What I talk about when I talk about… turning round struggling tech programmes
“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional” wrote Haruki Murakami in the book from which I have shamelessly ripped off the title for this series of articles. I like Murakami, he is thoughtful and wise. I like the insights he draws from running and how he uses them to reflect on life itself. This quote seems to me to have a broader truth to it, I mean we all endure pain in our lives, we all have our struggles, but we can choose how to respond when the going gets tough, we don’t have to suffer.
Tech programmes – the big, bad, hairy, audacious, ambitious and difficult ones – often struggle. Perhaps it’s unavoidable. But while some end up failing, others go on to be successful. When I talk about what I do, I say I turnaround struggling tech programmes to deliver great business outcomes. I prefer to say “struggling” programmes rather than “failing” programmes. Success can come from the struggle.
I have a list, a set of headings that act as my reminders of what things to have in mind to make a struggling programme a successful one:
- Outcomes & value.
- Capability & people.
- Team.
- Risk, sequence & delivery approach.
- Implementation, operation & continuous improvement.
I’ve been thinking of ways of bringing the list to life. I could try representing the headings in a circle to denote the items are non-linear or to show the linkages between them but I’m not sure that would stand the test of logical scrutiny. I could call it a “method” but to be honest, I’m not a terribly big fan of methodologies.
So when I talk about what I do I prefer to reference people who’s inspiring ideas illustrate what I have in mind. Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting articles on each of the items on my list drawing from the wit and wisdom of Simon Sinek, Laszlo Bock, Patrick Lencioni, Dan North and James C. Collins. I hope you enjoy them.