Episode 47: Effective ERP Transformation Roadmap

About this Episode

In this episode, we discuss “Effective ERP Transformation with Mr. Ganapathy Iyer. 

Ganapathy will share with us the definition of a successful digital transformation project, why digital transformation projects fail, how to manage project burnout, effective decision making, project sponsorship, data migration management, and making proper decisions effectively. 

Stream this Episode Here and Subscribe on all Major Platforms

We want this podcast to be the most useful podcast you listen to. And we need your help! Please leave us a podcast review!

More about Ganapathy

• He absolutely obsesses about the power of individuals working in unison to deliver great outcomes on such initiatives.
• He has a strong history of helping clients conceptualise and deliver complex business application based initiatives on time and budget while unlocking the value they promised. As a management consultant with KPMG and then as a freelancer, he has helped clients across industries and geographies deliver successful projects.
• He has worked with clients across telecommunications, agrochemicals, manufacturing, retail, media, utilities, local and central government across New Zealand, Australia, India, South Africa and Ghana. Over the last 10 years, he has also helped several client organisations and leaders in recovering troubled projects.
• Ganapathy likens himself to your Sherpa while climbing Mount Everest. He understands how hard and uphill the journey can seem at times during such initiatives. He also understands the consequence of such initiatives going awry. He works with leaders and client teams to help them lead this climb in an effective and joyous manner by building great teams and enhancing a sense of belonging.
• Ganapathy is also the author of REBOOT, which is a guide to recovering troubled business application projects.
• He is also a regular blogger.

Connect with Ganapathy

• Website www.ganapathyiyer.com
• email address: gi@ganapathyiyer.com

More from Ganapathy

• https://ganapathyiyer.com/books/
• https://ganapathyiyer.com/blog/

Episode Highlights 

05:42 Specifically, how would you define a successful digital transformation project?

You state on your website that “Projects are the channel organizations use to make significant shifts for themselves, their people, and their customers. Technology-enabled projects are a big chunk of these. Yet, I see regular occurrences of troubled projects which cause significant grief to everyone involved with no end in sight. And of course a lot of time and money.”

07:50 In general, what is your view of digital transformation projects that fail? That is, from a high level, what are the main influences that cause project failure?

You share on your website that “Projects are intended to spur growth for all their constituents, be it individuals, teams or organizations. Technology projects form a sizeable portion of organizational project portfolios. Yet, when they get into trouble, they can cause severe pain; some to the extent of threatening existence of organizations themselves. REBOOT provides a practical, robust and guided framework to help you recover a troubled technology project.”

14:20 What inspired your book “REBOOT.”?

Often in ERP organizational change, burnout is a real thing. And often a small group of key stakeholders can end up taking on the bulk of the work or even spread across multiple projects.

These core groups of stakeholders often (as you state in one of your blogs) work “crazy hours, weekends, turning up to meetings unprepared or falling behind on commitments they made. Yet they continue persisting till a point where it is too late. Often with disastrous consequences for everyone including themselves.”

17:39 Can you share some tips on how to address this potential burnout risk?  https://ganapathyiyer.com/on-long-haul-flights-pilots-projects-and-people/

“In the rush to deliver on time and budget people take on more than they can”

Consultants and external help are great, and make sure you have looked at your own capacity to take on this change. Your answer clearly comes from experience and a place of great reflection.

You state in one of your blogs that “Making decisions is great, making it easier to implement is better.”

27:29 Can you elaborate and can you share any experience or insight in regard to practical tips  https://ganapathyiyer.com/illusion-of-a-decision-with-a-mountain-to-move/

In your blog, “The Roundabout rider in decision making!”, a notion that those of us who have been in the PM field long enough recognize in regard to decision making.

People may as you state “ask questions, they provide advice, they sympathize and yet, there is no decision; blocking action and causing stress. Sometimes they don’t know this either (genuinely).”

29:58 What can a PM do about this  https://ganapathyiyer.com/the-roundabout-rider-in-decision-making/

As fellow practitioners, we absolutely benefit from learning from our colleagues and friends, both “boots on the ground” as well as researchers.

33:52 How would you summarize this conversation? That is if you had to distill your work into 3 or 4 sentences, what would you say to ERP organizational change practitioners?

More Related Episodes from TheERPocj 

• Episode 32: leadership, Innovation, and Technology – Mr. John Rouda 
• Episode 31: ERP: A Practitioners View – Mr. Bob Bucy 
• Episode 20: Winning the ERP Game – Mr. David Stefanick
• Episode 6: ERP Organizational Change Success Factors – Dr. Justin Goldston