A recurring frame for executives accountable for outcomes, not activity * What assumptions in this project are irreversible? * Who can stop this initiative without explanation? * What risks would never appear on a dashboard? * If this failed tomorrow, what would I wish I had challenged earlier? Sponsors can apply this lens explicitly
Misclassification Is the Silent Killer of Projects Many projects do not fail because they are badly managed. They fail because they were mislabelled as projects. Early in the life of almost every major initiative, a decision is made — someone asks what kind of thing is this? And the organisation reaches
Jack, M-Corp’s US Chief Engineer, felt the Brazilian heat creep down his neck as he stood on the factory floor. The air was heavy with melted sugar and quiet frustration. For over a year, he had watched the same failure repeat itself. A conveyor belt carried what were meant
The factory cafeteria was fragrant with feijoada—black beans, pork, and rice. This was where many decisions got made. Eduardo ran Operations. Bernardo ran Maintenance. Both were engineers. Both were local. Both knew how things actually worked. My Beijing startup role had calcified into routine. Six days a week. Nothing
Delivering a Minimum Viable Product (When Everything Else Fails) By June 1993, Beijing had swapped snow for steam. The factory was officially “nearly ready.” In reality, it was stuck—again. Our full-spec proprietary air-conditioning system was sitting in customs. Everyone knew why. An incentive was expected. Quietly. Efficiently. That was
Start Up Project - Manufacturing Operations in China Christmas morning, 1992. Shibalidian, south-west Beijing. Heavy snow fell in thick, silent flakes, numbing my face as we trudged through the site inspection. This was meant to be a routine progress check. Instead, it was the moment the project’s underlying reality
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