Once upon a time, there was a mid-sized company that decided: “We need a new ERP system. Everything will be digital, we are going to be so efficient—future, here we come!”
The selected service provider excitedly accepted. “Easy! We’ve done this a thousand times before.”
“Wonderful!” said the management team happily, adding: “Excellent, we’ll leave it to you then.” They already imagined how the processes would run themselves and leaned back, relaxed…
But at the first major steering committee meeting, the illusion burst. The service provider cleared their throat and explained sheepishly: “Well… we’re not at the end of the analysis phase yet. Actually, we’re still in the middle of it. It’s all a bit more complex than we thought. We’re going to need the same amount of time again.”
Silence.
The management looked as if they had been punched in the gut.
In a firm voice (but with a clearly disappointed undertone), they then said decisively: “We do not accept that!”
Silence again. Rumbling frustration spread.
Detailed meetings were scheduled, and discussions were held about who was to blame. But that’s when the turmoil really started. The service provider had initially promised far too much without consulting the specialists beforehand. In addition, the company itself proved to be a complete disaster. Tasks were assigned seemingly at random, postponed, forgotten, dug up again, and in the meantime completely misunderstood. The company’s organizational chart was more reminiscent of a labyrinth in which everyone was desperately searching for an emergency exit.
Anna finally lost her temper: “I waited hours for you yesterday, and nothing happened! Felix, you said you would coordinate everything!”
Felix retorted indignantly: “Hold on a minute, I thought Clara was doing that. I forwarded everything to her ages ago.”
Clara blinked in confusion: “To me? I don’t know anything about that! I have enough on my plate already.”
Daniel just rolled his eyes: “And while you’re playing ping-pong, I’m totally stuck. I can’t continue without Anna’s input, but of course everyone expects me to just keep going anyway.”
Eva sighed: “I can’t pass anything on either as long as Anna doesn’t know what she needs from Clara. I’ve been on standby for weeks.”
Anna clasped her hands above her head: “So everything depends on me—but no one tells me that Clara is even on board?!”
What followed was a lengthy back-and-forth. Gradually, it appeared all project plans were dissolving into uncertainty and disorientation. The steering committee descended into an angry babble of voices, resembling an agitated hornet’s nest.
“I really can’t keep going over all this again and again!” A desperate cry, hands thrown up in the air.
“We have to get through this somehow, otherwise we’ll never make any progress!”
Everyone was looking for someone to blame; no one was taking responsibility. The management thundered: “We have to see this through now! No more excuses—full steam ahead!”
But instead of a spirit of optimism, a storm of protest followed, sucking all remaining energy out of the project. Objections, complaints, confusion—even attempts at boycotts—paralyzed the remaining efforts to move the project forward.
Just when all seemed lost, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel: the project manager. No armor, no sword—but a clear head. His mission: to bring order to the chaos.
His first insight: leadership cannot be outsourced! The organization had to learn to take responsibility itself instead of passing all planning on to external parties. So, the first thing he did was introduce a new approval process: process experts had to make decisions for “their” areas. Then discussions had to be concluded in a binding manner; ideally, the results would be clearly documented and made transparent.
The workforce reacted with mixed feelings. Some cheered: “Finally, some clarity!”
Others groaned: “We don’t have time for this… isn’t someone else responsible for that anyway?”
The project manager remained unshaken, took a deep breath, and demonstratively rolled up his sleeves: more resources, more support, more leadership! Now it was time to get down to business.
But even after all that, the mood did not change much. At the working level, sparks flew: the specialist departments wanted to set their idiosyncrasies in stone, while the consulting team stubbornly insisted on their default “off-the-shelf solutions.” The project manager ran from one flashpoint to the next, trying to calm things down, mediate, and moderate. Eventually, even he lost his patience: “Emotions are okay, but the big picture and business matters must be left to upper management.”
This ultimately led to a broad discussion about “professionalism.” But finally—finally!—everyone was able to agree on the essentials: professionals discuss results, and egos must be put aside.
What followed were several exhausting and sometimes frustrating months of project work. But gradually, progress became visible. Management learned that they couldn’t just rubber-stamp PowerPoint slides but had to take responsibility. Approvals came faster, decisions were made, plans were readjusted, and points of contention were negotiated. Little by little, the tension gave way to cautious optimism.
The rest of the project was no cakewalk—in fact, it felt a lot more like nailing jelly to the ceiling with rubber nails and no hammers—but in the end, it was possible to get it all back on track for the most part.
The moral of the story: project management is not a spectator sport. If you don’t take responsibility yourself, don’t be surprised if the project gets bogged down. Leadership means being present—not just as a figurehead for a planning meeting, but in the annoying everyday situations as well. Conflicts are unavoidable, but they must be made visible and resolved. And in the end, transparency is not an option but a duty.
