After 20 years of experience as an implementation partner, end-user, and business owner running a consultancy, I’ve learned and experienced countless things that continually push me to think outside the box, especially when I see projects veering off tangent.
I want to address the crucial areas in any technology (specially CRM) project that often go unaddressed, likely because we assume success depends on the number of talented people working on it. By “talented people,” I mean those who work tirelessly, holding the project together, becoming trusted advisors or partners, and ultimately determining the project’s success. There are several case studies where people are being gathered to build the best complex system and miserably fail.
Denver International Airport’s baggage handling system was an ambitious project intended to automate the entire baggage process and set a new standard for airports worldwide. Despite involving top-tier contractors and experts, the project faced catastrophic technical failures due to its overwhelming complexity, poor planning, and unrealistic timelines. The system’s repeated breakdowns led to massive delays and cost overruns, and it ultimately had to be scaled back significantly. This failure highlights how even with the best talent, a lack of strategic oversight and the inability to simplify or reassess a project can lead to its downfall.
Now consider the opposite example of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Dubai brought together the best people and firms from around the globe to construct it, I lived in Dubai from the year 2006 to 2014, and as an outsider spectator, I have seen how the foundation was built very similar to Lego, it took quite a long. The construction industry is one of the most mature and established in the world. Decades ago, the tallest buildings were being constructed in the US when cars were still in their infancy. Today, we see buildings being built everywhere—tall, asymmetric, and unconventional—showing how innovative the construction industry has become. The key is that builders have continuously learned and refined their guidelines over time.
However, technology—particularly software—is a relatively new industry, with business software and applications taking off in the 1990s. The proper guidelines for business applications are still evolving, and innovation itself has often been a blocker, preventing people from mastering one thing before the next.
In 2019, I completed TOGAF – Enterprise Architecture and was fortunate to be working with end-users and large enterprises at the time. This role allowed me to apply my learning practically. I began to view organizations, systems, and processes from a bird’s-eye view while also focusing on specific functionalities within the application. I also had the good fortune of working in client-facing roles as an implementation partner, which greatly improved my ability to understand diverse businesses over time and through various challenges.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked as a developer, technical lead, project manager, presales consultant, solution architect, and eventually as a company owner. I didn’t consciously plan these career shifts, but through them, I’ve developed a set of guidelines that highlight what works—and what doesn’t work. And as a company owner I realized, I can’t run the whole company and I need people to own, delegate, and only focus on what I enjoy the most, the planning and oversight in the challenging projects.
I’ve also honed my critical thinking skills (a topic for another day, but closely related), which gives me an early sense of whether we’re heading in the right direction or not. I’m not claiming to have prophetic insights—I’ve worked with many amazing, detail-oriented professionals in their specific fields. These people always inspire me to take such role a role, to create much bigger impact.
Anyway, I intend to document my experiences and learnings in this blog series and the new things I am going to do. I hope these posts will help learners discover the key elements of successful CRM implementation. And help me and others substantiate the new approach I’ve been developing, based on these observations and learnings
Reference:
Denver International Airport’s baggage handling system: https://www5.in.tum.de/~huckle/DIABaggage.pdf
Burj Khalifa: https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1701509.pdf
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