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Pursuing a Project Nightmare
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
There are lessons to be learned from disastrous projects, the kind that nightmares are made of. So, with tongue in cheek, I thought it would be fun to explore the “Do’s and Don’ts” related to achieving the maximum project nightmare in hopes of driving the lessons home in an off-the-wall, “spirit of Halloween” kind of way. After all, if you really want to experience a project nightmare, why not do it right?
Project nightmares seem to be alive and well even today. Before launching into ways to create the nightmare of your dreams, consider some of these classics I found on the net. From a 2007 Forester’s article I found these:
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Hershey’s: “In November 1999, Hershey’s reported a 19% drop in third quarter net earnings, and placed part of the blame on ‘computer problems’. The chocolate bar maker was having problems with its new order-taking and distribution computer system, a $112 million combination of software from ERP maker SAP, customer relationship management (CRM) provider Siebel and supply chain software from Manugistics. The problems meant Hershey was unable to deliver $100 million worth of Kisses and Jolly Ranchers for Halloween that year, and also impacted performance through the high margin seasons of Christmas and Easter.”
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Whirlpool: “In early November 1999, …
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