Project value over corporate aspiration

In Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises, Bill asks Mike, ‘How did you go bankrupt?’

‘Two ways,’ Mike replies. ‘Gradually and then suddenly.’

Many executives can empathize. On large complex projects, what starts as ‘death by a thousand cuts’ ends with your head lopped off. More rarely, a single event leads straight to decapitation. Such catastrophes are, thankfully, rare.

Project teams usually comprise capable, experienced people using solid PM processes, doing work the company has likely tackled before. So why do projects often go south?

The leadership team needs a certain amount of aspiration, or big projects would never get off the ground. But there’s a tension between those setting corporate strategy and those tasked with forecasting, budgets, and management.

Energy projects—with margins baked in calculated on a commodity price expectation—are especially prone to value erosion.

First, consider how you frame the project. What’s the real context? What’s your approach to uncertainty? How do you map risks? How does the team sense as they go? And how do they adapt?

First, consider how you frame the project. What’s the real context? What’s your approach to uncertainty? How do you map risks? How does the team sense as they go? And how do they adapt?

Don’t underestimate stakeholder alignment and incentives, either. Penny-pinching to protect budgets can lead to issues not escalated or dealt with too late. Remember Hemingway.