I guess I could’ve used “fail” instead of “go on forever,” but I chose to use the latter here for a reason. For smaller initiatives, you occasionally get the former, but as is so often the case with those large enterprise endeavors, it’s the latter. I’ve seen this occur time and time again, a couple of which I’ve been able to “rescue” myself. Efforts that should only have taken a couple of years, are taking so long that no one ever remembers when they actually began or will end (if they ever will). And, don’t ask any questions about budget or ROI! To me these extended efforts become an exercise akin to banging ones head against the wall; you would think it would become so painful as to compel folks to stop just because of that. But no, they are afraid to stop, so they continue.
I’ve listened to the stories of these efforts over the years, some currently underway, from across the Healthcare industry today, in both the Provider (EHRs) and Payer (Claim platforms) space (including for both, Portals, BI/DW, Data Gov, MDM). In a number of cases, I’ve had the opportunity to observe and question folks associated with the efforts. Based upon that and my own experiences, I’ve come to a conclusion as to the why. It gets to ownership. No one in those organizations that were/are getting nowhere fast feels that they own the effort, at any level. There are many who are burdened with or responsible for it, but don’t see themselves as actually owning it. When you’re burdened with something, it tends to become personal or individualized; it’s heavy, weighing you down and saps your energy and strength. When you feel you own something, it becomes a source of energy, is enlightening, there’s excitement and compels you to action. Now, imagine the impact each effect has on a large group of people trying to collectively deliver on enterprise-wide change.
Don’t misunderstand me, the feeling of ownership alone won’t get the effort done, but it provides the nexus or core from which the various disciplines, management skills and efforts needed to take an initiative from beginning to end radiate from. This ownership will transcend the vertical or hierarchical way we typically organize ourselves as well. Keep in mind that the many business processes executed every day to deliver goods and services to your customers cut across the organization. There is no such thing as an IT initiative; there are only business initiatives with the requisite ownership and involvement from the organization. This can be particularly challenging when you utilize help from the outside, but even then there must be folks from within the organization actively involved and owning the effort. Feeling ownership and being part of a successful effort, leads to the development of pride. Pride reinforces the feeling of and desire for ownership and, collectively, can enable the organization to tackle anything.
