Too Soon!
If you’ve spent any time in IT, you’ve likely been a part of a significant change that either introduces a new system or replaces an existing one.
Change is difficult — even the simplest difference in a process or how a system works can result in challenges. However, one tricky issue that befalls larger projects is the inability to sustain motivation throughout all phases of a project.
In a recent enterprise cloud migration, I experienced this first-hand. Over the first couple of phases, some of the most difficult hurdles were traversed, and the team celebrated — and rightly so! The early work was challenging, and we were right to enjoy the glow of accomplishment. But an unfortunate side effect was that the team developed a mild hubris about the project and lost the intense drive and focus we had at the outset. As a result, the project lost momentum, and it seemed to go on endlessly- well past its initially targeted completion date.
If your answer to this is, ‘Then don’t celebrate until the end!’, to quote the principal in the movie Billy Madison, “I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.“