WHY BAD PROJECTS ARE SO HARD TO KILL
Many projects have been monumental failure but companies can’t kill those projects at
the moment. The author explains the reason with the collective belief of managers who
believe of their project’s ultimate success. The consequence of it is that managers
become blind and they take bad decisions for the company. It is showed that having non-
enthusiastic people in the team is good for the company because it is who is in charge of
define a review process in order to not waste money on a project that is a failure.
FAITH THAT WOULDN’T BE SHATTERED
Varilux, a company that invented progressive lens. The company had a new product: the
progressive lens. Essilor’s research manager immediately takes a personal interest in the
idea and approved the project immediately. In 2 days it was done. The research got the
approval to proceed with additional research. Early on, some questions raised about the
potential cost of this new lens and its durability. No marketing studies were done and the
problems started to appear. The problems needed to be fixed up and the prices started
to raise.
The Seductive Appeal of Collective Belief
The example above is a not a case of bureaucratic inertia. The procedures and controls
were too lax rather than too unresponsive or inflexible.
The Emergence of Belief
The original true believer is a project champion, who holds and unyielding conviction that
a project will succeed. This belief then spread to others very quickly. a
The Persistence of Belief
Once a collective belief takes hold, it tends to perpetuate itself. When collective belief
spreads it is identified the ones that question the viability of the project. These people are
considered people without experience or competence, so the group who believe in the
project feels invulnerable and unanimous.
The Consequences of Belief
The worst consequence of having a collective belief is that the can’t see the problems as
a sign of failure. Their blindness persists in part because collective belief undermines
normal organizational procedures and safeguards. The enthusiasm generated by faith in
a project can lead to an unrealistically tight development timetable.
AVOIDING THE DANGERS OF BLIND FAITH
Companies should implement two types of safeguard in order to avoid having a collective
belief. Another one requires a manager involved in a project to play an important, new
role.
Beware of cheerleading squads
