The Power of Connection: A Key Lesson From an ERP Implementation Project

Fay Young is a seasoned IT leader with over 30 years of experience in technology, education, and team development. For the past 16 years, she has served as Director of Information Technology for the City of Port Arthur, leading major technology initiatives and building collaborative teams in the public sector.

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Topics: Communications Management, Leadership, Stakeholder Management, Talent Management

The city of Port Arthur in Texas engaged in a five-year project to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrates finance, human resources, payroll, utility billing, asset management, and municipal court into one cohesive system.

We performed the implementation in six phases, and had our share of technical hurdles. However, our highest hurdles were not related to technology. They were team dynamics and leadership. They were finding ways to influence without authority. This experience has validated how crucial connecting is to a project's success.

Hurdle: Team Commitment and Prioritization
Many team members struggled to prioritize the project alongside their regular duties and did not recognize the urgency. Delays in meeting deadlines, incomplete tasks, and frequent reassignment of responsibilities became common. The issues were not with the technology itself, but with the human side of the project—getting people to engage and follow through.

The Role of Leadership and Connecting
When leadership did not provide clear, consistent messaging about the project's importance, team members were not motivated to prioritize the ERP implementation. A lack of clarity made it harder for the PMs to get everyone on the same page.

In his book Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently, John Maxwell …

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