Failed ERP Implementations and Invisible Treasures

Let me recall that once bitten, twice shy from the Idioms. Human behavior experts will tell you that human beings are embedded with the biggest asset to be cautious and utmost careful when they are assigned second time in the same failed venture. Let us together go through where this idiom phrases are applicable and brings valuable learning to organizations, in reviving failed ERP implementations.

Ship is sinking; everyone is looking out to escape from the ship including the captain.

ERP implementation in an organization miserably failed, everyone pointed each other for the failure, some of them told implementation partner failed, some told ERP selection was not right, some told their ideas were ignored, some told they were expecting this (failure), in no time many of the key players moved out of the organization and some of them asked to exit. Now the organization’s top management is scouting for a new team to start the ERP exercise again in the organization. I am not sure when the new team will be vanished.

Above might be many or some of you’ve experienced in your professional life, recently or earlier. Unfortunately the holistic view or root cause analysis and think through are bound to miss in these situations, thus, most of us get in to emotional mode. (When facing failures, unfortunately most of us get in to emotional mode, than (rather than) getting into factual analysis and its root causes to find out solutions.)

Just carry a small lamp in the dark failure house, you will be able to find the treasure, to highlight more, you will find the real reason for such a huge blender / failure, some could lead to selection of product or partner, some could due to inability to put the right requirement and expectations, some may be due to internal issues / ego driven or personality driven. However at the same time there are very less issues due to product or technology or finance related.

But what is the biggest thing we miss in failure situation like this is, the people who were part of this. The reasons for the big mess are- you missed the people who knew what went wrong and you missed the people who could tell you what can be done to get it right this time. Sometimes the bitter feelings / emotions will bring the better or best from within.

We need to take the failures and forward it into success. That’s how in many places success is achieved. To do this believe in those who were part of failure, all that needs to be done is implant the confidence in them, that they can do it. If they cannot who can.