The “Softer” Side of Implementation: A Baker’s Dozen worth of Lessons from the Field

David A Messineo

I was recently asked to describe how I address critical issues that impact implementations. While there are many

topics to choose from, I felt a recent opportunity I was engaged in would be one way to describe several lessons I

have learned throughout my career in the field. My intent is not to be authoritative nor do I assume these lessons

are comprehensive. Rather I hope it serves as a way to illustrate how one can learn and apply a set of principles to

resolving client issues and ultimately achieving success for you, for CA, and for the client.

A few months back I was asked by CA Services and the client account team to assist with a major project currently

underway. There was a substantial amount of current and future revenue on the table that might be impacted if

the project failed. After finishing a customary review of the situation it was time to speak with the customer.

The client was hostile. The project was not going as planned. They felt a lack of leadership from CA. While they

didn’t specifically question the technical ability of the architects on the project – they intuitively felt the project

was going south on them despite the technical abilities.

After exchanging the usual introductions I was both deliberate and explicit about stating the following: “Having a

successful project is as important to me as to you. You have spent a substantial amount of your time already on

this project. My objective is to leverage that effort, identify the gaps, and get you back on track as quickly as

possible”. I paused and added “What can I do in the next 5 minutes to help communicate that I understand what

your concerns are?” I’ve found over many years of working with “hostile” customers that such a simple exchange is

an effective way to get conversations down a meaningful path.

Lesson #1: Always establish that you and the client share the same goals. By default they will assume

you are working towards a different agenda until you demonstrate they are wrong.

Lesson #2: A one hour meeting is actually twelve 5-minute tryouts. Use the first 5 minutes you have to

earn the next 5 and build a dialog.

Lesson #3: Always assume you can leverage the client’s past work, even if ultimately you can’t.

Disregarding a person’s effort out of hand is like calling his or her baby “ugly”.

Much to the relief of the account team I was able to immediately bond with the client. However, as most

experienced managers are aware – having one smart conversation is not the same as having a successful project or

more importantly an advisory relationship based on trust. It sets the tone.

The client, in this case a younger man in his mid 40’s, asked me several questions. I responded to those questions I

felt comfortable with, and documented those I could not and promised I would get back to him within a short

period of time. He, with a sort of forceful chuckle, replied “how about tomorrow?” While I know he was not

genuinely serious about that time frame – the message was clear.

The questions were hardly a linear stream of thought, but they came in several distinct flavors.

The first set that I identified was squarely centered on how my experience would ultimately guide him to success. I

responded in three ways: I identified how I leverage both the successes and failures of my career to be productive

and avoid mistakes, I articulated my understanding of those areas within his organization that he was accountable

for, and finally I described my knowledge of the client’s industry – primarily as it pertained to technology.

The second sets of questions were around product functionality and solution design. He had many concerns about

the lack of functionality in the product, and the difficulties of making it fit his requirements. He had started talking

through “the list” of issues when I suggested to him the following: “If I promise to walk through the list with you,

can I suggest we put that aside for now and talk about what success looks like to you, and to your manager?”

Remember, I was already familiar with the list, having discussed the issues with the account team beforehand. The

fact that he was prepared to go through the list with me was an obvious sign he felt I hadn’t done my homework. I

was losing his respect fast. I suggested instead that I summarize the key issues he was facing and how I was

planning to resolve them. All of my recommendations were based on answering the following set of questions:

• What was the client trying to change, who was impacted and why?

• What was the client perspective of the future, and how had CA’s recommendations been taken?

• How was I going to suggest they make the necessary changes in a way that was different from before (and

a perceived failure)?

• How was success going to be defined such that we both had to work as a team to be successful?

• What changes were required to the dynamic of the team to get into the same “rhythm”?

Within a few minutes it was clear I had earned back the next 5 minutes.

Lesson #4: Talk to your client’s ambition’s to be successful in the eyes of his or her manager. Your

client’s life is almost entirely dependent on the relationship with his or her management.

Lesson #5: Connect with your customer on as many levels as possible by being as direct and honest as

possible. A common experience, whether of success or failure, can provide instant credibility.

Lesson #6: Do your homework and be prepared to make specific recommendations. Take notes and

tailor them up to the moment you present them.

As he listened attentively to my recommendations it became clearer that he was comfortable with my strategy

around “what” to do. I had passed the first major hurdle. It was time to talk about “how” we get there. I asked the

client to put aside, for the moment, his perspective on the ability of his people and those of CA Services. In fact, I

asked him to assume that everyone on the project was experienced and competent. From my experience

whenever we dive into personalities, it simply reminds the client that either they (a) hired the wrong people or (b)

hired the wrong consultants (i.e. CA Services). In either event you’re not going to get where you want to go if you

remind a person of his or her mistakes.

I absolutely had to approach the next part of the conversation with pure confidence in my experience and in my

ability to communicate. I was going to respond with ideas that had a probable chance of success, even though they

might ultimately not achieve the expected result. I had to feel in my gut I was doing right by the customer, and just

as importantly, for myself.

Lesson #7: Don’t transition to “how” you’re going to accomplish a goal until you have established

“what” the goal is. Ultimately, you sell yourself with answering the “what” question and you build trust

with the “how” question.

Lesson #8: Approach your recommendations with confidence, but also be open-minded. Remember not

to let the client, or anyone else, define who you are and what your experiences have taught you.

