technology program goes wrong. More often, it's a series of decisions — each one reasonable in isolation, each one made under conditions...
Before You Sign the Contract, Ask These Six Questions Most ERP programs don't fail at the technology layer. They fail because the organisation wasn't ready for the technology — and nobody checked. Not the vendor. Not the implementation partner. Not the steering...
The Cost You're Comfortable Avoiding: Project Assurance Feels Like Extra The question sounds reasonable. You're already spending on the project. You have a vendor. A project manager. A steering committee. Status reports arriving on schedule. Why would you pay for...
The Hidden Cost of Drift Most organisations do not lose value in one big moment. They lose it slowly. A project starts with good intent. A system needs replacing. Reporting needs improving. Processes need to be cleaned up. Everyone agrees something needs to change. At...