Dear Savi,

I know there’s a decision in there somewhere, they just won’t let me have it!

Got a problem that needs solving?

I really appreciate the recent posts about tackling problems with Project Sponsorship and the wider management team. Your responses have been really helpful, as I am having a very similar problem right now.

I don’t want to make this an SMT-bashing affair, yet I do have some pretty enraging issues with my leadership team.

We are a luxury homeware product company. We have needed a new CRM system for many years as the current one is useless for our marketing and production teams’ needs.

We are getting left behind in every area of business right now by new alternatives, and understandably, our leadership team has some risk aversion around capital investment in projects.

But the CRM project I managed to get green-lit as a PM last year is running into major deep water simply because I cannot get a single decision out of the SMT. Not even one!

I think things were ok when we were at the requirements gathering and Request-for-Proposals stage with suppliers. The Business Case that had already been signed off had very stringent terms regarding quarterly budget reviews and approved spending, but I thought everyone was behind the real need to change and to introduce a CRM that really could revolutionise our sales and marketing strategies.

And I’m not even going to tell you about the five-month process to get our vendor approved and through our super-painful contracting process.

But ever since our vendor was selected and shared their plan for the project, everything has ground to a halt.

I have had to write papers with options about how workshops will be managed that remain unreviewed by the management team – and apparently this prevents us running workshops. The workshops would have been completed by now if they had been given a go-ahead by our Sponsor.

In reaction to the impasse, our vendor stated they could lengthen the project timeline and focus on another client this quarter, yet they would need a minor retainer and re-commitment to the new plan. Another paper written and sent up without any response.

For three consecutive reports, on the advice of my vendor and internal team, I have sent RED status reports up stating that we run the risk of losing our vendor altogether and having to pause or rerun procurement. Again, no response except a holding line that the reports had been reviewed and seen as priority for a response.

I even staged a meeting with my Sponsor and the Head of Marketing who is facing some eye watering problems with our marketing lists using the current CRM. Yet I was looked upon like I was The Girl that Cried Wolf. My Sponsor simply did not see the urgency. “We have been managing this issue, and projects take time. I do not see the risk here and cannot magically accelerate our project to completion next month.” What he said, quote unquote.

I desperately need some help as I really see the failure of the project nearby, and I don’t want to drop forever what should be seen as an answer to our problems.

Help me Savi!

Desperately seeking decisions

GetSavi response:

Dear Desperately seeking decisions

I must admit this is a tricky one. I am here to help. But I do want to warn you or remind you: you have a severely disengaged SMT right now, and they don’t share your views about this project.

It is not your fault. If I were to take an educated guess, this appears to be about money to me. If I had to add to that, I would say it is also about fear, or at least anxiety.

Your supplier is onboard. This is the time for momentum. This is long past the time where an SMT considers whether or not to invest in a change project. And I have a sense that your SMT is stuck not knowing whether to accept their broader financial concerns right now and proceed with a beneficial project, or to attempt a project pause until finances improve.

I am sure they appreciate you are now under contract with your supplier. The supplier seem fair, having already looked at short term solutions regarding a focus on other client work. Yet they may well exercise some legal consequences of any decision to stop the use of their services, and no supplier will wait forever to run a project as they assumed return on investment in their own business plans.

None of this is said to alarm you or your company. It is to ensure you investigate your risks. See if you can speak to a member of your company with legal responsibilities even if this needs to be done subtly one-to-one until you get your SMT’s attention again.

There is safety in numbers and without suggesting you need an ambush, I would recommend you do the following:

Gather your Project Team to discuss the position and options. Work together to document once again the action required and the impact of no decision-making. Include in this summary any financial and legal impacts. Then, in a separate engagement, engage a senior member of you supplier’s team and ask them for their summary of risks and the current situation. Ask them for an honest, firm appraisal of the problem and their position if things do not change rapidly.

Next set a meeting with your Sponsor, with certain trusted members of your team and with the information shared from the supplier and make the points to your Sponsor in plain terms.

Include in your plan of action clear dates where you need to go to the SMT with your Sponsor to gain the decisions you need around making progress or their own firm decision to pause the project.

As I say, you must not behave solely like you are seeking to force the SMT’s hand on something they are indeed probably concerned by and considering. Yet the lack of engagement is a real risk, and the longer time goes on without a decision the greater the risk.

Finally, if you can, make room for the original case for change once again. A long time ago, in difficult circumstances, the SMT was brave enough to approve a Business Case that may well “revolutionise” your marketing strategies. Holding their nerve now may well pay the dividends in future.

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