Tweet

Project Failure

Written by: Patrick T. Malone

Article Overview: Recently I read some disturbing information regarding major corporate initiatives. According to a survey by the Utah-based VitalSmarts: • 82% of employees within companies with significant organization-wide initiatives underway believe those project will fail. • 78% are currently working on a “doomed” project. • 90% knew early on the project would likely fall short of the objectives • 77% describe these projects as “slow motion train wrecks” • 81% believe it is impossible to approach the failing project’s key decision-maker

Project Failure

Recently I read some disturbing information regarding major corporate initiatives. According to a survey by the Utah-based VitalSmarts: • 82% of employees within companies with significant organization-wide initiatives underway believe those project will fail.

• 78% are currently working on a "doomed" project.

• 90% knew early on the project would likely fall short of the objectives

• 77% describe these projects as "slow motion train wrecks"

• 81% believe it is impossible to approach the failing project's key decision-maker

The recommended solution with these troubled projects was nothing short of a complete culture change within those organizations. Somehow that solution seems akin to quintuple by-pass heart surgery when a less radical angioplasty might be more appropriate.

Given that this survey was statistically well balanced across a full spectrum of companies, I believe it is safe to assume that these negative responses came from companies that could be considered very successful, reasonably successful, fairly successful, occasionally successful and unsuccessful.

So if 80% of the responding companies are experiencing some degree of success, is a complete culture change required? It quite probably is the appropriate solution for the 20% that are failing but let's not through out the baby with the bath water.

The problem as I see has less to do with corporate culture and more to do with poor communication skills.

Could the project's key decision-maker do a better job of listening - probably? Unfortunately it's always been fashionable to lay the blame on the project leader, supervisor, manager, director or executive. Certainly there is always room for improvement on the receiving end but I think we can make greater improvements by working on the sending side of the communication equation.

Every project team has it share of cynics and they seem to have a laundry list of reasons why a project will not achieve the desired outcomes. However these nay-sayers and the deficient listening skills of the decision-maker are only a small part of the problem.

The bigger issue is the inability of the bulk of the project team, who are well-intended and committed employees, to communicate their concerns up, down and across the project team. They want to do a good job but often their attempts at raising the important questions sound like self-serving, purely emotional or infuriating logical rants that do not resonate with the intended receiver.

So if you are a project team member frustrated by the inability to effectively raise your concerns, here are some tips that may relieve some of that stress.

CREATE A COMMON GOAL

First impressions are important and the way you begin your interaction dramatically impacts the outcome. Most people listen with a bias and it sounds like "What's in it for me?" or "Why should I care?" So I recommend you begin by confidently stating the benefits of your idea to the other person. Consider these two different openings:

"Boss, we've got a major problem with XYZ project" or "Boss, I've got some ideas on how we can make XYZ project more successful."

In the first there is no benefit for the project leader - just another headache. So confidently stating a benefit up front gets the ball rolling in a positive direction.

Secondly, while we have spent some time thinking about the potential problem and developing our solutions, we expect the other person to listen, digest, accept and implement our recommendation in a matter of seconds - too much, too quick. So after confidently stating the benefit, you should simply invite the other person to hear you out or be open to options. That sounds like ... "So let me explain my idea, recommendation, solution, etc...." Doing this creates open-mindedness on the part of the decision maker and gives you the opportunity to make a solid business case for your idea, recommendation, solution, etc.

Finally you have to consider what you and the other person have in common at this point in the process. You are there to get a decision and they are there to make a decision. You would like that decision to be "yes" but you need to be able to live with a "well-informed no" also. If you go in looking for "yes" only you have put yourself in a win-lose situation. By going in looking for a well- informed "Yes or No" you will put yourself and the other person in a win-win position and eliminate a whole lot of initial resistance.

So putting it all together it sounds like:

"Boss, I've got some ideas that will make the XYZ project more successful. I'd like to explain them so you can decide if they will improve our results."

Obviously, there is a great deal more to improving the communications skills of project team members but beginning your discussions with effective common goals is a great way to insure you will be heard.

Related Articles
  Consultative Selling Addresses the Need Buyers Never Admit
  Planning success with PMP certification
  Question of the Day: What will you do with your failure?
  Boost your Credibility with PMP Certification
  An MBA in 3 lessons and 1 article

