Project recovery, a critical skill in the business world, involves bringing a project back on track when it’s behind schedule, over budget, or lacking in quality. Contrary to popular belief, mastering project recovery can be as straightforward as learning to brush your teeth. However, it does require a deep understanding of organizational dynamics and years of experience.
Let me share a few highlights from my journey as a project recovery consultant:
- Reviving a Stalled Consignment Project: A major manufacturer of skidoo and vehicle tracks faced a prolonged delay with a vendor project. In our initial, tense meeting, I quickly convened with the client’s Plant Managers and CIO. Together, we crafted and executed a swift action plan. The breakthrough? Prompt engagement with key decision-makers.
- Winning a Major Government Contract: My firm eyed a lucrative $2.5 billion bid with the United States Navy, requiring expertise in SAP and Supply Chain Management. After delving into Pentagon documents, I advised the Naval Command, outshining other consultants with less experience. The secret? Years of experience and a authoritative presence in critical meetings.
- Finalizing a $400 Million Project: This task demanded a project costing expert for its concluding phase. My strategy involved persistent interactions and a deep dive into customization costs, considering our limited developer resources. The challenge was balancing development capacity against time and budget constraints.
- Delivering a Proof of Concept: Achieved within six months, on time and within budget. The significant change was halting the endless email exchanges among “experts” and restructuring the project. Crucial to this success was the backing from both global headquarters and local executive stakeholders.
- Implementing a Digital Expense System: The pivotal move for this international rollout was identifying a specialist who recommended testing all 200 integration points, avoiding the pitfalls of a mere copy-paste strategy.
These examples illustrate that project recovery is not for the faint-hearted. It demands a brave, proactive approach, coupled with the ability to ask pertinent questions swiftly, maintain respectfulness, facilitate regular meetings, garner executive support, and leverage years of hard-earned experience.
Project recovery may seem daunting, but with the right mindset and skills, it’s a highly attainable and rewarding endeavor.