On a collaborative basis I invite readers to contribute their experiences, anecdotes and/or examples of corporate transformation / business improvement debacles as a way for me to improve, widen and strengthen both the sum of projects that I have assessed (3,400+) and the specific elements of traits and tendencies identified to date.
Over time I intend to detail ‘debacles of interest’ here so that readers can consider and rank for themselves the relative competencies and capabilities of corporations and leaders therein who are supposed to be Icons of Commerce!
For example: Like the title suggests… a business reengineering project in the UK was ’supposed’ to cost around $12 Billion (give or take a few hundred million) and is now projected to cost well over $24 Billion (give or take several thousand million). This project was intended to make transactional and informational data flows slick, quick and accurate. New technology coupled with process reengineering promised much and has delivered very little so far…
Why would this happen? Who could possibly screw up so bad? Who is to blame and who came up with the idea in the first place? Last things first…
Bill Gates whispered in Tony Blair’s ear, Tony threw away the keys to the treasury, major consulting firms lined up at the trough and then reneged on commitments… For the rest of the story go here: http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2055085,00.asp
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February 9, 2007 at 10:26 am
Theresa
Hi, great article. I had no idea such politics and problems existed. I guess you will be writing an update about this soon, when?
February 12, 2007 at 10:19 am
tlir
I’ll revisit the project later in the year. One worrisome aspect of the entire story is what I would describe as the clash between greed and commitment in the minds and wallets of the consulting firms engaged. It is clear that greed ($4 Billion) over the term of the deal was of greater import than understanding and fulfilling the commitment (pay upon delivery) and, when the going got tough the consulting firm bailed. In many cases, clients hold the mistaken belief that the amount of money on the table assures commitment by the vendor or consulting firm – this case shows that such ‘trust’ is badly misplaced.
July 5, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Norm Jones
I read some press about Blair leaving office, it seems this screw up was hovering over his head with or without the Iraq problem… As for Accneture, they’ll never get my business.