KNOW YOURSELF

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Some of the toughest challenges in an implementation have nothing to do with technology – and everything to do with this picture. If responding to changing circumstances means losing face, it’s tempting for project teams to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the evidence.

So how ‘implementation friendly’ is your organizational culture? Can difficulties be discussed openly and constructively? Is re-planning considered a sign of failure rather than evidence of a commitment to success?

For example, in ‘Paper Trail Cultures’ people who commit to something are held to it for life. If they said X would be green, X cannot be blue, even if there are now excellent reasons why it should be. If they created a plan which is no longer feasible – even for perfectly valid reasons – re-planning is simply out of the question.

While some cultures are more suited to tackling complex implementations than others, any organization can succeed with the help of a little self knowledge.

If you suspect that individuals may be more concerned with saving face than keeping the project on track, make sure your system provider is aware of this bias. Then do all you can to encourage and reward the open acknowledgement of difficulties.

As I’m sure you’ll agree, a head is far too valuable a piece of equipment to be buried  in the sand.