I've witnessed quite a few IT implementation and business change disasters, and seen just as many recounted in the press. Many occur in good, capable companies, and in most cases the affected parties seem surprised that something so bad could happen at a company that is generally quite good and capable. While the post-mortem analysis of many of these failures could fill a book (in fact, it was the primary impetus for my book, ), the reasons usually distill to a single overriding problem: a lack of focus.

In most organizational change projects, be they implementing a new technical system or changing the way a division or department works, there's an overriding business objective or goal. Perhaps there's a drive to reduce costs, or rationalize a slew of ungainly activities into an effective and efficient support group. In failed projects, somewhere between conception and completion, that focus on the ultimate business objective is lost. Distractions could range from interesting and complex technologies, to an obsession with a date that is so profound, the end product (delivered right on schedule) is grossly flawed and ineffective.

To maintain this focus, constantly evaluate your work in light of the business objective you initially set. As soon as you notice your project is straying from that objective, or whatever you are implementing seems to have so many caveats as to be a galaxy away from what you originally conceptualized, an immediate and profound return of focus is warranted.  

I am grossly incompetent when it comes to maintaining and growing all forms of plant life. From rapidly killing whatever decorative flowers my wife brings home, to an inability to maintain anything resembling an attractive lawn, I believe I have seen plants actually tremble when I approach with my gloves and gardening implements. While my mere presence has brought about the demise of its fair share of flora and fauna, I am constantly amazed by the tenacity of nature.

During a recent attempt at landscaping, I was amazed to find a tiny weed that had gained purchase in a pinhole-sized hole in our brick steps. There could not have been more than a few grains of sand in the hole, yet this plant had somehow managed to take root. Last week my wife and I climbed Mount Washington, the location of the highest-ever recorded wind speeds in the Americas (actually in the world until a relatively recent measurement in Antarctica bested Mount Washington), and I was amazed to find trees that had adapted to this environment. The trees grew in the direction of the prevailing winds, with branches splayed out in a triangle, or trunks that would curve 90 degrees as they grew beyond the height of the nearest windbreak. Some even grew only a few centimeters off the ground, then turned horizontal, more like a vine than a tree.

Both the tiny weed and the gnarled and unconventionally shaped pines found themselves in uncommon and likely uncomfortably harsh conditions, and each was unable to change its circumstance. Despite the conspiracy of circumstance, each had managed to thrive to the extent possible, certainly a profound lesson from such simple perseverance.

Skill development is one of the most important activities a company can engage in, yet too often it is a half-hearted effort performed to check a box on someone's plan, rather than an activity designed to equip employees for superior performance.

Usually this is driven by taking the wrong conceptual approach to training. Training is regarded as something that must be done, either to fulfill some internal or compliance requirement or as part of a change initiative where you're essentially telling employees how they will perform their jobs in the changed environment. This approach is fundamentally flawed, since you are approaching training from the top down, from a command and control perspective. Some of the best training takes the opposite approach, and is developed from the participant's perspective, rather than some central authority.

From the command and control perspective, training is an activity with an ill-defined and cerebral benefit, like taking your daily vitamin. You know you're supposed to do it, but you're not entirely sure how to benchmark your success. When you regard training from the participant's perspective, you're forced to answer a much more difficult question: will this activity make the participant more effective in their job? You're also immediately provided with benchmarks that meet a high standard. Rather than "smile sheets" and "Were the cookies provided at break tasty" banalities, you're held to a standard of making your employees more effective. While the higher standard requires more thought and time in the short term, companies with the foresight to take this approach are far less likely to require remedial training or lost productivity, despite the marvelous cookies. 

In case you missed them, my regular column on CBS' Tech Republic contained the following articles in the month of July:

Tech boom (and bust) 2.0
Don't be the victim in your career

Why I love offshoring and outsourcing

The Foresight Newsletter is now available in Podcast format on www.itbswatch.com as well as via iTunes . I make no warranties about the quality of the host however! 

A friend recently suggested an expedition of sorts for 2012, riding the Trans-Labrador highway and exploring Newfoundland and Nova Scotia via motorcycle. The Trans-Labrador highway is supposedly one of the most rugged and remote roads in the US and Canada, and is a primarily unpaved route from Quebec into the heart of Labrador, with limited services and towns that are hundreds of miles apart. Newfoundland had always held a certain allure for me, with its extreme easterly position on the map, and stories of ice flows, whales, and rugged beauty recounted by those I've spoken to who have visited.

Both of us were discussing how the planning phase of this type of trip is nearly as enjoyable as the trip itself, from rummaging through others' trip reports, to pouring over maps, planning what camping equipment to take, and what modifications to make to the motorcycles. Indeed, this type of trip usually becomes an excuse for some new "toys", and several enjoyable evenings spent installing, maintaining, and testing various mechanical bits in my garage workshop.

When a conference call drags on or a meeting becomes tedious, it's fun and perhaps all too easy to allow a mental "advance guard" to explore the route ahead, conjuring up sights, sounds, smells, and experiences that lie just a few months and miles down the road.