In laying out a plan, I had to make assumptions about the expected skills and experiences of the people on the

project. We worked through the appropriate skills and preferred experiences for each of the recommended

approaches.

We then took the step which I find to be often overlooked, and can make the difference between a winning or

losing project. We first separated which organization was accountable for each major task, and then identified

which organization was responsible for completing each task based on which organization was most likely to lower

the risk of failure. Every project is different, even when the same project plan you currently have has worked with

other clients. Identifying the appropriate resources to handle the work and sequencing the activities is what is

meant when I describe “rhythm”. As Sun Tzu stated – “a war is won long before the battle is fought”. In helping the

client to organize his thinking about the project, I was setting the stage for success.

Lesson 9: Whenever possible, assign the risks of implementation to the resources that are best capable

of reducing the risk of failure. Separating accountability from responsibility is one way to keep each

party on the same side.

We were roughly 30-40 minutes into the conversation when the client asked killer question #1: “How do I convince

my management and key stakeholders that the approach you put forward is the right approach?”

Generally, you don’t reach this question unless you’ve secured yourself, at least for the moment, as a trusted

advisor. I felt rewarded, but understood the hard work was yet to begin. For I’m now on the spot to provide a

silver bullet when in fact there is likely is no entirely “right” answer. The real challenge was to avoid giving the

wrong answer, and losing, in 30 seconds, the momentum I had built. The wrong answer is always one which puts

the client in a situation where either he or she, or his or her manager, will have the relationship with their peers

strained or put in a negative light.

It was clear from the project history, and the conversation, that my recommendations might alienate some of the

stakeholders. I had to find a way to point out the facts, agree or disagree with the approach, and if possible

suggest new ways to think through issues that muted any discourse among key stakeholders. But the right answer,

the one I would need to give, was always going to be about improving the relationships between stakeholders, and

not alienating them. The right answer was going to require building a dialog with the actual members of the

project team, not me hollering from a soap box. I had to either find a way through these obstacles, or be upfront

with him about the risks. He needed to believe we shared common purposes; he needed to avoid having to choose

between his peers or me.

I earned the next 5-10 minutes working hard to change the scope of the project to exclude those areas that might

be confrontational for now. Mind you, I believed we might be making a mistake, but we were many conversations

away from defining the final end game, and that concern would need to be addressed at another time. For now

though, getting him to understand how to scope the project in terms of incremental successes was enough to get

him on board.

Looking back, and having been mentored in my career by many successful managers, I am reminded what Albert

Einstein once said “You cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created

them”. The best I could accomplish with the client was to drive the conversation from a new perspective, and get

him thinking about the project differently.

Lesson 10: Any recommendation that is made that impacts the relationship of a client with his or her

manager, or peers, must be explicitly identified and addressed, or avoided altogether. Remember, your

client needs to live with his or her stakeholders long after you’re gone.

Lesson 11: Not all issues can be resolved at the same time or at the same level of conversation you are

having at the time. There is always a level of trust that dictates what concerns can be addressed by an

audience and when.

As we reached the conclusion of the meeting the client asked killer question #2: “Was I going to be the person

directing the project?”

The answer, of course, was no. I’m not a project manager nor program manager. I don’t have the technical skills to

be fully successful or even provide the best project management guidance, nor do I have the time or role

responsibilities within CA that would have allowed me to build the kinds of relationships that would bring the

project to success. We are, after all, a company that is focused on helping our customer achieve success.

I was straight with him. I told him that my responsibilities are not directed to a specific client’s initiative, but that

my responsibilities are to make sure clients can succeed. And for that reason, I was taking hold of three things.

One, the questions he asked that I couldn’t answer would be addressed as quickly as possible. Two, I would attend,

remotely, the first few project meetings and make sure our discussions were not lost in translation between

teams. I would also insist that the sales team bring me into strategic conversations that might impact the project

going forward. Finally, and most importantly, I emphasized that I have an open door policy. I provided my email

and phone number. He was free to contact me, understanding that I would either respond to him directly in a

prompt manner, or route his inquiry to the organization or person best able to answer his question. I was, in a

sense, applying the same lessons I have discussed above, not only for this discussion, but as a matter of my way of

behaving as a professional.

Lesson 12: Be straight with people. Keeping things positive and building trust is not about avoiding

negative news; it’s about being sincere and honest with yourself, with your client, and the people each

of us works with each day.

After several months, a new deal, representing a sizable amount, was signed. However, the client I had conversed

with was no longer with the firm. While I had earned his trust, his management had decided the project was not

successful. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes the patient dies. But thankfully the person who replaced him had

seen the plans we (i.e. CA Services) put forward, and most importantly, he had seen that we had followed through

on our commitments to the company. While in the real world that doesn’t always mean you will get another

chance – it says a lot about CA, and the individual people who made up the team who ultimately had a lot more

influence than I over the course of the project.

I had my 15 minutes with the client, as I have had many, many times before with other clients. And to the extent

that people have described my approach as being successful, it was not because I was deeply technical, or that I

deeply understood CA’s business model– it’s simply because true success is about the softer side of

implementation – the side that illustrates the last, most important lesson.

Lesson 13: You are what you think about. If you think in terms of people and what drives them to

success, you will drive yourself to understand the mechanics of their success. And you will adopt the

lessons that allow you to excel not only in your thinking, or in your ability to communicate, but in true

implementation.

It all starts and also ends, with people. After all, a fool with a tool is still a fool. So while CA may be a technology

company, don’t let technology get in the way of your or your customers success.