It felt confessional to explain to a friend the other day that typically my greatest value as a consultant comes from helping enterprises avoid making a big mistake. Usually the looming mistake is selecting the wrong software for their needs. That just doesn't sound as triumphant as "restored them to profitability," or "instituted a fabulously successful publishing regimen."

Tony Byrne, Contributor

January 29, 2007

1 Min Read

It felt confessional to explain to a friend the other day that typically my greatest value as a consultant comes from helping enterprises avoid making a big mistake. Usually the looming mistake is selecting the wrong software for their needs. That just doesn't sound as triumphant as "restored them to profitability," or "instituted a fabulously successful publishing regimen."So I was heartened to read a Financial Times reprint by noted UK consultant Graham Oakes called "There's no success like failure..." (pdf). The gist of the article is that enterprises do well to experiment and fail, as long as they learn the right lessons. But I think Oakes speaks to a fundamental truth about IT when he opines, "Success comes from avoiding unnecessary failure." How do you sense an avoidable failure? Oakes lists several opportunities, including paying more attention to "what is really going on" and "what is actually possible." Do that, and you might obviate the need for an outside consultant...

Tony Byrne is founder and lead analyst at CMS Watch. Write him at [email protected].It felt confessional to explain to a friend the other day that typically my greatest value as a consultant comes from helping enterprises avoid making a big mistake. Usually the looming mistake is selecting the wrong software for their needs. That just doesn't sound as triumphant as "restored them to profitability," or "instituted a fabulously successful publishing regimen."

About the Author(s)

Tony Byrne

Contributor

Tony Byrne is the president of research firm Real Story Group and a 20-year technology industry veteran. In 2001, Tony founded CMS Watch as a vendor-independent analyst firm that evaluates content technologies and publishes research comparing different solutions. Over time, CMS Watch evolved into a multichannel research and advisory organization, spinning off similar product evaluation research in areas such as enterprise collaboration and social software. In 2010, CMS Watch became the Real Story Group, which focuses primarily on research on enterprise collaboration software, SharePoint, and Web content management.

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