The road to success can seem long and winding, so it is important to pause and celebrate achievements along the way. Caleidoscope Associates have been helping customers shape and deliver projects and programmes for more than 15 years.
Our success would not have been possible without the effort and dedication of the hundreds of team members and many sponsors that we have had the pleasure of working with. Our portfolio of experience covers a variety of organisations and different challenges: From designing new products and replacing IT systems to implementing business changes and introducing new ways of working for a whole industry.
Looking back, we have identified three insights to guide us on future projects:
Our success would not have been possible without the effort and dedication of the hundreds of team members and many sponsors that we have had the pleasure of working with. Our portfolio of experience covers a variety of organisations and different challenges: From designing new products and replacing IT systems to implementing business changes and introducing new ways of working for a whole industry.
Looking back, we have identified three insights to guide us on future projects:
- ONE: Early stakeholder engagement – projects often have a wide impact and stakeholders should be identified as early as possible to validate the impact and agree how each stakeholder or stakeholder group needs to be engaged. The later that stakeholders are engaged in the project, the higher the costs to the project and the higher the risk of late changes and delays.
Snowdon Peak - a serious project or a stroll in the hills?
- TWO: Clearly defined project/programme – however tempting it is to get started with a project or ‘kick-off’ a new programme, it is foolhardy to set off without some initial planning and preparation. According to a climbing expert, “Snowdon can be more dangerous than Mount Everest because it is the peak of choice for ill-equipped tourists treating it like a gentle hillside stroll”. Lack of planning and preparation can get you into serious trouble now or later. The initial investment to clearly capture the project definition (purpose, scope, approach, resources, plan, risks, assumptions, stakeholders, etc.), is essential for shaping the project and preparing for stakeholder engagement.
- THREE: A solid business case/case for change. Great leaders inspire action, and according to leadership speaker and author Simon Sinek, they start with 'why?'. We have found this logic to be true for project and programmes, too. A solid business case explains the rationale behind a project or programme, summarizes the cost-benefit analysis, outlines the options considered and the basis for the project to proceed on. The business case enables more effective decision-making later in the project, especially in the context of a portfolio of projects competing for resources.
There are of course many other lessons to learn from the past, but these are top of our list for continued success with future client engagements. Please get in touch if you would like to explore how we help clients deliver projects.
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