Simon Cookson was the guest speaker on 13 January for Why IT Projects Fail.
Simon has spent many years leading and delivering strategic change and knows first hand what happens when leadership and culture isn’t right. Which is why he's committed to doing things differently.
He said: “It started back in the DotCom Boom when I was part of the team changing the way we do banking. For the past 20 years I've been involved in digital start ups, technical consultancies and big IT firms. All trying to bring about change with technology.
Stopping to reflect I realised most projects had failed, or at least failed to deliver what they promised. I wanted to know why. This investigation led to the founding of Northern Value Creators four years ago and shapes everything we do and believe today. “
Fundamentally, it’s your people who deliver transformation – or derail it. Engaging your people and building a great team is the most effective risk mitigation strategy there is.
Simon and Amanda at Northern Value Creators developed a programme, the People Primer, to prepare teams for successful business change.
Simon said: “Telling people what to think and how to feel doesn't work. We can't afford to keep getting it wrong. There are no more excuses. We can get the people piece right.”