Types of failure

Mismanagement-related failures typically lead to, at best, a blame game and would block the adoption of a new technology. In contrast, Uncontrollable Risks related failures often lead to growth in the people and organizations that contributed to them.

Uncontrollable Risks:

• Launching a product only to find there is no market for it, a fact only apparent post-launch.

• Experiencing an unforeseen catastrophe, such as COVID, that devastates businesses.

• Encountering bad luck despite good-faith efforts.

Mismanagement:

• Failures stemming from neglecting fundamental aspects such as sourcing, skilling, training, and tooling (in this specific order).

• Repeatedly assigning the same types of tasks to people who consistently fail at them.

2 examples I would like to share in my career in digital transformation:

1. Uncontrollable Risks: When the iPad was launched, I invested a significant amount of time and money in developing a new paradigm for screen reading applicable to various use cases such as e-reading, e-learning, etc. I field-tested it and found that people were willing to pay for it. However, after several attempts and a reality check, I concluded that it wasn't worth pursuing. The execution was there, as I managed to develop a complete business process, but the failure stemmed from the fact that despite the iPad's hype, the business model was just too far-fetched for someone like me.

2. Mismanagement: A few years ago, I was part of a consortium tasked with building a very ambitious enterprise system. Problems emerged shortly after the project started. The project owner skipped critical steps by claiming "agile thinking." Certainly, writing hundreds of pages of documentation that no one reads is a waste, but failing to make a proper assessment, create a realistic roadmap, secure resources, and line up milestones don't require extensive documentation. Unsurprisingly, a few months later, the project was officially claimed as a failure, and this, despite my warnings, backed-up with data and facts to the Management.