Pitfall No. 8 : Being Too Diplomatic

Fundamentally, a computerisation initiative has to succeed otherwise the firms long-term future may be in jeopardy. Re-engineering expert Michael Hammer makes a very succinct observation on what it takes to make a project successful. He says, "To succeed at re-engineering, you have to be a visionary, a motivator, 

and a leg breaker". 

The leg breaking issue is important. There are several mistakes companies have reported making as a result of trying to be too diplomatic in their computerisation program. Some of these errors include following : 

• Nor Getting Executive Level Buy-in : Computerisation needs to have the full support and endorsement of every member of the executive team. Its implementation will ultimately cross every functional boundary in the company. Inter-departmental turf-wars can erupt if employees don't see that their senior managers are behind the strategy. 
• Accepting Less than 100% User Buy-in : Make it clear that using the computerised system is not an option, it is a requirement of employment. As soon as you let a single person get away with not using the system because "it's too had", or "they haven't had time to get used to using it", or "they are personally more productive doing something else" etc., the foundation for the project will start to crumble. 
• Backing off at the First Sign of Problems : No matter how much thought has been put into the system, one can count on running into unanticipated problems when implemented fully. Backing off at the first sign of problems will cause confusion, and ultimately chaos if it happens too often. 

While one would want to be sensitive to the human factors, it should be kept in mind that everyone cannot be pleased. Some employees may end up with less responsibility, some may not be able to adjust to the new way of doing things, and some in private companies may lose their jobs. There will be a temptation to try to make re-engineering fit the organisation instead of changing the organisation to fit re-engineering. Taking this course of action will either diminish the results one achieves or significantly delay the implementation of the automation initiative.