Article Tags: corporate initiatives, project failure



Related Forum Posts
Why A Project Fails? - Hello Everyone As the size and complexity of ones business grows, so does their need to effectively manage projects. I have been thinking about the major reasons why a project can go wrong and my limited experience comes up with the following. 1 Leadership: A project manager with leadership skills and not just management skills. 2 Failure to (Foresee and) Plan 3 Failure to Manage: Ineffective change management control methods. Unclear decision making guidelines. 4 Talent: Finding, allocating and developing people 5 Scope: Setting an overly ambitious or amibigious project scope 6 Alignment: When projects are not prioritized in alignment with the business strategy, or project members personal objectives are not in tandem with that of the project / company 7 Lack of Candor: Communication Breakdowns I would be interested in knowing everyone's thoughts on this, especially on ways to overcome the above mentioned obstacles. Cheers!
Top performing Franchise Loans - Evan, There are over 120 Franchises listed by the SBA with 0% Loan Failure from 10-1-00 to 9-30-05 these companies have at leat 10 loans disbursed. A number of the companies are Hotel/Motel Franchises so I listed them separately. Since all the ones listed have 0% loan failure I listed them descending by # of loans disbursed. Top 20 (by # loans Disbursed) 0% SBA Loan Failure (does not include hotels/motels) 1 21425--CULVER'S FROZEN CUSTARD 85 2 66910--PRIMROSE SCHOOL (DAYCARE) 76 3 14467--CARTRIDGE WORLD STORES 54 4 68021--QUIZNO'S SUBS 41 5 06560--AUNTIE ANN'S (SOFT PRETZELS) 40 6 29912--FIREHOUSE SUBS 35 7 31154--FOOT SOLUTIONS 35 8 52707--MEDICAP PHARMACY 35 9 09802--BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM 33 10 67759--COMFORT SUITES 33 11 70150--RITTER'S FROZEN CUSTARD 32 12 05650--ARBY'S 31 13 65160--PLATO'S CLOSET 31 14 67417--PUMP IT UP 30 15 69149--REMAX 30 16 71456--SALAD WORKS, INC. 30 17 76282--SONIC DRIVE-IN 27 18 84725--UNION 76 OIL 27 19 17049--CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE 26 20 78950--SUNOCO SERVICE STATION 26 Top 10 0% SBA Loan Failure Hotel/Motels 1 10275--BEST WESTERN INN 104 2 67750--COMFORT INN 98 3 38605--HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS 87 4 36680--HAMPTON INNS 57 5 53165--MICROTEL 33 6 75385--SLEEP INN MOTEL 26 7 04160--AMERIHOST INN 18 8 69134--RED ROOF INN 13 9 17230--CLARION INN & SUITES 11 10 20715--COUNTRY INN 11
Baby Buddy! - To Whom It May Concern, Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I am a young inventer. I have partnered with my brother to design a project which will aid everyday people in everyday tasks for everyday life. The problem we are having is exposure. My brother an I have partnered with a firm which is representing our project in efforts to bring it to market. This device allows you to see what your children are doing even if you are not in the room or area at all times. I am not totally certain what it is that I am able to disclose so I cannot go into great detail, but here is the information needed to recieve and review the information, if you have children, or know anyone who does and they are aware of this device they will wonder why it is not on the market already. Please take this opprotunity if nothing more you will be able to see what should soon be available to all before it is released. The firm representing us is Invent-Tech it is required that a standard NDA be signed to protect the integrity of invention. Again thank you so much for your time. GBU Contact Invent-Tech 800 940 9020 Ext 2230 Project File 2230 Project: B.B. Baby Buddy. Best Reguards
Why a project fails? - The top 10 factors that have driven failed projects are: 1. Project sponsors are often not committed to the objective. They have a lack of understanding of the project and are not actively involved in the project strategy and direction. 2. Some projects do not meet the strategic vision of the company. If business needs are not clearly defined, it will result in a project that does not add value to the bottom line or enhance business processes. 3. Projects are started for the wrong reasons. Some are initiated purely to implement new technology without regard for whether the technology is supportive of the business needs. The converse of this is a project that does not support existing technology, resulting in major scope creep and resultant expenditure. 4. Staffing is a reason for failure, eg not enough dedicated staff (project managers and project team members) allocated to projects. Project team members lack experience and do not have the required qualifications. Line-staff believe that they will be able to manage projects but are only 40% available to do so. Focus in this regard is not on the delivery of the project, but on the comfort zone of the project manager and his own time management. 5. Incomplete project scope. No clear definition of the project's benefits and the deliverables that will produce them. 6. A project plan that is non-existent, out of date, incomplete or poorly constructed and just not enough time and effort spent on project planning. 7. Project value management is not put into practice to evaluate baseline cost agreed during baseline transfer against actual costs spent at any given time. Project costs and financial do not form an integral part the project during execution. 8. Insufficient funding, and incorrect budgeting is still a major reason for projects not delivering their goals and objectives within the quality framework that was required, because projects always need to deliver yesterday within X budget. 9. No formal project management methodologies and best practices aligned to the company's specific needs are used to assist project performance. Companies do not want to invest in best of breed methodologies that will benefit the bottom line over a period, with projects delivered within budget. Companies do not recognise the value of using a methodology to support and enable them to record their own best practice project results for future reference, and to build a knowledge base within the company. 10. Not all project are going through a formal signed off process using a proper post mortem process to determine lessons learned and to build their own reference model for future use. A certificate signed off between sponsors and other third-parties will demonstrate project success but even that is quite seldom.
Re: I want to turn my ebook to video - [quote="ideasuniversity":uj75u2u1]Please I need someone to turn my ebook on self help to video. Please if you know any expert that is doing this let me know.[/quote:uj75u2u1] I don't have the expertise, but I suggest you post a Project at Elance (or some similar site where freelancers bid on projects) and get bids on it. You'll get an idea of how expensive it will be, and the types of skills necessary to do it.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Selling with Humor (and a Sorry Butt)

How To Improve Your CTA (Call To Action)

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.