Throughout the business world it has become acceptable for significant technology implementations to fail. In fact, the risk management practice is encouraging companies to plan for failure as if it is inevitable. It has become an accepted fact that major system implementations will likely fail, so companies should simply “get live” and then focus on fixing the problems.

Most of the consultants I talk to will debate the definition of failure. They will claim the failure rate is more like 20%, rather than 70%-85%. To the consultant, any project that ends with a go-live – no matter how limited, how late, how over budget, or how negative the impact on the company – that project is a success.

It reminds me of a cartoon I once saw. A surgeon, along with nurses and other doctors were standing over a patient. The doctor said, “The operation was a success! Too bad the patient didn’t survive.”

In a world where other creative, technical, complex projects manage to get completed on time and within budget while still meeting the specified requirements, why can’t major business system implementations meet that same standard? I believe they can.

Project Execution is Not the Problem

With so much failure surrounding digital transformation, many people think executing major system implementations is difficult and risky. I disagree with that conclusion. Based on my experience and research, if you perform the proper preparation and provide the proper leadership, the execution will be relatively easy. 

Project execution has become quite a mature discipline. There are many people who have the proper training and experience to execute well. What is lacking is people with the proper training and experience to prepare the company for the transformation that is intended to result for the project execution. We don’t have an execution problem; we have a preparation and leadership problem.

The Strategy Behind Successful Climbs and DX Implementations

Back in 2009, I took a trip to Aspen, CO for a technical conference centered around modern software development with C++. While I was there, one of my fellow conferees from Germany suggested we enjoy the lovely Colorado scenery through some rock climbing.

Now, I’m not even remotely close to being able to identify as a rock climber, but even with my limited experience, I have observed some striking parallels between this sport and digital transformation.

For instance, preparation is the single-most determining factor for success in both rock climbing and system implementations. The bigger and more complex the climb is, the more preparation is needed. Similarly, the bigger and more complex the implementation is, the more time and preparation is needed to experience success.

As it happened, I was able to manage this small climb in 2009 with little to no preparation, training, or gear. However, experienced rock climbers spend months or even years training their mind and their body to be able to safely complete a single big climb. From their muscles to their skin, their endurance to their body weight, every element of their body must be adequately prepared for the strenuous activity, or the results could be devastating.

Furthermore, they must prepare their gear, ensuring that each piece of equipment is safely maintained. They research the weather and bring the appropriate clothing. They take care to plan everything from routes and logistics to goals and climbing partners.

I believe that if companies were to approach their business system implementations with the same mindset and dedication that climbers exhibit in preparing for their climbs, significantly fewer implementations would crash and burn.

Lessons Learned from Decades of Implementations

I started implementing business systems in 1987. Back then, the most advanced, cutting-edge networking system required the implementer to configure and compile the operating system prior to installing it. I had just started my first consulting business and admittedly, I didn’t really know how to consult. I did, however, know technology.

Although I was only 23 at that time, I had been involved with technology for 10 years. While most 13-year-olds were studying geometry and solving equations, I was writing circuit analysis programs to do my homework for a sophomore-level Basic Electricity class I had convinced the electronics teacher to allow me to take.

I figured I could parlay my propensity for technology into a small consulting business. My basic marketing pitch was “You have a business to run, and this stuff is easy for me. Why don’t you let me get your computer system running and I’ll train you and your staff how to use it?” It wasn’t much of a pitch, but eventually I had a few takers, and they were paying me to attend training for systems like RealWorld Accounting and Novell Networking. Before long I was installing Novell networks and software systems for attorneys’ offices and manufacturing companies.

Eventually, my small company found itself implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for small to medium sized engineering and manufacturing businesses. After tens of these implementations, we had developed a reliable implementation process that was yielding consistent success.

As we grew, we began to take on more sophisticated projects. Eventually, we were working alongside IBM, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), and other consulting companies in the oil and defense industries. It was during my involvement with these projects that I began to observe the significant challenges associated with these implementations.

In December of 2013, I became a partner with Stoneridge Software, a one-year-old startup that was selling and installing Microsoft’s tie-one ERP system that is now known as Dynamics 365 Finance and Supply Chain Management. I noticed that most of the enterprise-level implementations struggled, and I wondered why my previous consulting business had been so successful with ERP implementations while most of these projects appeared to fail.

For over 37 years, I have been involved in building and/or installing technology systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Product Data Management (PDM), and Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems. I have been involved in literally hundreds of implementations, during which I have observed both unmitigated successes and colossal failures. And for the last 10 years, I have been researching what makes the difference.

Scaling New Heights: How Victoria Fide is Making Change Positive

This is the reason my business partners and I started Victoria Fide Consulting. We believe companies can succeed with their significant transformational technology initiatives, but they need to take back control of their destiny through preparation and leadership. They need to treat their implementations with the same careful training, conditioning, and planning that a rock climber would give to preparing for a challenging climb.

Victoria Fide enables companies to do just that. We equip senior leadership to prepare themselves and their enterprises to succeed with digital transformation, proving to themselves and to the world at large that failure is not inevitable, it is not acceptable, and it is not the only option.

Learn how we are Making Change Positive by guaranteeing success for our clients. Schedule a call with me. I’d love to meet you and hear about your digital transformation needs.

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Transformation is not easy, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Take control of your project’s success today and schedule a free 30-minute consultation to find out how Victoria Fide can equip you for transformational success.

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